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.

Give the gift of communication tools to your congregation, at Christmas and any time of the year

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Christmas is the time for giving. This year give to the people in your churches communication tools to help them share the gospel. We all know that Ephesians 4 tells pastors and teachers that their job is “to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry.” Communication tools can quip your people to do evangelism for the holidays and all year around.

Communication tools for evangelism

Most Christians know they are to be about sharing the good news of the gospel to people who don’t know Jesus. However, exactly how to do that keeps many people from doing that. Most of them think that sharing the gospel means getting up enough courage to say to a co-worker or stranger, “Are you saved?” and then proceeding to present a 3-minute canned gospel presentation.

God in His mercy does sometimes use that method, but it is probably not the most effective or is it one that most of your congregation look forward to using. In addition, current studies show that in our secular, post-Christian society it usually takes repeated exposures to the gospel message before an unchurched person really understands it and can honestly respond.

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Those repeated exposures usually take place in some church or church-sponsored activity such as a social event or small group. The communication tools you give your people gives them a way to bring friends and invite strangers to church or into a small group where they can get the repeated exposures they need to make an informed decision about the Christian faith. Some of the communication tools are:

Invitation cards

You can turn any standard business card from your church into an invitation card by simply placing a blank line where the name would be on the card and just below it, adding “member of Your Friendly Church.” In another place on the card place the words, “BE MY GUEST”.  On the reverse side of the card put a map of how to get to the church, service times, website, and whatever additional information you might think is important, such as if child care is provided at all services.

Depending upon the size of your church, make up hundreds or thousands of these cards and ask all the members to take a handful of them, carry them around at all times and give them out.

You could also make up special cards for a special series. One idea would be to make up a small fold-over card the size of a business card. On the outside have a simple cross and the words: What if it’s true? Inside invite folks to a series of upcoming sermons at your church, such as: “Is the Bible Really God’s Word?” “Why Do We Say Jesus is the Only Way to God?” “Why Does a Good God Allow Evil in Our World?”

Gospel Presentation Brochures or tracts

You can either create ones specific to your church or use ones that you get from the American Tract Society (http://www.atstracts.org/). You can personalize them for your church by adding an address label on the back. The standard 2 x 3 inch mailing labels from office supply stores fit perfectly in the open space on the back of many gospel tracts. Use the label to invite people to a special event at your church. For example, on Christmas tracts create a colorful label inviting people to your Christmas concert or other outreach event.

CDs and DVDs

It is so easy to create CDs these days and many larger churches (and many teenagers) are quite good at doing it. If you need a professional source to create music CDs for you or CDs in bulk, contact  http://www.discmakers.com/. They create very professional CDs for excellent prices.

If your church is known for its music and if your music the kind unchurched people respond to, create a CD as an outreach piece. Church members can give it to friends and tell them that if they’d like more, your church has wonderful music like that available every Sunday.

The small business card CDs would make great music invitations to youth programs that have bands.

Discmakers as well as local media production houses in your community can also create DVDs from your church videos. You might want to add a new invitation or introduction or perhaps shoot various programs in your church to include short samples on your DVD for various holidays or different groups.

Web site support

For each of the communications above, be sure include your web site on all printed pieces and on the CDs and DVDs.  On the web site be sure to have current  information on all your church events and schedules.

In addition, have links for additional evangelistic  and outreach information.  For example, to back up the invitation cards, you should have more background about your church, perhaps a bio and picture of the pastor and his or her qualifications for teaching that series. For the salvation tracts let people know that on the web site you answer the “Top Ten Questions People Ask Before They Become A Christian” and similar questions.

Never forget the people who don’t have access to the easily created communication channels

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After writing an article for Christian Computing Magazine on ways to save money in your church communication programs, I got an email with a question that I know many churches struggle with. The question in shortened from was, "Is it OK to do away with our print newsletter? We'd save so much money if we just put it on the web." As I was putting together the answer, I realized that it is a topic that would be useful to share with all of you.

Though I can totally understand where the woman is coming from who wrote the question, as always, there is more to it than simply saving money, doing away with a print version and putting it all on the web. I'm working on a larger book that deals with this issue, but here is a helpful section from part of it:

Why keep printing some materials:

It is very difficult to take time to do a print postcard for the three people who don’t have internet access when fifty other people in the class are so easy to reach via email. Or to make a copy of the newsletter (in large print at that) and mail it out to the ten people who vow never to use a computer when everyone else in the congregation can get access to it on the church website.

Jesus left us a very clear example of what to do in these situations. He told the story of the shepherd who went after the one little sheep who wandered off.

Jesus isn’t nearly as concerned about the efficiency of our newsletter delivery as he is that we care for the wandering little sheep just as much as he does. That little sheepie was probably a naughty little sheepie and wandered off for no good reason. Jesus still went after him and carried him home lovingly.

Sometimes we might feel that some folks in the church make our communication tasks more difficult just because they are onery—and that might be true. But Jesus still expects us to love and serve them, just as much as the rest of the congregation.


No matter what the cost, people are always the most important consideration, no matter what the cost.

Order of Service in church bulletin, a contemporary and a liturgical example

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There are many ways a church can improve the order of service to make it more understandable to visitors. Below are two of my favorites, sent to me from seminar participants.  One is from a contemporary church and the other is from a liturgical church. Both have many ideas that can make the impact on and response by visitors very powerful.

Many seminar participants have asked for these and I've reprinted them following:

An order of service for a contemporary church:

The following is from a church bulletin for a contemporary, charismatic church. It didn't assume folks knew anything about what would happen and they explained in this way:

Our Worship Service: thanks for joining us today! We will begin with about 30-40 minutes of singing. Feel free to sit, stand, sing, dance or just listen as we express our worship to God using all of our heart, mind, soul and body. If you don't know the songs, hang on, we'll sing them a couple of times-and don't worry, we didn't know them at first either.

The Message: A time of practical teaching from the Bible.

The Offering: This is a time for church members to share with the church financially how God has blessed them. If you are a visitor, don't feel you have to contribute-the only gift we'd like from you is your Connection Card. Consider this service our gift to you!

Prayer Time: there will be people up front after the service to pray for any needs you may have. Please come up if interested!

Refreshments: Join us for coffee, lemonade and munchies in the lobby after the service.

The above bulletin wasn't complex or fancy, but a stranger would know what to do and wouldn't feel awkward. {+}

(ed. note: since the book came out, quoting this, a number of churches have used the following statment either on the cover of their bulletin or as a header on the service order page: "Feel free to sit, stand, sing, dance or just listen as we express our worship to God using all of our heart, mind, soul and body")

Explanations in a liturgical bulletin

This style of service has it's own challenges. Though many in many Lutheran churches and in churches with a similar worship style, have the words of the service printed out, a person who did not grow up in the tradition may not have any idea the meaning of what they are reciting.

As a solution to help visitors feel welcome, some churches provide a running commentary down the left-hand margin of the bulletin that explains what is happening. Below is an example.

On page one this bulletin had the traditional headings of Invocation, Confession and Absolution and Introit of the Day. To the left of each of these sections were the following explanations:

"Invocation" means "calling on" and here we call on the Lord's presence.

In the "Confession" we name our sins silently before the Lord and accept responsibility for the harm they have caused in our relationships with God and each other.

In the "Absolution" the Lord speaks through the office of pastor to apply the forgiveness Jesus won for us on the cross to us in a personal and public way. (John 20:23).

"Introit" mean's "entrance" in Latin. Now that we have been washed clean of our sins the pastor enters into the altar area. The Introit usually comes from a Psalm.

This bulletin continues in this way and provides excellent help in understanding for a visitor. Every church has terms that might not be familiar. Take time to explain them and it will do more to market your church positively than an expensive billboard on the freeway.

Faith Resources for seekers that you need to put on your communications

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Resources for more information about the Christian faith
Here are resources for more information about the Christian faith--use in your communications.

This page has links to explain the Christian faith and that help seekers explore what it's all about. In our post-Christian world we want to make sure that when we challenge people to make a decision to trust Jesus as Savior that they know what it means.

There are many other sites that are very useful in clarifying the Christian faith--check out recommendations from friends and your denominations. PLEASE add any you have found useful in the comments section below.

But whatever resources you use, please use links like this on your website, your bulletins, newsletters and on your outreach communications. 

Even if they only make a brief connection with your church at a special event, give seekers opportunities to explore the Christian faith,  Links like this could change their eternal destiny.

Websites for those exploring the Christian faith: [Read more...]

Someday the iPhone won’t be cool—a gentle reminder to those enamored with cutting-edge technology

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It will happen.

Someday there will be a technology that you don't understand. You will find yourself hanging on to a communication system because that is the primary way you and the friends your age prefer to interact with your world. But your numbers will grow less with each year and some day perhaps your church will look at was once cutting edge and risky. Discussions will take place as to whether it should be continued.

At that time one of two things will happen:

Possibility number one:

The leadership may decide that your favored, older method of technology needs to be abandoned. They will give reasons of money and efficiency.

You will remind them, "But that is the only way.....certain people interact with the church."

They will smile, briefly voice concern, and promise to do something about it once they get the new technology functional.

Possibility number two:

The leadership may decide that your favored, older method of technology needs to be abandoned. They will give reasons of money and efficiency

But at the same time, they will point to decisions made long ago at the start of technology challenges where the church decided to not abandon any technology in the church if even one person would not be able to receive communications from the church without  it. Back then it meant sending out postcards to those without email and printing large print bulletins and newsletters for those who needed them.

What future will be at your church?

You are making the decisions today in how you treat people as you change technology that will set a pattern for how you and many others in the future will be treated.

Don't let the seeming need to adopt cutting edge technology too quickly cause you to forget the needs of the people the technology is supposed to serve.

Remember Jesus went after one little sheep in need. Today that one little sheep might be the elderly person without a computer.

A few years from now the person who doesn't want to participate in the new technology might be you—still clutching your  first iPhone and vowing you'll never give it up—no matter what those young kids think.