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; we can help.

Still useful: archive articles on Church Bulletins

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Church bulletins remain one of the most important pieces of church communication and this book features PDFs of articles by Yvon Prehn Cover Of Bulletin Archive bookall on the topic of how to create and use them most effectively. In addition to theory, this book has quite a number of articles that illustrate how to layout your bulletins for maximum readability and for ease in scanning.

These come from our archives, but still, have many relevant tips and ideas for church communications today.

The content of your bulletins is also discussed as is one of the most contentious areas of church communications: the bulletin insert—prepare to be challenged in your thinking about them.

This e-book is a free download by clicking the link below.

Click here to download the PDF of the Bulletin Book.

DON’T EVER HOST A MONEY-DIVIDED EVENT!!!!

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Don't let your event pricing hurt children
We don't ever want a child to be embarrassed or left out because of our insensitive pricing at a church summer event.

Ed. note: this is an excerpt from a longer article on summer communication strategy, but I feel the topic is so important, I wanted to post it on it's own.

Yes, that is all caps and I am shouting. I'm going to sound very harsh now, but I feel strongly about this and I think the extensive Biblical support for caring for the "least of these" and being concerned about the poor supports my concern.

Here is the situation I've seen in the PR of some churches (and as is the habit of our ministry, we don't name names of bad examples):

  • The church hosts a summer event but states clearly (or sometimes not at all, which is horrid) that everyone is welcome to free popcorn and punch, but there will be a charge for hotdogs and burgers.
  • Or there will be free chips and salsa, but there is a significant charge for tacos.

How do you think that feels for a family that might have taken a huge step to go to the event they heard that was going on at the church  but they have four kids who would love a hotdog or a taco, but then they find out that there is a charge for food (popcorn and chips do not a meal make) and they simply don't have the money for it. What will they do? [Read more...]

PODCAST: D-Day and Church Communications: D-Day and Church Communications: with words from C.S. Lewis and memories of my Grandfather as they left England the morning of D-Day

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D-Day reminds us our work is spiritual warfare for the kingdom of God.
D-Day reminds us our work is spiritual warfare for the kingdom of God.

Today is the 75th anniversary of D-Day and while we commemorate and honor the sacrifices of those who stormed the beaches of Normandy I think it is appropriate to remind everyone who is involved in Church Communications that you are daily involved in storming the strongholds of Satan to win people to Jesus.

First here is the podcast and below it the text it is based on:

To do that I want to share 3 things:

  1. A quote from C.S. Lewis and how it applies to us as church communicators
  2. A challenge for church communicators about the reality of spiritual warfare
  3. Finally, a memory of D-Day from my adopted grandfather as they were boarding the boats to take them from England to Normandy.

"A Secret Wireless" C.S. Lewis quote

Though he was talking about the church in general, whenever I read this quote I think about the work we do as church communicators—whatever part you do: preacher, church secretary, designer, anyone sharing the messages of the gospel:

Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. When you go to church you are really listening to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952; Harper Collins: 2001) 45-46

For how this fits into the idea of D-Day, let me continue with a challenge/devotion I wrote for Church Communicators: [Read more...]

Father’s Day Resources, list and links to help you celebrate the men of your church and involve them in ministries

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Men's Ministry Resources
Father's Day is a great time to celebrate the men of your church and help them grow spiritually. Here are resources to help do that.

Father's Day is a fantastic opportunity to connect with the men of your church, celebrate them, and help them get involved in ministries. Below is a summary listing of the articles and resources that will help you do that! The list has more than links to graphics you can download and personalize, but articles and strategy that will help you make the most of the communication pieces.

If you'd like to see a preview of all the sets and download links of all these publications for Father's Day, they are at the TEMPLATES page for Father's Day. CLICK HERE to go to the Templates page.

Below are samples of the various publications included, but each entry has a variety of the various kinds of publications. ALL the work is done for you—images and type selected, layout done—you can personalize if you want, or print a finished PDF.

Gallery of samples of Father's Day Publications

Below these samples are links to the full articles of each type with many more options.

Each of the articles below of publications also have galleries of the publications and download links. Be sure to check out the first ones of the slides and video—they are great ways to welcome father's on this special day.

Father's Day Power Point Slides and Videos of inspiring quotes and verses: https://wp.me/pDky9-7ly

Welcome slides for Father's Day: https://wp.me/pDky9-7mc

Father's Day Invitations: http://wp.me/pDky9-7fM

Father's Day Bulletin Inserts: http://wp.me/pDky9-7gG

Father's Day Men's Ministry Connection Cards: http://wp.me/pDky9-7gX

Father's Day Men's Ministry Business Cards: http://wp.me/pDky9-7ho

Father's Day Men's Be A Better Man Challenge: http://wp.me/pDky9-7hk

Father's Day Solutions to Porn Card, FREE to all: http://wp.me/pDky9-7hr

Father's Day Social Media Images, FREE to all: http://wp.me/pDky9-7gh

Dos and Don'ts to a successful launch of a men's ministry: http://wp.me/pDky9-7hQ

Make STRATEGIC use of Father's Day to grow your church--by targeting YOUNGER Dads: https://wp.me/pDky9-6ec

Evaluate the effectiveness of your Easter response—never easy to do, but essential

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Evaluate your Easter events
Even though you are no doubt tired, take time to evaluate the effectiveness of your Easter outreach to continuously make these events more effective.

Easter is over and Mother's Day came so quickly this year, but before you put the Easter totally out of mind, take some time to evaluate the communications you created, the response you had, and how you can be more effective in future church celebrations and seasonal events to help your church grow.

Post-event evaluation is essential for us to learn how we can best serve our people. It’s never about us, but about doing our best for our Lord and our effectiveness as we communicate the words of eternal life.

Beyond the numbers, what was the spiritual response?

You probably had a large turn-out for Easter—most churches do. However, though numbers are important, in our analysis of the effectiveness of our church communications and marketing, the most important evaluations go beyond numbers to looking at how people responded spiritually.

In the Great Commission, Jesus did not tell us to go into all the world and hold successful church events. He commanded we make disciples. No event we hold, action we take, or ministry we launch is ultimately successful unless it contributes in some way (however tiny the step) to the goal of introducing people to Jesus and helping them grow to mature disciples. [Read more...]