Asking your congregation for Google reviews feels strange. You know you need them. Someone probably mentioned it at a staff meeting. Maybe you even thought about bringing it up from the stage and talked yourself out of it.
Here’s why it feels weird: you’re treating it like asking for a Yelp review at a restaurant. It’s not the same thing. Reframe it and the whole awkwardness goes away.
It’s not about an ego or pick me mentality. It’s about your community..
Someone in your city is going to search "church near me" this Sunday morning. They’re new to town, going through something hard, or finally ready to try. They’re going to look at the top three results in Google’s local map, scan the reviews, and pick.
If your church has 6 reviews from 2022 and the church down the street has 47 with recent responses, they’re probably not choosing you. Not because you’re less faithful or less welcoming. Just because you look less active and people are looking for actual feedback on the church they choose to visit.
When you ask your congregation to leave a Google review, you’re not promoting yourself. You’re helping that needs a good church find yours. That’s a ministry framing, not a marketing one. Say it that way from the stage and watch the awkwardness dissolve.
Make the Ask So Easy It Takes 30 Seconds
Most churches ask once and forget. Or they send a newsletter with a 6-step process that requires three logins and a browser nobody uses. Nobody does it.
The friction has to be near zero. Here’s what actually works:
From the stage: "If your family has found a home here, would you take 30 seconds this week and leave us a Google review? It helps people looking for a church find us. Link’s in the bulletin." That’s it. Thirty words.
In your weekly email: One sentence. One link. Something like: "P.S. If our church has meant something to you, a quick Google review helps others find us." Easy peasy, no instructions needed.
QR code in your bulletin: Link it directly to your Google review-writing screen. Not your homepage. Not your Google Business Profile landing page. The screen where someone types a review. People scan it during announcements and submit it in the parking lot.
To get that direct link, go to your Google Business Profile, click "Get more reviews," and copy the short link Google provides. That’s the URL you put everywhere.
Pro tip: If you use Faithmade Funnels you can set up a QR code to display on the screen that takes people directly to your reviews and can even respond to them directly.
A Steady Trickle Beats a Big Push
Here’s what surprises most church leaders: Google pays attention to when reviews arrive, not just how many. A burst of 30 reviews in one week followed by silence can actually trigger Google’s spam filters, and some get removed (so if you have a larger church, maybe a card on the back of seats or a QR code to scan at the connections booth is better than a from the stage pitch).
What works better is a slow, consistent trickle. One or two a week over several months builds more credibility than 40 in a weekend push. Set a recurring reminder, once a month, to drop the review link in your email or mention it briefly from the stage. That consistency signals to Google that your church is real and active.
Respond to every review, too. A thoughtful response to a critical review often reads better to a first-time visitor than the review itself. It shows that someone is paying attention.
Your Reviews and Your Website Work Together
Getting more Google reviews matters most when your website is ready to do something with the traffic they bring. A person in your city looking for a church reads your reviews, clicks your link, and lands on a slow-loading site with no service times visible on mobile. That’s a lost visitor (and it’s where we can help).
FaithMade websites are built to be fast, mobile-ready, and visitor-focused from day one. When your Google Business Profile connects to a site that actually converts, the reviews start doing real work.
Start a free FaithMade trial and give the seekers finding you on Google a website worth finding.
