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 a Biblical Perspective to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission. Our tools constantly change; our task doesn’t; Effective Church Communications can help.

Church Communication Trends for 2012 and what’s essential for your church

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At this time of year we are flooded with all kinds of trend analysis articles, what's hot, what's not, what is the latest in social media and gadgets, what's is essential if we want to appear relevant and cutting edge.

After reading a number of these articles and blogs and debating about what to pass on to you, instead of feeling informed and helpful, I've found myself feeling tired and frustrated. I feel like this because even though I'm sure that iPads are incredible devices and Kindles are great ways to read, and that Google Circles are one of the next hot social networking sites, reality is that many churches still can't keep their website updated or afford necessary computer upgrades. I'm behind on the website I do for our Adult Sunday School class (I'm telling myself, later today, for sure after I finish my ECC newsletter I'll get it updated. . . . ). My computer is so old some of the features in Word 2010 don't work on it. I can't afford a Kindle, even though I'm publishing books in that format (CLICK here for my first venture.) I would imagine my technology situation is similar to many in this time of still challenging budgets for communication resource upgrades in most churches. [Read more...]

Resources: Recommended Ministries to support

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There are many great ministries doing wonderful things in our world today. Here are some we support.

If you are looking for great organizations to support who are doing incredible things for the Kingdom of God, below are the organizations we recommend. Just click on the name to go to a description of what they do, their website, and Yvon's comments about them.

Ministries Recommended by Yvon Prehn and Effective Church Communications

    [Read more...]

    What ONE THING do you need to do? a challenge for church communicators as you start the New Year

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    Do the most important thing
    We all juggle many things, but we need to listen to the Lord to decide what is most important and do it.

    This past year the father of one of my friends died. My friend shared with me that in the time they spent together as death approached, he asked his father, “Is there anything you need to do?”

    What a kind and wise question to ask a loved parent in the twilight of life—to be there to help him do whatever needs to be done to rest in peace. We all want to know our lives mattered and that we finished up the tasks, the calling, and, if possible, all we were created to do before we leave this earth. We may not be able to finish those things alone and the offer to help seemed incredibly insightful and caring.

    As I thought about it in the days that followed, I realized that it’s an important question for all of us to ask ourselves and those we love. As the New Year is about to start, it’s an especially good time to do that. As many of us make resolutions at this time, we ought to take time to make worthwhile ones. [Read more...]

    Manage your church communication team well

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    Manage your church staff well
    Manage your church staff well--here are some tips to help you.

    This article is for church leaders and those who oversee church communicators. You are responsible for the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of the people who create your communications. Their job is vital to the growth and success of the church, but often they do their job under very difficult circumstances.

    Please consider the following suggestions to help you effectively pastor and shepherd these vital members of your church team. They do so much for the church, following is what you can do for them:

    Realize the important place communications and church communicators play in the overall strategic success of your church

    "What people haven't heard about they can't take action about. Uncommunicated issues DON'T EXIST." Stuart Brand

    "Why is communication so vitally important to the health and vitality of the local church? Communication is the means by which we reach our ministry goals. You cannot find a healthy, growing church that is plagued by ineffective communications. Such an animal simply does not exist. If your church is going to maximize its potential, it is  imperative that you understand the communication process and constantly strive to upgrade how well you and others in your church communicate."
    George Barna, Marketing the Church

    No matter how Bible-based, prayed over and passionate you are about your vision for the church, if it is not sequentially, clearly, consistently, and repeatedly communicated to your church, it will not happen. Today, the role of your church communicator in making your vision real has grown in importance because of two primary reasons: [Read more...]

    Year-end giving– links to donor resources–and a suggestion for your communication ministry

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    Before the year closes out many people want to make the most of their charitable giving contributions, below is a link to the IRS site that explains charitable giving guidelines and might be useful if people call or email the church office with questions.

    Here is the IRS LINK overall for charitable giving:
    http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc506.html

    For Canadian charitable giving information: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/dnrs/menu-eng.html

    Ask for what you need

    In addition to this link, think about asking people to consider a designated donation to the communications ministry at the church. Good, complete, on-going communication is a vital part of every effective church. However, it is a ministry that needs resources to function at its best.

    Here is a list of some of the things that designated gifts could be used for:

    Updated computer--for producing communications in the church office, the prices of really powerful computers have dropped greatly in price. For less than $500 you can get a computer today that would have cost thousands just a few years ago and that can greatly improve your productivity.

    Why MS Publisher is recommended for Church Com teams
    This ebook is free for ECC Members and an inexpensive download for those who aren't. Take time to look it over and learn how Publisher can accomplish more than you ever imagined for your church and at a very low cost.

    Updated software--if you don't have MS Publisher, a fantastic gift would be the software and a months worth of training for only $25  at http://www.lynda.com. CLICK HERE to go to an ebook that illustrates all the benefits of MS Publisher and gives you two great resources of where to get it at an amazingly low nonprofit price.

    Updated production equipment--if you haven't looked at some of the current copier machines and digital duplicators, you'll be amazed at the updates in technology and how you can print high quality materials at a very low price. Ask for money to put into a fund and then schedule some time with your local, trusted dealer to show you options. Don't get things printed by outside companies until you've explored the options for your church.

    Updated training--if you aren't a member of Effective Church Communications, check out the resources HERE to get an overview of the training videos, free ebooks, downloadable templates and ready-to-print MS Publisher files all available for only $9.99 a month or $99 a year. There is NO other place that provides this kind of basic and useful training for churches.  CLICK HERE to go to the membership page for more information and to sign up.

    If you didn't get a chance to ask before the year's end

    Effective Church Communications supports the ministry of every other part of the church--it needs to be supported as aggressively as missions or children's or music or any other area, because if it is done well--church communications will make every other ministry area more effective.

    If you didn't give an opportunity for people in your church to give to the communication ministry before the end of the year, consider a special offering at the start of the year and assure all your ministries that they will have a more effective New Year!