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.

Community Outreach for Valentine’s Day—a door hanger sample and a postcard

By Leave a Comment

Valentines Door Hanger
A door hanger like this is a wonderful way to reach out to your community and invite them to church.

editor's note: I wanted to republish the article below because as I was going through my past articles on Valentine's Day outreach, her ideas are some of the best I've seen. I liked them so much, I created two Template collections for you to make Valentine's Day Outreach Door-hangers and Postcards. The links to them are at the end of the article.

Gayle Hilligoss, our wonderful columnist who writes so many helpful articles for us, also volunteers her time to help the communications at her church.

She recently sent me two WONDERFUL samples and I'm sharing them below. First is her brief explanation of them and then images to inspire you. I LOVE the idea of using door hangers as a Valentine's outreach for your church—what a happy way to invite people!

Gayle's email:

Did I ever send you these? The first is printed on door hanger stock.
We are putting them on 300 houses in a subdivision near the church.

The second is a postcard being sent to prospects, visitors, absentees, etc.
We are printing extras for our members to share as they have opportunity.
A couple of the projects of our new Outreach Team : )

 

[Read more...]

Flash! Christmas is December 25 this year

By Leave a Comment

Christmas suggestions
Christmas is coming and here is some great advice to help you celebrate with less stress and more joy!

Okay, so this is not new information. But the reality is that year after year many of us act like the date is a surprise. If we had only known when the holiday season was going to happen we would have been on top of it—cards with notes, thoughtful gifts, gracious acts, expressions of good will, family traditions, pageants, cozy evenings, handcrafted decorations, gingerbread houses—the works! Ha. Or should that be ho, ho, ho?

Sadly, the Christmas season can get so busy its real meaning gets lost in the shuffle—even in the church. That need not be the case. Whatever your holiday expectations, here are some ideas to help you manage your tasks. Not all are for everyone, but perhaps you will find one or two to bring your Christmas closer to what you want it to be.

•  Examine the regulars

Make a quick list of all the things you usually include in your holiday schedule. Scrutinize each activity for its current relevance. Sometimes we become slaves to rituals and traditions that no longer have any real meaning to us or to our families. Forcing participation defeats the purpose of the activity.

•  Consider new options

Make another list of things you’d really like to do but seldom find time for. Don’t be put off by thinking your schedule is already full. You have the option of revising your Usual list. That’s next. [Read more...]

Church Secretaries & Office Administrators: History and Importance

By Leave a Comment

Church Communicator
The position of church secretary or ministry assistant is one of the most important in the church and one with a great history!

Ed. note: In other posts published this week ( CLICK HERE  &  HERE to go to them) I've wanted to encourage all of you who do church communications. As we all know it is only in very large churches that communications is the only work you do. In most churches, communications is part of the incredibly demanding work of the church secretary, administrative assistant, or church office administrator. Though one of the most vital positions in the church, it is also one of the most invisible—until the person doing the work is sick for a week and the church almost closes down.

Below Gayle Hilligoss wrote an interesting story about the First Ministry Assistant and in addition to sharing that, I also wanted to share what she enclosed with it that she put into her church newsletter, along with publishing the piece about the First Ministry Assistant. I wanted to highlight this because I think it is a very gracious, yet effective way to point out the essential work being done. Also in talking about the professional group, it shows how people who do this work take their work seriously and are involved in continuing education.

Think of some way you might do something like this in your church—not to simply promote yourself, but to encourage people to pray for and respect the vital ministry you work so hard on each week. With that introduction, enjoy the two articles from Gayle Hilligoss:

Who Was the First Ministry Assistant?

Although I can’t say with certainty who the first scribe who assisted in ministry was, ministry assistants have been around a long time.

Jeremiah 36 reads, “…this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Take a scroll and write on it every word I have spoken to you… Then Jeremiah called Baruch, son of Neriah, and he wrote on the scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words which the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah.”

Throughout religious history, the secretary’s role has been a significant one. Although work is often done in the background, these vital support tasks allow the more visible ministries to succeed. [Read more...]

Ministry Assistant Challenge—Conduct a Self-evaluation

By Leave a Comment

Ministry assistant challenge for Self-evaluation
Because so many ministry assistants work alone, it is even more important that you take time to evaluate the work you do.

One of the absolutely best things about being a ministry assistant is the opportunity the position gives to serve—and by your service to make a real difference in the lives of people. Your work has the potential to be more than a fulfilling job. Because working in the church requires skills beyond spelling and grammar, it really can be ministry in the best sense of the word.

While your work is more than managing records, fielding phone calls, scheduling events, and producing publications, how you manage those routine tasks is the heart of your responsibilities. Being involved in ministry does not justify being less than professional in your performance.

Your technical and organizational skills are vitally important.

One meaningful way to show people how much you care for them is to be conscientious in your service to them, to deliver excellence. And yet, in too many offices no one is evaluating administrative effectiveness.

A recent discussion turned to annual job evaluations. “I think I am doing a good job,” remarked one office professional, “but I suppose I don’t really know. We’ve talked about doing evaluations in our office, but no one is interested enough to set them up.” [Read more...]

Tips for a productive New Year in the church office, part two

By Leave a Comment

Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

The start of a new year is an appropriate time to evaluate performance, to identify personal practices hindering professionalism, and to replace old habits with new and better ways to work. As Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote, “Now is the day, and now is the hour.” Here are three more good habits to acquire in 2011. (to see the first three, click here)

 • Excellence

Excellence is not perfection. Anything worth doing at all is worth doing well. Realistically, few things are worth a shot at perfection. The wisdom of spending an hour looking for the “perfect” clipart or typeface for a bulletin insert is questionable. Very likely your responsibilities demand more productive uses of your time. While aiming for perfection is impractical, never settle for mediocre. Excellence is rewarding and attainable.

 • Organization

Physical clutter slows everyone down. Time and effort are wasted locating what is needed. Tempers may flare. Mental disorganization perpetuates a cycle of working hard while accomplishing little. Planning where things should be kept, how jobs should be accomplished—timeline, methods, and available resources—encourages effectiveness, efficiency, and smiles.

 • Decisiveness

The inability or unwillingness to make a decision about what to do or how to do it absolutely hinders productivity. Often any decision is better than no decision. Fretting over possibilities is a decision in itself, one that creates a backlog of work and frustrates coworkers.

Start the decision-making process by identifying precisely what you want to achieve. Gather and evaluate relevant information. Finally, choose your course of action. Taking days to consider options may reveal a perfectly clear choice, but very likely it will not. When stalled, ask yourself what you will know in a day or two that you don't know now. If the answer is “not much,” trust your instinct, make your decision, and act.