Effective Church Communications

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and Biblical Inspiration to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and Biblical Inspiration to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission.

The One Goal of Effective Church Communications

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5 Steps of Effective Church ComThere is one goal and one foundational purpose in all we do in church communications and that is to make disciples.

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matt: 28:18

These verses are our marching orders, what we are supposed to be about as representatives of Jesus here on earth-that seems obvious. The actions required by these verses also seems obvious-go, baptize, teach-with the end result of making disciples.

Why discipleship is essential for the church to survive—and why your communications are essential to develop disciples

What is  painfully obvious in America today (and most of North America) is that as a whole, we aren't doing a very good job [Read more...]

Jesus and Perfection in Church Communications

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Jesus Christ our Lord
Of course we want our work to be pleasing to Jesus, but let's look at what really matters to Him.

Sometimes people don't think they are doing all they can for the Lord, that they aren't excellent or perfect enough in their communications ministry unless what they produce professionally perfect, high-tech exciting creations day-after-day, no mistakes allowed. Now all those qualities can be wonderful, but  sadly, it also often means that no one in the church is good enough to create the communications in print or on the website, so an outside, professional firm must be hired to do it. Or, if the work is done at the church, only a select person or two in the church is good enough to produce the quality needed. In other words, the church needs to have the design standards of a professional advertising agency to be pleasing to the Lord.

Being expensive and professional, as defined by using the standards of a professional ad agency, though it might be commendable, isn't the only standard of perfection for the followers of Jesus. [Read more...]

Non linear—a valid way to communicate

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Recently a Christian writer was critiquing the communication in current media and computer arenas. He stated that since much of the communication did not take the form of logical, linear thought, that truth could not be communicated. I disagree. Though the importance of truth cannot be denied, there are many ways to communicate it. Consider this passage:

Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." Rev 4:6-8

Picture that image in your mind for a moment. If you’ve ever played or seen some of the images in the current computer games this one would fit right in. But though the imaginative, games form of the image would fit, its message is far different than most fantastic video games. It isn’t about blood and destruction, it’s about worshipping God.

Linear, logical arguments are one way to communicate—but look at the book of Revelation, as the passage above illustrates and many of the visions of the prophets in the Old Testament (Ezekiel, Daniel). They’d hardly qualify as linear, logical communication.  I don't think we could fault God for his communication style in them.

We share different teachings in different ways. The lists in Numbers are one form; extravagent, imaginative images fill prophetic passages. God did not limit his communication to us in one form and it doesn't make much sense to try to limit how we share the gospel message to one form.

As I reread some of the passages in preparing to write this article I found myself wondering—wouldn’t they be great illustrated on a computer screen? Sometimes I think we’d understand prophecy so much better if we could see it as the writers did.

If the Apostle John and the Prophet Ezekiel were around today, they would probably feel right at home with 3-D computer modeling and virtual reality to communicate their messages.

Instead of limiting the ways God can use us to communicate, let’s encourage those imaginative with computer tools today to use every means possible to reach our generation for Jesus. Linear, logical word-based communication is one valid and still useful method to communicate truth, but with the tools we have today, it is only one tool in the palette of ways we can share the eternal message of salvation.

adapted from Yvon Prehn’s, The Heart of Church Communication, available at www.lulu.com/yvonprehn

 

Resources and Links to help you explore the Christian faith

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Take time to explore the Bible
Take time to explore the Bible and learn for yourself if its extraordinary claims are true.

This section has Resources and Links to help you explore the Christian faith, to explain the Christian faith, and to help people grow in spiritual maturity as a Christian.  Just click on the links below to check them out.

Most of the sites below have added links to similar sites that might explain what it means to be a Christian and the truths of the Christian faith in another way.

As a church communicator you need to be assured and solid in your faith to communicate it effectively to others--these sites will help assure you of the eternal importance of your work.

In addition, the material here needs to be passed on to your congregation. Take a few minutes when you can to look over the material on these sites and link to and reference it in your church outreach and discipleship materials. We want our people to be able to answer questions about the Christian faith with peace and confidence.

Websites for those exploring the Christian faith

Christian Research Institute
http://www.equip.org/
This is the website of the Christian Research Institute and Hank Hanegraff, the Bible Answer Man-it has been redesigned and is a challenge to find the fantastic resources on it, but if you go to the search bar, bottom left corner of the home page, and type in a topic, it will take you to a list of their great, free articles.

Who is Jesus?
http://www.whoisjesus-really.com/english/menu.htm
Lots of questions answered here about Jesus.

Need Him

Home 2022


This site approaches questions about the Christian life from the perspective of various life stages.

Campus Crusade for Christ
http://www.ccci.org/
Lots of information for those exploring the Christian life and for those who want to live it.

Lee Strobel's Video website about the Christian faith http://www.leestrobel.com/channels/Christ.php
This site has videos with short interviews that explain the basics of the Christian faith--this link takes you to the one about Jesus.

Websites for defending the Christian faith and answering questions about it

Apologetics 315
http://www.apologetics315.com/
An apologetics resources site including audio, debates, podcasts, book reviews and more.

An Apologetics Reading Plan for Beginners
http://www.apologetics315.com/2012/03/apologetics-reading-plan-for-beginners.html
An excellent article not only for those who want to learn how to defend the Christian faith, but for those who want to explore the Christian faith.

Lee Strobel's Video website about the Christian faith
http://www.leestrobel.com/channels/Christ.php
This site has videos with short interviews that explain the basics of the Christian faith--this link takes you to the one about Jesus.

The Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry
 http://carm.org/
A site that analyzes religious and non-religious movements and compares them to the Bible.

Websites for those wanting to grow in the Christian faith

Ten Action Steps for a New Christian,
 http://www.rbc.org/rtb/
A simple, yet vitally important list of the actions important for a new Christian, with clear explanations.

Our Daily Bread
http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb.shtml
A wonderful daily devotional for both new and more mature Christians.

Radio Bible Class Ministries
http://www.rbc.org/
There are a wealth of resources on this site for growing in your Christian life. There are Bible reading plans, articles on finding a church, answers to many questions people have about the Christian faith.

Into Thy Word
http://sites.silaspartners.com/partner/0,,34418,00.html
A wonderful site that will teach you how to study the Bile, lots of great Bible study articles, fantastic links on their Bible Study Tools page, lots of great information. Highly recommended.

OnePlace.com
http://www.oneplace.com/
A very fun site and educational site. This site has the links to many Christian radio stations. You can listen to your favorite radio preachers live here and can download messages.

The Blue Letter Bible
http://www.blueletterbible.org/index.html
A classic site of free Bible study tools: commentaries, maps, all sorts of study guides. This is a fantasttic site.