Summit Collaborative exists to plant and multiply gospel-centered churches. Every church in the network — from established sending churches to newer church plants — is working toward the same goal: reaching people who do not yet have a church home. Google Ad Grants is one of the most direct tools available to help those churches show up when someone in their city is searching for exactly what they offer.

This post explains how the Google Ad Grant works for Summit Collaborative churches and why it is especially well-suited to the network's church planting and multiplication culture.

What Google Ad Grants Is

Google Ad Grants provides eligible nonprofit organizations, including churches, with up to $10,000 per month in free Google search advertising. Ads appear at the top of Google search results when people search for relevant terms. There is no cost to the church. The credit is applied each month and does not roll over if unused.

For any church with 501(c)(3) status, the grant is almost always available. It is one of the few digital outreach tools that meets people at the moment of active searching rather than interrupting them with content they did not ask for.

Why This Matters for Summit Collaborative Churches

Summit Collaborative's mission is to identify and develop leaders, support churches to thrive, and see gospel multiplication happen across cities and nations. That mission requires local churches to be visible and accessible to the people around them.

The internet has changed how that discovery happens. When someone moves to a new city, goes through a difficult season, or begins asking questions about faith, one of their first moves is a Google search. They type "church near me," "gospel-centered church in [city]," or "church plant in [neighborhood]." If your church is not appearing in those results, someone else's is.

Google Ad Grants gives every Summit Collaborative church — regardless of size or budget — the ability to show up in those searches every single month.

Church Plants and the Ad Grant

Newer church plants often have the most to gain from the grant, and the most ground to make up in local search visibility. An established church in a city has years of organic search history, directory listings, and word-of-mouth working in its favor. A two-year-old church plant in a new neighborhood does not.

The Ad Grant levels that playing field. A church plant running well-managed campaigns can appear at the top of Google results for "church near me" in its zip code from day one of the grant being active. That kind of visibility would otherwise take years to build organically or cost significant money through paid advertising.

For a church plant working to grow its first hundred members, reaching people who are already searching for a church in the neighborhood is the highest-leverage digital outreach available.

What Searches to Target

The grant works best when ad campaigns are built around what people are actually searching for. For Summit Collaborative churches, that typically falls into a few categories.

Location-based church searches. These are the highest-intent searches available. People typing "church near me," "gospel-centered church in [city]," or "church plant [neighborhood]" are actively looking for a place to attend. These campaigns should be running continuously.

Theological and identity-based searches. Summit Collaborative churches have a clear gospel-centered identity. Some searches reflect a person who knows what they are looking for: "expository preaching church," "Reformed church near me," "church that believes the Bible," "complementarian church [city]." If those descriptions fit your church, those keywords are worth targeting.

Life-stage and ministry searches. "Young couples church," "church with strong small groups," "church for young professionals [city]," and "church with kids ministry near me" reflect specific needs people are bringing to their search. These searches often come from people who are new to an area or re-engaging with church after a gap.

Seasonal and event searches. Easter, Christmas Eve, and other major moments in the church calendar generate significant search volume. Running targeted campaigns in the weeks before these services reaches people who are open to attending but not yet connected anywhere.

Sending Churches and the Grant

For established churches in the Summit Collaborative network that are sending out church plants, the grant serves a different but equally important purpose. These churches are often running multiple ministries, community programs, and outreach initiatives that generate searchable content.

Marriage conferences, men's retreats, women's Bible studies, community benevolence programs, and recovery ministries all represent search opportunities. People search for these things. A sending church with active campaigns can reach people who would never have found the church through traditional outreach and funnel them toward the community and ministry that fits their need.

What Your Church Website Needs

The Ad Grant drives traffic. Your website converts that traffic. For Summit Collaborative churches, a few pages carry the most weight when it comes to Ad Grant traffic.

A new here or plan your visit page. This is the most important page for a first-time searcher. It should answer the basic questions immediately: where you meet, when services are, what to expect, and how children are accommodated.

A what we believe page. Gospel-centered identity is a selling point for the people searching for it. A clear, accessible statement of what your church believes and why helps the right people self-select and builds trust before they ever set foot in the building.

An about the pastor or staff page. For church plants especially, people want to know who is leading. A brief, approachable pastor bio page makes the church feel accessible and human.

If these pages are thin or missing, building them out before launching ad campaigns will meaningfully improve results.

Compliance and Ongoing Management

The Google Ad Grant is a performance-based program. Accounts must maintain a minimum five percent click-through rate, include active conversion tracking, and meet keyword quality standards. Accounts that go unmanaged frequently fall out of compliance and can be suspended.

This is where most churches struggle. The grant itself is free, but running it well requires ongoing attention. Keyword research, ad copy updates, compliance monitoring, and performance optimization are not one-time tasks.

Greeter manages Google Ad Grants accounts for churches, including Summit Collaborative church plants and sending churches. The goal is that your church uses the full $10,000 every month, stays compliant with Google's requirements, and sees consistent traffic from people who are genuinely searching for a church like yours in your city.

Summit Collaborative churches are building for the long term. Google Ad Grants is a tool that compounds over time — the longer it runs well, the more data and optimization history the account builds. Starting early and managing it consistently is what makes the difference.

If your Summit Collaborative church is ready to get started, Greeter can help with the application and ongoing management.