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Communication is one of the most challenging church ministries because it is often the gateway to the entire church. To do it effectively requires more than the latest images, social media, and technology tips.

You need a timeless strategy, inspiration, and Biblical challenges that work no matter what tech tools and channels you use, the size of your church or age of your audience. You'll get them in the Effective Church Communication Podcast.

PODCAST: Make it OK for visitors to reject Jesus at Easter

26 March, 2021 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

If you have done a good job at outreach and you have lots of unchurched visitors on Easter, make it easy for them to connect and continue to answer questions.

What are your expectations for Easter at your church? Especially for those that are visiting for the first time and who may be totally unfamiliar with the Christian faith?

In answer to that question, I'd like to propose that you Make it OK for visitors to reject Jesus at your Easter Service and in our podcast today I'll tell you why.

Before you consign this podcast and the blog that goes with it to me being a total heretic who thinks  "everybody gets saved in the end, no matter who or what they believe in" —be assured nothing could be further from my intention. I take very seriously the truth that if people do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ (and only Jesus Christ, no other savior) they will spend eternity in endless suffering separated from God. That's why I want to share 5 reasons why you need to make it OK for visitors to reject Jesus at Easter.

Be assured, we won't stop at their rejection, but I'll give you suggestions on how to move that rejection into exploration and ultimately acceptance. While you are planning ways to invite people and your PR for Easter, keep these ideas in mind and realize that Easter is just the start of a relationship with unchurched people.

As you begin, you probably need to lower your expectations on getting a significant spiritual response from guests at Easter. Yes, you plan and work to perhaps get a great response in numbers, but in our post-Christian world today, it takes time to make a spiritual impact.

Don't be surprised, shocked, or upset if visitors don't immediately respond to the gospel message you present at Easter and remind yourself and your congregation that this is a natural rejection to any new and challenging thought. Following are some observations and suggestions that will help you respond positively that will ultimately help people accept Jesus as Savior. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Easter, Evangelism & Outreach, PODCAST Tagged With: Easter follow-up, Help people find Jesus at Easter, Outreach at Easter, seeker strategy for Easter, Yvon Prehn Church Communications

PODCAST: Was Jesus a Zombie? Consider this question before you finalize your Easter Sermon

20 March, 2021 By Yvon Prehn 1 Comment

Jesus is AliveWas Jesus a zombie? Please understand, there is no irreverence or shock value intended with this question. It was an honestly asked question from someone who was totally unfamiliar with church.

After I got over my shock of being asked this question (and a short time later I was asked it from someone else), I did a podcast that coincided with Halloween, but I think it is also appropriate for the Easter Season so I am re-recording it for Effective Church Communications.

The rest of the podcast is primarily directed towards people outside the church, but I'm sharing it with church communicators and I hope with Pastors and those who prepare sermons for Easter to help you remember that if you did a good job on outreach to get unchurched people to come to your church for Easter, you need to think carefully about the audience you'll have. Many more people than those of us who grew up in the church can imagine did not grow up with ANY exposure to the church or the Bible. The implications of that reality are vast. You can't count on them knowing anything about the true story of Jesus, but they will come into the church with many pop culture ideas about life after death. I can't tackle them all, but now I'd like to tackle just one aspect of it—the question of........

 

Was Jesus a Zombie?

When you think about it calmly, if you are someone who doesn't go to church regularly, it really is a very good question because the only conception many people have today of a person who has come back from the dead is a zombie. So when someone hears Jesus came back from the dead, that's immediately what they think about. Easter is all about Jesus coming back from the dead, but as we'll see in the podcast today, how Jesus came back from the dead is very different from coming back as a zombie.

So what do we know about Jesus coming back from the dead?

[Read more...]

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Filed Under: Easter, PODCAST Tagged With: correct view of Jesus, Easter and Jesus, Jesus resurrection

What if your church did NO advertising for Easter? Or other seasonal outreach times? Try this Biblical alternative!

12 March, 2021 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

Equip your people --free Easter invitations
You may not want to be this obvious, but when your people believe this and want to tell their friends, it's the most effective form of church outreach you can do.

Ed. note: This is a repeat of what I did last year, but it is incredibly important--because YOUR people are always the most important outreach tool you have. Though you can use every available tool you have and can afford to reach out to people, you don't need to do anything more than encourage and inspire YOUR congregation. 

The Podcast:

What if your church did NO advertising for Easter? No sending out of postcards purchased from some national company that end up looking like the several other churches produce.

Hi I'm Yvon Prehn and welcome to the Effective Church Communications Podcast!

Today we'll talk about alternatives that you can do in-house--by your people that can accomplish much more.

As I mentioned in the intro—Far too often,  when a church is planning a major holiday outreach, a catalog of professionally produced postcards are selected, purchased and mailed out by the church. This can cost a lot of money, but sometimes a smaller church desperately wants to try something that might result in growth, so they spend money, that perhaps could have been used for other things and try it.  Statistically, as the companies will tell you a certain number ought to respond and though we rejoice if even one new person comes and ultimately comes to know Jesus as Savior because of that process, let me suggest another strategy that is more biblical, more successful, and that will probably save your church some money also.

A new strategy—Involve the whole church in seasonal communication

Everyone in the church needs to be involved for holiday and special events to be successful. Everyone needs to be part of and feel responsible for the outreach and growth of your church. When Jesus said:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

He did not qualify these commands by saying:

"The command to be my witness and to reach your world is only for pastors and for the communication director of the church.”

No—outreach, witnessing, sharing your faith is every believer's task and seasonal celebrations and special events are a great way to be obedient to Jesus' command to be his witness and reach our world. The tools of technology available to us in ministry today make it possible for everyone in the church to have a significant part in the outreach of the entire church. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Church Business Cards, Church Invitation Cards, PODCAST, Seasonal, Seasonal communication strategies, Strategy, Strategy #2: Make the most of seasonal events—grow your church in numbers AND your people in discipleship Tagged With: church outreach strategy, involve the whole church in evangelism, involve the whole church in seasonal outreach, seasonal evangelism

A solution to giving for churches that are not meeting and it doesn’t involve online giving

17 March, 2020 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

How to collect an offering even though the church isn't meeting
Just because the church building is empty, we can still encourage each other and financially support the church.

How can a church keep going financially when we don't meet and aren't able to take up an offering?

Hi, this is YP and welcome to the Effective Church Communications podcast!

In our current challenging times, many churches are concerned (and justifiably so) with how they will pay the bills when the church is not meeting together regularly. I've got a great solution for you and you don't need to learn any new technology to do it.

Listen to the podcast below or continue reading for the solution.

For many churches, the Sunday morning offering is still the primary way the church gets tithes and offerings from the congregation.

The frequent response to this situation of churches not meeting is to emphasize online giving and though that is a great solution in many churches (and I personally love using it), it isn't a viable solution for many others. Either the church does not have online giving in place, doesn't want to set it up, or a large group of people in the church simply don't want to use it.

Technology isn't the answer to everything and sometimes trusted methods work well in challenging times. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Church Financial Communications, Effective Church Com PODCAST, PODCAST Tagged With: church finances during challenging times, how to reach out when people can't come to church, how to take up an offering during Covid19

PODCAST: Strategy for Summer Communications

7 July, 2019 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

Summer Communications
The summer communications from our churches should be clear and kind and this podcast will give you some tips on how to make them more effective.

Whoever wrote that song, "Summertime and the livin' is easy" did not work in church communications.

The pace and type of activities change in the summer, but with Bible camps and special events, there is a lot of work to be done.

Hi, I'm Yvon Prehn and welcome to the Effective Church Communications Podcast.

In our podcast today I'll give you some tips for more effective summer communications. Please go to the website www.effectivechurchcom.com for FREE TEMPLATES of communications that you can use for effective outreach this summer.

For the original article that forms the basis of this podcast, go to: https://wp.me/pDky9-7pK

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Filed Under: PODCAST Tagged With: Effective Church Communications Podcast, summer communications, summer jargon, summer outreach for churches

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Recent Posts

  • PODCAST: Make it OK for visitors to reject Jesus at Easter
  • The different preaching styles of Peter and Paul and why it matters for Easter follow-up
  • PODCAST: Was Jesus a Zombie? Consider this question before you finalize your Easter Sermon
  • Effective WEBSITE strategy for Children’s Easter follow-up and a handout to go with it
  • What if your church did NO advertising for Easter? Or other seasonal outreach times? Try this Biblical alternative!

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