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.

Why ministry leaders aren’t always good communicators and what to do about it

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Leaders communication challenges
Leaders can't sit at their desks to create all communications needed--they need a team to help.

The important term in the headline here is "aren't always." Ministry leaders, including pastors, leaders of groups like Young Life, and missionaries are almost always great verbal communicators or they wouldn't be in ministry. They do great talking to groups, teaching, challenging, motivating. But in today's multi-channel communication universe, that isn't enough.

What's needed today

When the Apostle Paul said he needed to be "all things to all people that he might win some," he had no idea of the multitude of communication tools and effective ministry program needs today, but his words couldn't be more true in this area.

You need a variety of communication tools because no church or ministry is a homogeneous group when it comes to what communication tools works best for each person in it.Your message stays the same, but for different groups of people to take it in and act on it, you need different ways to reach them. Here are some examples:

What works in a church

In the church, some people like the traditional bulletin and print newsletter to find out what's going on at the church. Others prefer to get their church news online. Others will only pay attention if they get a text message just before an event and others need large print format to stay informed. In the church if you want your people to know what is going on and to take part, it doesn't matter what you as a leader like or think is useful and proper for the church. What matters is what channels of communication are the various people in your church are responding to.

In the church we always need to remember that the majority does not rule when it comes to being a servant to all. There may only be 4-5 or 10-20 people who still need the newsletter printed out and mailed to them, but we must always remember that our Lord went after the one little sheep. He expects us to value the straying and weak in the same way. [Read more...]

Communicate with love or it’s just noise

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Church communications without love are just noise.
There are lots of ways to show love in your church communications--do that and they won't be just noise.

If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever. (1 Cor. 13:1-3 NLT)

"Words without love are just noise" is Rick Warren's commentary on these verses from one message in his 40 Days of Community series. Though these words apply in every interaction we have in life, I think they are especially true in the world of church communications.

I've often said in my seminars that I can tell when I look at church communication samples if the person who was doing them was having a grumpy day or not. People often laugh. But it really isn't a joke.

Who we are, the mood we are in, and how much we care for the people for whom we are creating the print or digital piece, comes through loud and clear in church communications.

Not that long ago, I was shown a sample of a church bulletin still produced on a typewriter. The tiny church was very poor and it was the best they could manage. But it was organized clearly and was complete in the facts communicated. The person doing it obviously took time and care putting it together, but there was one more thing about it that brought tears to my eyes. The church secretary hand-collated and folded each one so she could fold them in an off-set way and then on the top sheet, she hand cut each page with the sort of scalloped scissors used for scrapbooking. She did that she said, so that "people would feel special" when they got the bulletin. I'm sure on some level, people not only felt special, but knew they were loved.

I've seen other examples of love in church communications in many ways:

  • I remember a church bulletin from a Greek Orthodox Church, where a retired lady in the church took time each week to research and then to write little stories of the saints of the church so members would understand their heritage of faith.
  • At a large church I visited in California, there was a table on the patio that had cards on it done up for all the small groups in the church that described each group, told what they were studying, and invited newcomers to attend. The cards included upbeat photos and maps and were created in a positive, welcoming way. Keeping a project like that current is a huge labor of love.
  • One of my favorite responses to visitors was from a pastor in Canada whose welcoming letter included two free coupons for latte and an invitation to Latte with the Pastor and along with that an invitation to "ask any question you'd like about God."
  • I've seen humorous expressions of love, like the one from a lady who tore the edges of announcements for the ladies events and then scattered them on the floor, because as she told me, the ladies in her church were very tidy and this way she knew they would pick them up and read them.

There are lots of ways to express love in your church communications. You know your people best. Create your church communications with creativity and love and your words will be much more than "just noise."

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Devotions Cover The above material is from: Devotions for Church Communicators. For a complete copy of the book in print and online formats, CLICK HERE. To sign up for our online emails that come out when new information is posted on this site, including when new devotions or Biblical challenges are posted, CLICK HERE. To find past devotions and challenges on this website, CLICK HERE.

How to create Word Pictures with meaning instead of the banal, trivial, and mostly useless content of most of them

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Only one life--live it for Christ
You don't have to pass on useless and trite sayings online--create ones from Scripture or worthy sayings and help people grow in the Lord!

First a rant about the clutter of word images online, and why I created the training videos and images that follow for you to share:

Word pictures, inspirational sayings, wise and funny quotes are all over the internet. I imagine your Facebook feed and every other social media site you visit is full of them. A few from my Facebook feed today.......

I have lost my mind and am making no effort to look for it.

Hey you, yes you. Stop being unhappy with yourself. You are perfect.

Making a hundred friends is not a miracle. The miracle is to make a single friend who will stand by your side even when hundreds are against you.

Though these sentiments may have a tiny modicum of humor or inspiration in them, at best they are dryer dust to the mind--useless fluff that clogs coherent thinking processes. Some are flat-out biblically wrong and dangerous thinking for a Christian who wants to grow in Christ.

For example, the many variations of "We are perfect," constantly come up to assure us it's OK to eat too much, be mean if we feel like it, and continue in whatever other habit we know we ought to change. We aren't perfect. Never will be in this life. Can't hope for it ever without our perfect Savior. And our Savior expects us to work on our sanctification. Even if many of the quotes are not as blatantly false from a biblical perspective, they certainly do not fit into the command to think about "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil.4:8, NIV) To compound the challenges, not only do people read this junk, but they comment on it, praise it, and pass it on to others.

Are there no alternatives?

That's the question I asked myself and of course there are, but there needs to be more and I wanted to come up with a way for people to create Word Pictures like these easily and to post worthwhile and true thoughts (many great quotes from Christian writers) and Bible passages. After trying various ways to create these, and there are many, the one I liked the best, is to create them using PicMonkey. I like this program because it has the ability to create good-looking backgrounds and put great-looking type on them easily and cheaply (for free if you don't mind some advertising on the system). Here are some Word Pictures I created using this method. The following slide show will advance itself or you can click-through it more quickly.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

After learning this, I want to pass on the process and the images to you

Three things follow: 1. An intro video about Word Pictures and a challenge for church communications to create ones that are worthwhile 2. A video that shows how to create the Word Pictures using http://www.picmonkey.com, an odd little program with lots of power. 3. A zip file that has all the Word Pictures in the slide show above that can be used in print and online in social media.

Finally to the videos and the downloadable images:

Intro video to How to Create Word Pictures   The following video that shows how to create Word Pictures with Pic Monkey and a downloadable file of the Word Pictures from the slide show above is for Effective Church Communication Members:

Video of How to Create Word Pictures

Word Picture images for you to download

The following images, plus all the others in the gallery above are available in the ZIP file at the end of the article. They are large, hi-res jpg images (they don't look hi-res in the gallery below, but they are) and you can use them in all your print and online creations.

Our God is a Sun & Shield
Only one life–make it count
The JOY of the Lord is your Strength
Open our eyes!

To download the ZIP FILE, CLICK HERE. Save the file to your computer, and click to open. You can use these images in print or digital communications.

Our communications should reflect the redeeming nature of our Lord, not condemnation

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Our communications should reflect the compassion of our Lord, not condemnation.
Our communications should reflect the compassion of our Lord, not condemnation.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)

This verse is a caring challenge to our attitude as communicators. What is the overall tone of our ministry—is it to condemn or to save?

Look at the ministry of Jesus. This verse is part of his talk with Nicodemus, the teacher of the Law who came to Jesus at night asking questions. I wonder if Nicodemus might not have left more confused than when he came. Here was a man people were calling a prophet, but he wasn't like any prophet who went before him.

He didn't call down fire from heaven; he turned water into wine at a wedding—good wine and quite a lot of it. He didn't part the sea or send plagues; he played with children and set out picnics on the beach for his disciples.

When Nicodemus asked Jesus about his message, he didn't retell all the shortcomings of the world he had come to straighten out. Instead he told him that God loved the world, and that he did not come to condemn but to save. He didn't demand Nicodemus do penance for his sins; he invited him to be born again. He didn't even chide Nicodemus for his cowardice in coming to Jesus at night. He graciously answered questions at a time and in a way this fearful leader needed.

Do our communications reflect this redeeming nature of our Lord?

How easy it is to take pen in hand (or today, mouse and keyboard) and to pile on guilt. Not that there is never a time to point out error, but for the most part we do well to remember it is the Holy Spirit's job to convict of sin (John 16:7-9). It is our job to share the good news of salvation and the joy and fulfillment of living for Jesus.

Most people today know they fall short. They aren't sure what of, but a pervasive sense of guilt fills many lives. Alcohol, drugs, food in excess, unhealthy relationships, and overwork are some common attempts to medicate the pain.

People don't need more bad news from the followers of Jesus. They need examples of hope and love. They need clear directions to events that can change their lives and clear communications on what they need to do. We need to pray for clarity in all we create. We need to pray that our tone (in ways we may not even be aware of) always reflects the welcoming, saving love of Jesus.

May your communications be filled with messages of salvation, of the grace and love of your Lord.

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Devotions Cover The above material is from: Devotions for Church Communicators. For a complete copy of the book in print and online formats, CLICK HERE. To sign up for our online emails that come out when new information is posted on this site, including when new devotions or Biblical challenges are posted, CLICK HERE. To find past devotions and challenges on this website, CLICK HERE.

Take a minute, watch this and be encouraged because like Jesus calmed the storm he can calm our hearts

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This week your devotion is a short encouraging video:

Life gets stormy--but it shouldn't bother us because we know the one who calms the storms. He made the water, the waves, the storms, and winds. He is master of all and He loves us.

Take a little over a minute--watch this and let your heart be encouraged in Jesus.