Basic skills training, strategy, biblical challenges, and free templates from Yvon Prehn for church communicators.

Effective Church Communications

Timeless training from Yvon Prehn on church communication strategy, skills, and seasonal outreach.

Snappa: Review and How-tos of a GREAT program to create social media graphics

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Snappa is a great program for the fastest, easiest ways to make social media and online graphics! I've used it for some time (in fact, all the graphics you see in the sidebars of this website were created with it), but I like to use something for a while before I recommend it because I'm sure that many of you have had the same frustration I have where someone does this raving recommendation of a program and with great excitement you go to it and after paying for it realize it is a piece of junk and not only that you signed up for something that keeps wanting you to upgrade or buy more junk from them. That won't happen here as we don't take any advertising or affiliate payments (often the motivation for rave reviews).

Below is my little overview of it.

Here are some additional videos done about Snappa, just click the link below them to go to them.

A video comparison of PicMonkey, Canva, and Snappa
https://wp.me/pDky9-8il

Snappa: The easiest way to create social media verses
https://wp.me/pDky9-8mw

Snappa: How to create a side-bar ad
https://wp.me/pDky9-8mB

 

Instagram Images for Backpack Ministry to remind and motivate your congregation to give

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FREE Backpack Ministry Instagram images
It is tremendous fun getting supplies for kids--and even greater fun for the kids who receive them!

There are few projects in the church as much fun as getting supplies for kids when they are heading back to school. To me it's a little like the fun of putting together the Christmas Shoe Boxes—and remember you can buy lots of supplies for them at this time.

To help your congregation remember to do this, or to start to motivate them to think about it, I created a set of FREE Instagram images for you. Below is a gallery of them and below that is the ZIP file you can download to use them. There is also a set of PowerPoint Slides that go with them here: https://wp.me/pDky9-88N

Fun aside, this is such an important ministry to children--please pass on any and all the resources linked to it so that no child in your area or in any mission you are involved with will do without.

Click the following link to download the ZIP file that goes with them: Backpack Ministry Instagram Images

Additional materials on Backpack Ministry:

PowerPoint Slides for Backpack Ministry to remind and motivate your congregation to give: https://wp.me/pDky9-88N

Bulletin inserts and Flyers for Fall Back-Pack ministries: https://wp.me/pDky9-7rX

My personal motivation for Backpack ministry—my memories and prayers about crayons and little kids in need: https://wp.me/pDky9-pL

 

Print and Digital—More Powerful Together! videos and studies to show you why

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Print and Digital E-book, more powerful together! by Yvon Prehn
If your want people to respond to your communications, use every tool you can!

People are busy, stressed, and time-starved—what is the best way to reach them? Many voices would answer "SOCIAL MEDIA!"

But if that is the answer, why aren't our churches filled and every event well-attended, when social media costs almost nothing to produce and we can push it out to the world?

Part of the problem could be that we have confused the popularity of social media with effectiveness (source for this idea in the video below). We assume social media is the way most people communicate today, and though that idea is wildly incorrect for many congregations, even among those who do live glued to a Twitter feed, don't necessarily take action on what they see on social media.

What follows isn't about bashing social media

Far from it--keep tweeting, Facebooking, Pinning and Instagramming, as the Apostle Paul said, "we need to become all things to all people to win some" (1 Cor 9:22).

But consider re-introducing PRINT into a more significant place in your church communication mix. As you'll see a number of communication and marketing studies show this is the most effective way to get an audience to respond to your message.

Below are 2 videos--one a more lengthy teaching one about the effectiveness of combining print and digital for any non-profit group and the second one is a series of slides with thought provoking quotes and commentary.

Below each of them are handouts of the presentation.

Below both is PDF e-book that has the quotes, studies listed and more.

Why here, now and free to all?

As I've been working on Fall and Christmas communications I've realized that unless you understand some of the key points in the material that follows your fall outreach will not be as successful as it could or should be.

Either one of the videos would make an excellent discussion topic for your next staff meeting because communication ministry is the foundation of the success of many ministries in the church and it is far more difficult today than it was in the past when you only needed to worry about how many times you printed an announcement in the bulletin.

I'm working on a longer class and book on this topic, but I felt it was too important not to get out now what I did have ready.


CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF of NOTES for the video above: Print & Digital More Powerful Together HANDOUTS


CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF of NOTES for the video above: Slide Show of Print and Digital Quotes, HANDOUTS

Print and Digital E-book, more powerful together! by Yvon Prehn
Click on the image to download a copy of this e-book.

Social Media for Churches, where to be and how to use it

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MinTech article on Social Media
If a social media ministry is a challenge for your church, check out this article for ways to make it manageable.

Ministry Tech Magazine just published my article on Social Media for Churches and I wanted to pass on the PDF to you, CLICK HERE or on the image to download it. One of the most valuable things about this article is the advice by Holly Veturis from Saddleback Church on putting together a team of people (advocates, she calls them) to be the primary creators of your church social media.

I heard her talk about this at the Saddleback MarCom Church Communicator's conference this summer and just loved the idea. It seemed to me that it is a fantastic modern-day example of how the Body of Christ can work together. No one in the church office has time to do all the print and website work required, PLUS all the social media that is a vital part of any church communication program today.

At the same time there are people in every church who just LOVE to be on social media. They are good at it and enthusiastic in what they share. Rather than trying to add additional burdens to the people in the church office (unless they happen to be the kind who spend every break and lunch on social media), consider following her advice and putting together a social media team.

Of course you want to set up guidelines when people are putting out social media in the name of the church, just as you would for any kind of communications work volunteers do for you, but with those in place and periodic meetings to encourage and inspire, a social media team can be an effective outreach tool for your church.

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