Through regular research and conversations with those we serve, we gather as much as possible to ensure we continue to support you. Our annual Lent, Easter, Advent and Christmas campaigns offer a valuable opportunity to gather feedback through a survey sent out to all who have been receiving our reflections by email, and regular feedback is also sought through surveys from the Digital Labs team and engagement with editors of AChurchNearYou.com, as well as through the emails and social media messages we receive. Our Digital Labs webinars and in-person training sessions are another great opportunity to hear from those using our resources.
Our commitment to developing our digital offering to churches and individuals has prompted numerous changes in recent months, with positive results – both in significantly increased engagement with our resources and in the feedback we’ve received.
Expanding our range of downloadable resources
In 2025, a survey completed by hundreds of people part of the Digital Labs community provided us with a large amount of valuable insight about the resources we provide for churches.
Church leaders and volunteers told us how much they appreciate the downloadable resources we share in line with our Lent and Advent themes, but that they were also looking for more – specifically more ‘ready to go’ graphics and templates that required minimal editing before they could be used online. We also heard that people less confident with using Canva were looking for templates editable in Word, plus black and white templates for those who can’t print in colour. As a result, our expanded suite of resources for Advent and Christmas 2025 comprised more than 500 options, including templates for various types of service such as ‘Carol Service’ and ‘Midnight Mass’ that required minimal editing.
Repeating the success of these, this year’s Lent and Easter resources included new templates and formats, our biggest selection ever, prompting 18,400 downloads from the Resource Hub on AChurchNearYou.com and overwhelmingly positive feedback in our post-Easter survey.
One of the most common requests we receive from churches is for a greater range of seasonal resources for children, young people and families – and Advent 2025 saw our most comprehensive offering ever, including digital resources to support use of the bestselling book The Grumpy Owl and the Joy of Christmas, plus our very first Advent devotional for 11-15 year olds, accompanied by a session plan for youth groups.
New resources to support churches all year round
The Digital Labs survey also showed us that churches would like digital templates and resources to help them produce attractive online and printed content year-round, rather than being offered these only during Advent and Lent. We have developed a suite of evergreen design assets for churches, recently launched in a well-attended webinar, and will soon launch complementary social media templates and design guides, helping churches save time in creating social media content and giving them the assurance that their graphics will be attractive and accessible.
Equipping churches earlier than ever
We have often heard from churches that it’s never too early to share our themes for Lent and Advent, to help them with their planning. As a result, we’ve worked to move resource launch dates earlier, for example running a ‘First look at Advent and Christmas’ webinar in July 2025 with all resources ready to launch in early September – with the same planned for this year.
Our Digital Labs feedback survey helped inform the planning of 14 webinars on using digital at Advent and Christmas in 2025, covering topics such as social media, digital strategy, digital giving, filming services and livestreaming.
A key resource churches told us they would appreciate in advance is an outline of Lent and Advent reflections and readings, with a suggested plan for groups studying them together. These, along with weekly videos to support group study, have been well-received during Advent 2025 and Lent 2026.
Advance promotion of resources has also resulted in record attendance at our Digital Labs webinars launching our Advent and Lent themes, with our most recent webinars attracting more than 700 signups. We also saw similar numbers of signups for our webinars launching the We Believe and Pilgrim Places, Holy Lives reflections on the Everyday Faith app with accompanying resources, showing huge appetite for these campaigns for ordinary time.
Showcasing the work of local churches on social media
Over the last 18 months and in response to trends in engagement across our channels, an increasingly important focus of our social media content has been sharing more about the transformative work of local churches and their congregations. Our goal is to feature a variety of locations, contexts and expressions of church, using key opportunities like our Advent and Lent campaigns but also sharing these stories throughout the year. Analysis of our social media engagement informs these decisions, and inspiring stories from local churches, along with personal testimonies, are popular. The aim is not only to show the role and relevance of the Church to the public engaging with us on social media, but also to encourage and inspire churches with these stories of community engagement, growth and sharing faith with new people.
During Lent this year, our content included a series of videos from the community at Mucknell Abbey, a video from a network of anglo-catholic young adults, and contributions from a Christian running club, as well as outreach to students, a church running a hygiene bank, a priest ministering to the local farming community, and more.
Outside of our major campaigns, good news stories have continued to celebrate local churches and individuals, with videos about fundraising, church planting and evangelism. In response to positive feedback, we have also partnered with churches to share more history and educational-focused content, including videos about saints and pilgrimage, the Book of Common Prayer and St George’s Day.
As a team, we welcome feedback on the resources we share to support the incredible work you do in your local church and the content we produce to reach the public. If you have ideas, feedback or encouragement, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected].