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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.
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Church Directories How-to, ideas from church communications

8 March, 2011 By Yvon Prehn 24 Comments

Church Directory Tips
Church directories are great tools for helping people get to know each other in the church--here are some ideas how to create them.

Recently I received this question about pictorial directories and after the question are responses that were sent in and below them is a suggestion of a commercial product that I’ve had a number of folks in my past seminars tell me they really liked. Please put any additional comments or ideas that you have in the comment section below the article.

Question: Do you have any samples or ideas on how to put together an in-house pictorial directory?

We don’t like the traditional 8×10 size like Olan Mills for example prints. We’d prefer the 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 size or 4 1/4 x 11. We want to use photos, names, addresses, phone numbers (home & cell), emails, birthday & anniversaries of each person. All this information is preferred in the same area with the photo, not seperate. But where you can find ALL the information in one spot, but have it large enough to be read.

Looking for ideas. Any you have would be appreciated.

Thanks for all you hard work in making this such a fabulous informative website for church secretaries!

Connie

Idea #1:

Lord of Love has a membership-managing software program, Servant Keeper, which offers formatting for regular & pictorial directories.

I'm not able to export that information to send to you, since it is copywrite-protected, but basically, you can lay out the page with 3 large pictures on the right, with the families' information to the left & horizontal lines separating the 3, or lay out 10 to the page with smaller pictures, photo to the right, info to the left, basically making 4 columns on the page (info, phot, info, photo L - R) with horizontal bars separating each pair of families from the ones above & below.

I've even heard the suggestion that in a smaller church, each family can have its own page & add a short autobiography & candid snapshots. It would really take a small church to get all this information gathered in a timely manner!

Judy Rauscher,Secretary

Idea #2:

Hi Yvon,
We put out a pictorial directory in-house about three years ago, but unless some technology changes, I won't be doing another one again any time soon, at least not a printed version. The reasons are below:

1) Printing issues: To effectively print them on a color copier (our color copier was brand new at the time), we would have had to photoshop every single picture because photos output much darker on the color copier than they do on a color laser printer or ink jet. In the end, I couldn't get some of the photos light enough to render the people in them recognizable, so I ended up printing them all on a color laser printer.

2) Cost: The color laser printer I have is about twice the cost of printing on the color copier. When it was all added up, the cost PER DIRECTORY was almost $6. (It was 40 pages, 8.5x5.5 booklet format, with approx. 120 families.) We printed about 150 directories, one for every family, plus extra copies for staff and to give to newcomers, for a total cost of nearly $900.

3) Time cost: I had to spend literally HOURS gathering, cropping, sizing, tweaking and importing photos, not to mention the normal updating, merging, etc. of the data itself. It was way more work than we usually do to put out a directory.

Now, for a positive take:

1) If one has a church management system (CMS), where the congregation can log in and upload their own photo, and update their own info, then there is usually provision for printing a photo directory, and it would be somewhat easier, though still costly to print.

2) Taking it a step further: If we were to do it again, I would convert it to a PDF document and hand out CDs, then each individual family could absorb the printing cost if they even want to print it out at all. In this day of iPads and smart phones, I can see PDF being the preferred format at some point. I have a smart phone, and I think it would be great to be able to access it wherever I am. (Until we have a secure, member-only section on our website, I can't put it online for download.)

Blessings!
Rona Heenk, office manager
East Renton Community Church

Yvon's note on this:

Though I understand the value and impact of color, the most important thing about the directory is to simply see and identify the people and black and white might work nicely to do that. I recently saw a demonstration of a newer digital duplicator from the RICOH corporation and I was astounded at the quality of  the photos. Check it out if you get the chance, it would be interesting to see how that might work out, especially if you didn't do something really formal, but maybe a more casual one.

Idea #3:

Utilizing a local photographer or one in your congregation to take the family photos, you could then use a publisher such as Creative Memories or Blurb.com to produce an incredible book in whichever size you’d like. Blurb will even offer you the ability to have members purchase the books directly through their website, rather than ordering them in bulk. The downside, is that anyone would be able to see said directory. Once you find a good solution, please let me know. We are planning to do this on our next go round as well.

PS, last year we had our church photographers take photos of each family on Easter Sunday, just as a fun service to them. That may be a great time to catch most of your members dressed in their Easter best!

In Christ's Love,
Chaundra Ward
Administrative Secretary  | Clear Lake Baptist Church

Idea #4:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-ca/publisher-help/create-catalogs-or-directories-RZ001078363.aspx?CTT=1&origin=EC001023015

Hi Yvon,
The above link is from Microsoft. I didn't take the "course" as I'm off to work in a few minutes but it looks like you can sit back and watch it or you can keep clicking Next at the bottom and it walks you step by step thru a Catalogue Merge.
If they create a data file (excel, access) with the information that they want to appear in the directory, they essentially do a mail merge with Publisher... except, Publisher lets you merge photos in too... so as long as they sorted their data on last names, and saved their photos by last name, so they would merge in. So as long as they sorted their data on last names, and saved their photos by last name, so they would merge in the right order, it would be (hopefully) fairly simple to do.

Laura
Secretary - Dundas St Centre United Church
Communications Committee Chair - East London Anglican Ministries

Idea from Yvon

In the past I have gotten some very good feedback about this product:

http://www.instantchurchdirectory.com/

They are the same people who make the clip art resources for churches, Communication Resources.

I'd love to hear from any of you that have used it, good or bad--just put your comments in the comment section below the article.

Here is the link to their latest version:
https://www.comresources.com/directory/

And an updated description of what it does:

The new 2011 version of Instant Church Directory offers you all the same ease of use as the 2008, but now with five brand-new features.  Now you can provide your congregation with an updated photo-directory every year – or as often as you like – without dealing with a photo-directory company.

You can do it yourself, right in your church office, with the equipment you already have. And you’ll see the results in hours … not months!

All you need to do is recruit a few members with digital cameras to stand near the doors on a few Sundays and take “head-shots” of families and individuals as they arrive or leave. The Instant Church Directory™ software will walk you through the process from there.

Instant Church Directory™ automatically prints your members’ photos and roster in alphabetical order.

Once the directory is on your computer, it’s a snap to make changes and keep it current. Simply print out updated copies anytime on request – as many or as few as you need (Instant Church Directory™ is designed to print on 8 1/2 X 11 portrait format only).

It’s like having a professional photo-directory without the hassles of a directory company. Or without obligating your members to buy expensive portraits.

And just like a professional photo-directory, Instant Church Directory™ will help your members get to know one another better, help build a sense of community, and strengthen member care.

Don’t expect your members to tolerate an outdated directory or loose supplements. Put an updated photo-directory into their hands that they’ll appreciate … and you’ll be proud of!

Instant Church Directory™ is also great for producing photo-directories for your Youth Groups, Choirs, Sunday School Classes, Pre-school, Women’s, & Men’s Organizations, Fellowship Groups, and other ministries of your church.

New Features for 2011!

New! Birthday Page - Quickly add birthdays to any member.  The ALL-NEW birthday page displays member birthdays by month.
New! Custom Pages - Insert any PDF page right into the directory.
New! Custom Information Fields - Two new custom fields allow you to add any special information.
New! Reorder Pages - Now you can tell the software which order to print your pages.
New! High-Quality PDF Directory - A high resolution image quality option for printing

_________________________________

Below are the websites of the companies that produce the professional directories.

I am not crazy about either of these companies, but I included them as something to check out for ideas or to compare options. Any directory is better than no directory at all and they do provide a useful service for busy church staffs.

http://www.lifetouch.com/

http://olanmillschurch.com/

Please add your comments, ideas, input and information in the comment section here. Thanks so much!

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Filed Under: Photos, Print on Demand, Printing methods, Printing your own books, Web-based printing companies Tagged With: membership directory, pictoral church directory

Why it is incorrect to think that graphic images mean the same thing to everyone who sees them

10 December, 2010 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

Images should be used only if they add to the message expressed primarily in words. They are not sufficient 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 when they share their creations, 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 as many different things to as many people who look at 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.

Testing that backs up the statements above

Gerry McGovern, communications writer and expert has written a blog entry, which I have quoted below, in which he details marketing research that shows the ineffectiveness of images to communicate a message. Mr. McGovern is kind enough to allow reprinting of his material and I strongly recommend you visit his site and sign up for his newsletter. Information on how to find out more about Mr. McGovern’s website and articles are at the end of this article.

ARE MARKETING IMAGES DAMAGING YOUR BRAND?

By Gerry McGovern

On the Web, traditional marketing images are increasingly being seen as useless annoyances by customers. They undermine the credibility of the brand.

The two webpages were trying to get you to sign up for test drives for supercars. They were identical (pictures of the cars, video, etc.) except for different headlines:
LIFE IS SHORT. JUST DRIVE
DRIVE FIVE SUPERCARS. THE US SUPERCAR TOUR

One headline convinced 34 percent more visitors to fill out and submit the lead generation form. “We think headlines can be the most influential element on the page, and this test certainly shows that,” the WhichTestWon website stated. “WhichTestWon.com research shows headline tests are one of the easiest ways to raise your site’s conversion rates,” Ann Holland founder of WhichTestWon states. “Subhead tests and response device headlines (such as wording on a button or at the top of a form) are also extremely powerful.”

Words are absolutely critical to the success of a website and yet many marketers, communicators and senior managers spend far more time on images.

“My group must continually respond to requests to add yet another image to our home page,” Cliff Tyllick wrote to me in an email recently. Cliff is the Web development coordinator for the Agency Communications Division of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Cliff went on to state that they had done a large study of their homepage’s usability which “showed quite clearly that images not only divert attention from themselves ("This looks like an ad. I'm not here to buy anything; I'm here to get something done.") but also poisoned the drawing power of words at or below their level on our home page ("This looks like fluff, so nothing beside or below it could possibly be serious. I'm looking for serious content.").

One participant in the study Cliff’s team conducted visited the website every day and complained that it was impossible to find information on a particular program. For the previous six months there had been a large graphic on the homepage advertising this very program.

In another website we were involved with there was a graphic advertising a service in the right column of the homepage immediately visible. The homepage was long and three screens down there was a text link for this service. The link got several times more clicks than the graphic ad. In another study we did most participants never even saw the banner ad that took up 40% of the homepage because they had clicked on a navigation link before it had time to fully download. Yahoo did a major study on banner ad effectiveness and found that while these ads had some impact on those over 40, those younger than 40 hardly ever saw them.

If these stock photography marketing cliché images are actually damaging to a brand’s reputation, why do we keep using them? There was an Irish family that had a tradition of cutting the roast in two every Christmas. One of the children wanted to know why but nobody could tell her. It was a tradition going back generations, she was told. Finally, the child asked her grandmother. “When I was young, sweetheart,” the grandmother said, “we had a very small oven.”

Citations and ways to contact and sign up for Gerry McGovern’s emails:

www.gerrymcgovern.com


Closing comments from Yvon Prehn:

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.

 

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Filed Under: Clipart, Design, Graphics, Images, Photos Tagged With: Gerry McGovern, image use, value of images, words necessary

How to download Paint.net, a Webinar On-Demand

23 August, 2010 By Yvon Prehn 2 Comments

Paint.net is a great FREE program for modifying the free images available online. Following the webinar that provided an overview of the free sources, a number of people had problems downloading www.paint.net. I went over the download too quickly and I apologize.

I created the webinar here that goes step-by-step through the download process. I also found, what I think is a better resource to download it than the one shown in the other video--PC World.

{+}

Here is the video:

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Filed Under: Clipart, Graphics, Images, Photos, Videos

Free Clipart & Photo Websites, Webinar On-Demand

18 August, 2010 By Yvon Prehn 6 Comments

Copyright questions answered
We can copy anything we find on Google, but that doesn't mean we should as church communicators. How to know? The following guidelines will help.

We all want free images to use in our church communications, but where can we find ones that we can use without guilt and without violating the Terms of Use for some of the sites?

Though there are hundreds of sites that claim to be "free" out there on the web, most of them have hidden agendas, are actually teasers for payment sites or have such restricting rules and terms of use that they are unpractical for use in a church setting.

After many hours of research and shifting through the websites, I've come up with four of them that I highly recommend (plus one obvious one many people forget about). These sites have excellent quality images, primarily photographs (not just tacky clip art) and their generous reproduction rights make them free in cost and guilt-free for churches to use. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Clipart, Photos Tagged With: Clip art, copyright information, free clipart, tour of clipart sites

Captions define what we see, never publish a photo without them

3 December, 2009 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

Captions define what we see, never publish a photo without them
Captions define what we see, never publish a photo without them

We've all heard the saying: "A picture is worth a thousand words."

That is one of the dumbest statements ever because without a complete and clear caption, the question is, "which thousand?" No picture is self-explanatory. We have to tell people what to see in a photograph.

This PDF illustrates how a variety of captions can give completely different meanings to a picture.

Keep the lessons here in mind not only when you create print communications, but when you create PowerPoint and web pieces where you use a lot of images. You can never be sure that your images will mean the same thing to your audience as they do to you.

Sometimes (especially on websites with lots of little pictures) the images don't add clarity, but sometimes distraction and confusion. The addition of unnecessary little images to websites reminds me of the early days of desktop publishing when people were so excited to be able to use clipart that they often added lots of little clipart images to every church publication whether they were needed or not.

So many of the websites and blogs where people seem compelled to add an image (and many templates come with "thumbnail placeholders") results in many images that have little to do with the content of the text and sometimes result in a "what does that have to do with anything?" distraction for the reader. Your readers are not little children to have to be entertained by pictures if you have content worth reading.

Click here or on the image to download the PDF.

note: this PDF is from Yvon Prehn's archives and is the only format of this article available presently. Not the greatest quality to be sure, but shared with the belief that the content is useful.

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Filed Under: Church Newsletters, Graphics, Images, Photos Tagged With: church communication basics, church newsletters, Communications, photo captions, photographs, yvon prehn

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