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; Effective Church Communications can help.

WEBINAR/VIDEO: How to create and use church communication surveys, how to decide what really works

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Because we all tend to communicate in ways that are most comfortable to us and because, as church leaders, we make decisions for people, in this time of changing communications, we may be totally missing out on what the types of communications our audience needs for them to hear the gospel message or our challenges to discipleship growth.

How do your various audiences take in your messages? What communication channels do they access the most?

Most of us if we are honest really don't know. This is where a survey can be extremely helpful. This webinar/video will show you how to do one for your church.

One  bit of advice--before you do the survey, pray that the Lord will make your heart open to make changes whatever the results might be. Nothing hurts your credibility more than asking people for their opinion and then ignoring it totally when they give it to you.

Below is a Video, plus PDFs of Handouts for the video for members and a Church Communication Survey PDF. ***IN ADDITION, there is a link to a ZIP file that has the PowerPoint Presentation, plus an editable MS Publisher file of the Survey Form. These have to be in a ZIP file because that is the only secure way my web site host will allow them to be uploaded. The addition of all these materials makes this a very complete package for training yourself and your staff and implementing church communications surveys.

These are available to ECC MEMBERS online for only. Membership is $9.99 a month or $99. a year for any size church or number of people at the same church who access it. CLICK HERE to sign up or for membership information.

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Publisher survey with PictureHANDOUT PDF

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ZIP FILE  that contains an EDITABLE MS PUBLISHER FILE OF THE SURVEY FORM and a copy of the PowerPoint Presentation.

Request for advice from a new missionary, how to communicate?

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Missionary communication advice
Missionaries today must communicate in many formats, here are some ideas.

I recently got an email asking for communication advice on how to communicate as a missionary. Though I shared some ideas (I did missionary communications for years for two Christian organizations), this is an area that both I and Rusty, the missionary who asked, would greatly appreciate your comments--either for him as a missionary, what to write, but also what you as a supporter of missionaries have found useful.

Enter your responses in the COMMENT area below this article and THANK YOU in advance!

Email to Yvon Prehn

My family and I are now serving as missionaries in Budapest, HU. We find ourselves trying to communicate even more than we did as youth ministers.

I wondered if you might have, or know where we could find, some information that deals specifically with missions updates and letters. there are so many ways to communicate now beyond a typical/traditional monthly newsletter. I'm wondering what is most effective, though i suppose we are all wondering that.

I look forward to your response, thanks.

From Rusty

My response:

Great question! I have a couple of ideas on this and I am going to post it as a question on my site and ask for comments. Initially here are some ideas that I have:

Background, it would probably be helpful to let you know why I'm sharing: In the past, I worked for both Compassion Intl. and Young Life and a big part of my job for both was to write fund-raising, missionary updates etc. From what I was told, my materials were very successful in raising support. With the assumption that people vote with their pocket books (as well they should--wise stewardship in giving to worth causes), it seems that my methods were successful. [Read more...]

We are here to serve, comments by a communications director

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Ed note: This fantastic article was originally a comment by Krysta, posted below the article on distractions in the church office. It has such good advice that I wanted to highlight it. This is one of the important distinctives that makes our work different from the work done by secular communication professionals.

Having worked as communications director for a large church for 5 years, I struggle more and more with distractions every day. My desk is located where all sound and all people come to me, even though it’s in the back of the office. I am auditory and have super-hero hearing, so tuning out things like voices and conversations doesn’t work for me. Oh, and I’m kind of nosy and can usually answer whatever questions people are asking so of course I have to get involved .

I often have to take projects home and work on them in the evenings and weekends because my day was spent in one big distraction. I joke that I can get more accomplished in 2 hours of silence at home than I can in 2 days spent in the office, but I’m not kidding!

Something all church staff need to remember is that WE ARE HERE TO SERVE. This is the only thing that keeps me from running (screaming) out of the noisy office some days when someone points out a typo I made while working on the worship bulletin in the midst of massive distractions. If only they sat at my desk for 10 minutes, they’d understand…

I kept a list of “distractions” once – it only took two days to show that between the hours of 9 and 11 a.m., TWENTY-FOUR people called or stopped by my desk. I served 24 people in a two-hour time frame, hopefully making a difference in their day. I AM HERE TO SERVE. I keep saying it.

Remembering that we are here to serve isn’t easy. When those same couple parishioners stop by the office to chit-chat every couple days while I’m trying SO hard to put the newsletter together or get an email sent to the congregation with minimal typos, I force myself to remember that maybe our conversation brightened their day or eased a burden they’d been carrying. Maybe we are the last people they come into contact with when they go back to an empty, quiet house. Maybe we are the only bit of Jesus they get to come into contact with that day… and I really don’t think Jesus cares about typos in a bulletin.

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Please share your comments and experiences in the comments sections here and anywhere else you'd like on the site. We can all learn from each other's experiences and comments.

The number one time management technique and how to use it, part two

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Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: In Part One we learned the valuable skill of making lists, in this part you'll learn how to use your list effectively.

• Break large jobs into small ones.

No matter how overwhelming the job, it will be done more effectively when it is reduced to a series of small tasks. Whether the job is producing a directory or writing a policies and procedures manual, spend time with pencil and paper identifying each step of the process. Then, working backward from the time the project must be completed, put the tasks on your list giving each a deadline. Seeing that the whole job doesn’t need to be done in a day, or even a week, keeps things in their proper perspective.

• Allow for lunch and break times.

When you are really busy it is easy to believe working through lunch and not taking breaks will catch you up. Actually, it may get you further behind. Researchers have determined that workers taking a 15 minute break in the morning and a 15 minute break in the afternoon are consistently more productive than those working that extra 30 minutes. Other studies confirm the benefits of a relaxing lunch hour. Fatigued, hungry people just don’t produce very good work. Mistakes are made that must be corrected later, often taking more time than doing it right in the first place.

A good practice is, “When you work, work; when you break, break.” If you compromise by working while having lunch or a snack at your desk, you produce mediocre work and lose all the recuperative benefits of a real break as well.

If you are consistently expected to do more than can reasonably be done, take the initiative in seeking a solution. The tendency is to expect the minister or a committee to recognize the problem and take action. Realistically, the person who suffers from a problem is usually the one who must solve it. As important as your job is, you are more important. Be responsible for taking care of yourself.

If you find yourself spinning your wheels, shuffling papers, or being unable to concentrate, give yourself a change of scenery. Leave the office for a short walk if you can, even it it’s just down the hall. Or slip into the sanctuary for a few quiet minutes. A short break makes a world of difference. When you plan your day, allow for your important “time outs.”

• Keep your list visible.

Your list is a map for your day. Sometimes side trips will be added to the agenda, but your list will get you back on the main road. Having your list in plain sight lets you and others see at a glance if your schedule can accommodate additional tasks. Seeing your agenda makes your supervisors more aware of demands on your time and enables them to evaluate your contributions realistically.

A short stand-up meeting each morning allows you and your minister to compare and verify priorities. Work ahead when things are going your way so those inevitable emergencies won’t find you playing catch-up. Be sure to add to your list things you do that were not on your original schedule. As long as your list is out where others will see it, omit any personal or sensitive information, unless it’s in your own private shorthand.

• Give each item on the list a priority.

Find out when each task is needed before listing it. Never assume a task is an A just because it comes from your executive. Ask. As soon as the list is made, ask yourself, “What can I delegate?” Mark those things D and note names. Delegating is an effective way to check things off your list without doing them yourself. Understand, delegating is not shirking your work. This important management skill frees time for work needing your personal attention and at the same time allows others to develop their skills.

Next, identify on your list the most important two things you must do yourself. These are your A1s. A good rule of thumb is not to have more than ten items on your list and only two A1s. Obviously, there will be days... But do try for those ratios.

Designate as As any other items that you must attend to, ideally no more than two. Use a highlighter to emphasize these high priority tasks. Next, mark as Bs the shoulds on your list. These are important tasks, but not musts. The remaining tasks are Cs, things you would like to do if all goes well, but low priorities. Just on Mondays I make a list of CZs, low priority jobs that I can do with any loose change time during the week.

Give each job a deadline, such as: do before 10 A.M. or a time frame, such as spend 40 minutes on this. This important step keeps you from scheduling too many hours of your day and from spending more time on a task than its priority dictates. Parkinson’s Law, “Work expands to fill the time available,” has never been repealed. If a time limit is not set externally, set a self-imposed deadline to keep yourself moving along. Multiply your estimated time need for the job by 1.25, giving yourself an extra 15 minutes for every hour you think you will need. I don’t know whose law it is, but things always take longer than you think they will.

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Link to Part One of this article.

Link to Part Three of this article