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.

Youth newsletter, small in size, big impact

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Little youth newsletter
This newsletter has "pages" that are only one quarter page size. Sometimes a unique size and format can make your publication stand out.

Some of the most effective newsletters I've seen targeted to youth came in very small sizes and here is an example of one.

Each "page" in the newsletter was only one quarter of an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper.

It looked great and packed quite a lot of information in a tiny space.

When you want to be creative with your communications, in addition to the content, think about different ways you can present things. Sometimes the physical size and/or appearance can make your message stand out.

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To download this PDF, click here or on the image.

note: this PDF is from Yvon Prehn's archives and is the only format of this article available presently. Not the greatest quality to be sure, but shared with the belief that the content is useful.

For church newsletters, there are some things you shouldn’t do

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Most of the material on this site tell you what to do; this PDF tells you what NOT to do to create effective newsletters.
Most of the material on this site tell you what to do; this PDF tells you what NOT to do to create effective newsletters.

Newsletters are one of the primary reasons people first started creating communications with their computers.

This article was written primarily for people creating newsletters on paper, but its advice is also useful for newsletters created digitally.

It is so easy to change newsletter format on the computer screen, but the reasons why a lack of consistency is a no-no re as valid for online newsletters as they are for paper ones. This PDF will explains those reasons.

The additional no-no of not printing on colors is even more important online. Having a colored or worse yet, patterned background for an online newsletter is a reader's nightmare.

After reviewing a website with a very hard-to-read background of faded squiggly lines running through a tan and white background, I asked the creator of it why his church chose that background.

"Our communication secretary said it looked like parchment and that would be a cool look for a church online newsletter, " he answered.

It wasn't. Bless her heart, I'm sure the church communicator was thinking very creative thoughts and since she also wrote most of the newsletter and laid it out, she understood what it was about and so her focus had turned to making it look interesting. What I'm sure was put in with the best of intentions was a distraction that made the newsletter difficult to read. Paper or screen, nothing beats black print on a white background for clarity.

One associated bit of advice. White text reversed out of a black background is quite popular with some bloggers today. It does look good, but it is harder to read and quite tiring to read at length. Question for those enamored with this look: what is more important, that people think your site looks edgy? Or that they read what you have to say?

If you have short, snappy, pithy, and precise little nuggets, the reverse might work, but don't expect many to read any indepth teaching shared in that way.

To download the PDF and read about the no-nos in more detail, click here or on the image.

note: this PDF is from Yvon Prehn's archives and is the only format of this article available presently. Not the greatest quality to be sure, but shared with the belief that the content is useful.

The most important thing about church newsletters, whether they are in print or online

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The most important thing about newsletters, whether you ultimately mail them out, post them as a PDF on your website, or use an online newsletter to create them, is the CONTENT in the newsletter. People do not read church newsletters to check out the great graphic design skills of the church—they read them to find out connecting facts and inspirational updates, such as:

  • when and where the youth group is meeting
  • if the church event has a cost and/or childcare
  • how to become part of a small group
  • they read the pastor's column to learn more about him or her as a person
  • they scan the updates that head of the ministry in which they serve to see has to share this month that affects them

Bottom line: if your newsletter provides relevant, timely, useful content for the people of your church it is effective and successful. [Read more...]

Youth newsletter reveals staff personalities

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The masthead of your publication can be used for ministry insight and humor as well as simply information. Download this PDF to see an great example.
The masthead of your publication can be used for ministry insight and humor as well as simply information. Download this PDF to see an great example.

This publication was done in the early days of desktop publishing, but don't let the outdated look distract you from some great content and a wonderful communication lesson.

What makes this so great came to my attention by accident. I was helping this group evaluate the content of the newsletter and we did a survey asking people what their favorite sections were. The newsletter had columns by very good writers and well-done ministry updates.

To everyone's surprise, the #1 favorite of everyone was not any of the great inspirational writing or the great updates, but the nameplate. Download the PDF and you'll see why—each month the staff gave a brief note about themselves—sometimes revealing some quite interesting information.

A take-away lesson: don't be afraid to make your communications in print and online human. Be who you are.

You don't have to do lengthy, tell-all blogs to allow your readers to get to know you. You can have tiny updates each month on Facebook or Twitter or short blog entries asking questions like this masthead does and bit-by-bit you will form relationships. As this newsletter shows, little phrases can convey big insights.

To download the PDF, click here or on the image.

note: this PDF is from Yvon Prehn's archives and is the only format of this article available presently. Not the greatest quality to be sure, but shared with the belief that the content is useful.

Church Bulletins, how to create simple, clear layouts for them

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I've often said in my seminars that church bulletins are the most effective piece of Christian literature printed today outside the Bible.

I say that because they are often the first piece of Christian literature visitors to your church from our post-Christian world see.

They must clearly communicate what is going on and the basics of the faith or people will be confused and walk away. Below is a PDF of a number of simple examples:

Church bulletins are the first face of your church and the Christian faith to visitors. This section will help you make clear and simple ones that communicate effectively.
Church bulletins are the first face of your church and the Christian faith to visitors. This section will help you make clear and simple ones that communicate effectively.

PLEASE read the many other articles in this section on bulletins for additional specific advice on what to include.

This PDF will give you some ideas for how to create your own very simple layouts and basic bulletins. To download it, click here or on the image.

note: this PDF is from Yvon Prehn's archives and is the only format of this article available presently. Not the greatest quality to be sure, but shared with the belief that the content is useful.