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.

Do “man in the street” videos for Easter communication research

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Video Camera or Phone
Grab a video camera or a phone to shoot "man in the street" research videos for Easter.

What makes Easter special to you and your church?

The obvious answer is that we celebrate Jesus' resurrection from the dead and the joy of knowing that, if we trust Him as Savior, we too will live forever, forgiven of our sins and loved by our God. I Cor. 15:3-4 reminds us that "of first importance" in our faith is that:

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

Do you think your community, the people you want to reach this Easter season have any idea that is what Easter is all about? Probably not.

To answer that question, to find out what they really think about Easter, do a little creative research.....

Consider "man in the street videos"

For honest research to find out what the people in your community think about Easter, do some informal "man in the street videos."

This doesn't need to be fancy or take lots of time. You can do it or get a volunteer and then:

Take your video camera (or phone) and, wander around the neighborhood or local mall and ask people:

"Why do you celebrate Easter?"

"What is the meaning of Easter?"

Pretty simple questions, but the answers should be interesting.

Use the resulting videos, not only to help you plan communication strategy, but to show to your congregation to help them understand their neighbors. [Read more...]

Always use holidays for more than celebration at your church

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Make your celebration more than a party
Celebrations are great fun and should be a part of every church, but you can also use them as spiritual growth opportunities

God used celebrations in the Old Testament to focus on and teach about events in salvation history. The best known example is the Passover (Exodus 12-13), wherein every part of it: what is eaten, how the food is prepared, the words spoken over them, are all combined to remind the participants of God's salvation of the Jews from Egypt and to point to his final salvation in the death of the Passover Lamb Jesus.

In the New Testament, Jesus began his ministry at a celebration, a wedding (John 2), where he performed his first miracle. He often used meals as times to teach (Luke 7: 36-50) as he did when the woman poured the perfume over Jesus feet and wiped them with her hair.

Just before leaving his disciples, he celebrated with them and gave new meaning to the Passover, which they were to celebrate while remembering Jesus. Whenever we observe the Lord's Supper, no matter what our tradition, we are reminded of the story of his sacrificial death for us.

We can use them in similar ways

Celebrations force us to pause in our frantic lives and focus on something outside the day-to-day demands. We have fun; we eat special foods; we sometimes exchange gifts; we celebrate with friends and family; and for a few hours we focus on something outside ourselves. [Read more...]

As you prepare for Easter: four necessary things to do with your website to make it ministry effective

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Be sure to update your website before special events
Be sure to update your website before special events because many people will come to it first.

Obviously, today almost every church has a website, but sadly many church websites are little more than a newspaper or yellow pages ad for the church (the basic facts and little else) posted online. Unless someone is already interested in your church and is only looking for an address or service time, there is little to engage them.

There is even less reason for a person who is not already a believer to linger at your site. Information might be provided on how to get to the church, but little outreach or any other kind of ministry is done.

The reasons for this ministry challenge are not because of graphics or design short-comings, but of organization and content. Below are four suggestions to take your site beyond being an ad only to become an effective ministry tool as you prepare for Easter outreach and for the rest of the year. [Read more...]

Tune Up your church technology for Easter—FREE PDF download of Ministry Tech Cover Story by Yvon Prehn

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March Cover Story Easter Tune-ups_Page_1
Download this reprint of to help your church get ready for Easter.

I was excited to see that the recent issue of Ministry Tech made my submission their cover story. More than my excitement however is that the PDF reprint of this makes a great download and handout for all of you as you prepare for Easter.

CLICK HERE or on the image to download the article and share it at staff. If you follow the advice in it, you'll have a much more successful Easter Season than before!

Easter Encouragement Video for Church Communicators from Yvon Prehn

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Church Communicators work so hard all year long, but the Easter season seems to have more responsibilities and work than any other time of year. To encourage church communicators and remind them of the eternal value of their work, I created this short video--enjoy!

note: I did this when I was first learning how to use animoto (www.animoto.com) a number of years ago and didn't have much access to images. But I think you'll still be encouraged watching it.