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.

How to use Camtasia to demonstrate website resources for your church

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This short video will show you how Camtasia, a screen-capture software can be used to demonstrate resources on your website. Below the video is a link to a ministry example that I did for my church using Camtasia to show people various ways to study their Bible. This is also the software I use to create all the training videos I do for this website.

Camtasia is not cheap--it's $299--but it is worth every penny if you do a lot of demos. You can get it from:

http://www.techsmith.com.

To learn to use it, go to http://www.lynda.com. Lynda.com is only $25 a month for unlimited training in Camtasia and hundreds of other programs.

Click on the link here to go to some videos I created for my Sunday School class using Camtasia: http://untilfulllight.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/three-ways-to-study-the-bible/

Add Value to Your Service

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Add Value to Your Service
Add value to your service in the church office by following the tips here.

All administrative assistants are valuable to the ministry of the church. Some, their pastors say, have become indispensable. How have these outstanding assistants risen above the norm? And, how can you use value-added strategies to enhance your own professionalism?

• Learn something new every day.

Once basics are mastered it is easy to become complacent. Make it a priority to add to your work knowledge daily. Listen, read, ask questions, check websites, attend seminars, network.

• Promise a lot; deliver even more. Be so well qualified that you can confidently commit to getting the project done. Then, as often as possible, put a little frosting on the cake: do more than just what is necessary, get jobs done before the target date, keep costs less than budgeted.

• Give tasks appropriate effort. While quality is as important as quantity, realize that all tasks are not of equal value. Routine jobs need to be dispatched quickly. Look for and use shortcuts that don’t adversely affect your results. Special projects may demand a higher level of excellence. Sometimes it is more valuable to do fewer tasks and do each one better.

• Put your personal stamp on what you do. A ministry assistant recounted a story about a member who told her, “As soon as I saw last week’s bulletin and newsletter I knew you were on vacation. They were fine, of course, but just didn’t have that ‘Margie’ touch.” What a nice compliment. It affirmed to one assistant that people do notice her efforts.

• Establish rapport. Use regular meetings with your supervisor to demonstrate your management skills. Summarize projects in progress, review completed assignments, offer suggestions for upcoming events. Anticipate needs; be prepared. Take the initiative in managing your work. When faced with a problem, handle it or bring it to your supervisor along with a possible solution or two. Share information with others; show newcomers the ins and outs of daily routines, computer programs, and office machine quirks. Show by both word and action you are supportive of each team member. When someone needs help, be the one to lend a hand.

• Volunteer for more responsibility. After you are able to handle current responsibilities well, increase your contribution to the office by asking to take on other tasks. These might be ministries you envision or special jobs usually outsourced or handled by other busy staff members. Assistants have done research for ministers, organized pastors’ libraries, created various databases, started food pantries, and volunteered for many other “optional” ministries.

• Keep a personal work record. Documenting your work is an excellent way to chart your progress and to plan goals for future growth. One effective way to do this is with your computer’s calendar program. Note your accomplishments and contributions. List the location of any supporting documents or examples of your work. Track training events you attended; indicate how you use what you learned. Although the primary purpose of the record is for your own planning, you just may find occasion to review with your supervisor as well.

Three of the most common church communication mistakes

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Every year I interact with many church communicators and every year it seems like some of the same mistakes are made by many churches that keep them from being as effective as they could be in communicating the gospel message. Following are three of the most common ones I see consistently. I don’t want to only point out problems in this list, because none of us are perfect and we all have things to learn. I'm using these as a spring-broad for improvement, so along with the mistakes are suggestions and links to how-to articles that will help you correct them.

Church Communication Mistake #1: Thinking that simply having a website is enough

As I have evaluated many church communication websites, I have lost count of the number of websites that obviously were created by a company selling a template (my apologies to those companies, it is not your fault what is done with them after you sell them) that look good, but that are failures in communication.

The problem is that the church seems to think that just having a website and buying a fancy template or using professional graphics means something. The websites usually have great looking graphics on the home page, scrolling notices of various sorts, lots of labels, but if you click on any of them at most you find a paragraph of content. You never get a sense that a real person cared about anything other than certain slots be filled. No explanations of the why of the church or faith, no evidence of a personality behind the tiny amount of content and most dangerous of all, usually nothing is up-to-date in any ministry area.

Simply having a website isn’t enough—a website is a minimal expectation for any church today and as essential as an entry in the phone book in the past. But if your website says little more than a phone book entry, it won’t accomplish much more either. What is really sad about this is that a church that only fills in informational blanks is missing a HUGE opportunity for outreach.

In addition to the mistakes of an incomplete website, keep in mind that websites do not replace the tangible week-by-week communications needed in the church to keep your congregation informed and involved. Bulletins, newsletters, postcards, flyers, reminders of all sorts are needed and this website has many ideas and inspiration to make your materials more effective.

Church Communication Mistake #2: Assuming graphic images communicate the same meaning to everyone who looks at them

Images should be used primarily to add to the message expressed in words. They are not enough in and of themselves to communicate much of anything. They may look nice, they may create an emotion, designers may congratulate each other on their brilliance, but if you want to communicate a significant Christian message, images alone won’t do it.

Some of you may object: “But, a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Whenever I hear that statement, I always respond with the question, “What thousand?”

People often make the first statement as some sort of understood truth that images say more than words do. That is simply not true. Reality is that the same picture can mean different things to each person who sees it. Not convinced?

What would you say a picture of the American flag means to:

  • A Marine just out of boot-camp?
  • A terrorist who has been water-boarded?
  • An immigrant just granted political amnesty?
  • An Al-Qaeda sleeper cell member?
  • A member of Congress?

It’s the same flag—but we all bring different histories, experiences, loves, and hates to any image from flags to puppies to clowns. No image, picture, or graphic is self-explanatory.

Images do not fully communicate the complexity of the Christian message. Images do not give time, date, location, and let you know if child care is provided. Images can stir up emotions, but they don’t make practical connections.

We need words. Let’s choose them as carefully as we do our images.

For an article by Gerry McGovern, international guru of web marketing wherein he summarizes research on the ineffectiveness of images used in secular advertising, and my comments on it: http://churchcommunicationsblog.com/2010/12/06/why-it-is-incorrect-to-think-that-graphic-images-mean-the-same-thing-to-everyone-who-sees-them/

Communication Mistake #3: Using the Apostle Peter’s methods to reach Paul’s audience

Some pastors (particularly in my age cohort of Baby Boomers) have trouble understanding why altar calls don’t seem to work the way they used to. Newcomers to church don’t understand them, or if they do respond, sometimes the same person responds every week or makes a public profession of faith only to go on living no differently than before he made it.

This is part of a larger problem of communicating the Christian message to a post-Christian world. We may know in our heads that the world no longer shares our value system, but when we attempt to translate that into action, it’s easy to forget what that actually means. The following illustration might help.

When the Apostle Peter preached to the assembled group of observant Jews at Pentecost and thousands immediately responded, it’s easy to forget that he was preaching to a group of people who knew the Old Testament message, who understood sacrificial atonement, who expected and were looking for a Messiah. For this audience all he had to do what show how Jesus fulfilled the criteria as Messiah and challenge them to decision. He got a huge response.

Paul’s ministry was primarily to the Gentiles and he used a different approach. One illustration:

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.  Acts 18:9-11

He was not talking to a group of people who grew up hearing the promises of Messiah. This audience had never seen a lamb sacrificed in recognition that they could not meet the demands of a holy God. They didn't know why Jesus had to die. Paul taught day after day explaining, teaching God’s Word, giving them the background necessary to understand why it was important that Jesus die and why they needed to live life differently once they trusted him as Savior. The Greco-Roman world was filled with many gods, but to trust one solely for salvation and to change one’s moral behavior because of it was a radical idea for most.

Application: We live in a world like Paul’s where people (as hard as it is to understand) may know nothing about the Christian faith or what it actually means to live it. We cannot assume anything in either our written or verbal, web or print communication. In all your communications you need to explain as much as you can, as clearly as you can. Ask if people understand. Explain again.

Be prepared; you may irritate some of the long-time church members. When they express impatience with reading your explanations of things they already understand, ask for their prayers that your church clearly communicate to people who know nothing about Jesus as the only source of eternal life.

We have many challenges in our work as church communicators, but if you work on these three, you will more effectively share the words of eternal life.

Managing a really big task in the church office

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Big project in the church office
All church offices tackle big projects. Here is how to do them effectively.

In the church office a big task can take many forms: Offices are being relocated; updated computer software is needed; the church is hosting a major event—or a multitude of neglected small jobs finally grows into one big, overwhelming job. Whatever the source, a major task poorly handled can create more than a little turmoil.
Problems dealing with big jobs can often be traced right to the beginning.

Get off to a good start by following these three rules:

• Know the goal.
Big tasks are generally composed of many small tasks. Before starting the journey, know where you are going.
• Be sure stages of progress are clear.
Set a firm start date, a completion date, and intermediate checkpoints along the way. Spread pieces of the job evenly throughout the time allotted.
• Do first things first.
Devise a logical plan of action instead of just jumping in. Time, energy, and resources are always wasted when preliminary steps are neglected.

With rules in place, follow through—

• Stick to your start date.
In the crush of daily responsibilities it becomes easy to rationalize that “now” is not a good time to start on a big job that isn’t due for weeks. Don’t wait for the perfect time or for divine inspiration; neither is likely. A late start inevitably affects the project—target dates are missed and best efforts are blown away as you rush to catch up.

Follow your schedule.

• Pick your times.
We all have times of day when we are most energetic and sharp. Match the most challenging parts of your project to these prime times. Schedule routine parts of the task at other times convenient to your schedule.
• Divide and conquer.
Breaking each phase of the assignment into manageable parts makes it easier to keep the job rolling along and to chart progress. Treat each of these mini-deadlines seriously. A completion date may seem far away, but that is an illusion. The closer a deadline gets, the faster it rushes up to you.
• Involve others.
Enlisting volunteers or coworkers for parts of the project gives them a vested interest in the success of the task and generates added enthusiasm.
• Communicate.
Keep your team and supervisor informed. Make sure those assisting you have a clear vision of what is to be accomplished. They need to know exactly what is expected and when. Allow them to do their jobs as they see fit within the boundaries you have identified. Listen to their questions and suggestions. New ideas and solutions are often generated in the process of working through a project. Be generous with praise but direct it toward results, not simple busy work.
• Promise and give rewards.
Whether you work alone or enlist others in the big task, incentives along the way keep the job interesting and fun. Treats, however small, increase motivation and productivity. Listing the names of those who help with projects is a good practice. Most often, what gets recognized gets done.
• Chart your progress.
Setting deadlines is one thing; meeting them is another—especially when several people are involved. Visibly tracking completed steps is an effective way to make sure every detail is covered. And nothing feels better than checking that last item off the list and receiving congratulations on a job well done.

 

Relief for church office blahs

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If you're feeling a little blah in your work, Gayle's advice here should get you feeling better in no time!
If you're feeling a little blah in your work, Gayle's advice here should get you feeling better in no time!

Have you ever felt you are losing the joy you once felt from your work? Few things are more difficult than coming to the office each day, going through the motions, but no longer experiencing any real enthusiasm or sense of accomplishment. You may not even be sure why you have the blahs, but you know you have them.

Thoughtfully answering these workplace questions can help you gauge your job enjoyment temperature—and locate the source of any discontent. Each question that follows identifies a possible problem area. You have a better grasp of your specific circumstances than anyone; use this self-knowledge to choose appropriate cures for your office doldrums.

• Do you know what is expected of you?
If not, create a position description or review your current one. Arrange a time to talk with your supervisor about any ambiguities. Ask the hard questions; leave the meeting knowing exactly what your responsibilities are and what they are not.

• Do you have the materials and equipment you need?
If a lack of resources constantly hinders your ability to do what you need to do, let your supervisor know specifically what is needed. Discuss options. In nearly every church there are people willing and able to help—if you ask.

• Do you make time daily top do what you do best?
What you do best is often what gives you the most joy. Sometimes in the crush of getting tasks done favored jobs are ignored or delegated. Rework your schedule as necessary to restore those rewarding assignments.

• Is your good work noticed and acknowledged?
We all like to believe what we do well is observed and appreciated. In some offices, this just does not happen. It should. But it doesn’t. For your own peace of mind, accept that reality—and don’t need the accolades of others to know you are a professional and a person of worth. Reward yourself when you do a difficult task well. Something visible is nice; maybe a flower for your desk?

• Do your opinions count?
Wise supervisors know that job satisfaction always soars when workers are involved in decisions affecting their work situation. Wise secretaries know it pays to do their homework and to offer rational, insightful opinions.

• Do you know what you do is important?
Sincere joy comes from having purpose. In theory, all churches have a clear purpose. In fact, sometimes the focus gets blurred. When assistants know the church is directing its primary time, effort, and funds toward goals with eternal consequences, they know even stuffing bulletins is ministry. Think through your contribution; decide if you are spending your time on tasks of value. This may be something to talk over with your pastor. If you are unclear about the church’s focus, others may be as well. Occasional clarifying is worthwhile for everyone.

• Are staff members committed to quality work?

It is difficult to find joy in doing the mediocre. Aspire to personal excellence; inspire others with frequent words of encouragement and appreciation. Your positive example can set the pace.

• Do you have opportunities for professional growth?
The work of the ministry assistant has never been more challenging. You need the best resources available. Take responsibility for seeking out and taking advantage of every possible avenue of training. If your denomination offers an association for ministry assistants—connect. Sign up for conferences or seminars when you can. And, use the tremendous resources available through Effective Church Communications. Learning and using new skills is a fabulous way to beat the blahs!