How Portland Christian Center built a Google-first growth engine where 81% of new members now find the church through search

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Challenge

Like many established churches, Portland Christian Center had relied for years on word-of-mouth, community events, and traditional outreach to grow attendance. But the reality of how people find a church has changed — the vast majority of first-time visitors now start with a Google search. PCC recognized they needed to meet people in that moment of intent, but lacked a strategy to consistently show up in search results when someone in the Portland area was looking for a church home.

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Solution

Missio partnered with Portland Christian Center to build a comprehensive Google Ad Grant strategy that would position the church as the answer when someone in the Portland metro searched for a faith community.

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Hyper-Local Keyword Targeting

Campaigns were built around Portland-specific search intent — neighborhood names, nearby landmarks, and the exact phrases people in the metro area use when they're actively looking for a church. This ensured PCC's ads reached the most relevant, highest-intent audience possible.

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Visitor-First Landing Pages

Instead of sending ad traffic to a generic homepage, Missio helped create streamlined landing experiences designed for first-time visitors — highlighting service times, what to expect on a first visit, campus directions, and a welcoming next step.

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Long-Term Strategy, Not a One-Time Setup

Rather than launching campaigns and walking away, Missio continuously refined targeting, tested messaging, and expanded into new keyword opportunities as the church grew. This compounding approach is what turned the grant from a nice-to-have into PCC's primary growth channel.

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Results

The impact has been transformational. Today, 81% of new members at Portland Christian Center report finding the church through Google — making it far and away the most effective outreach channel the church has ever had. The Google Ad Grant has shifted from an underused perk to the backbone of PCC's growth strategy, consistently delivering new visitors every week without any out-of-pocket ad spend. For PCC, the grant isn't supplemental — it's the engine.