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 train churchcom ministry volunteers

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church communication volunteers
Recruiting volunteers is just the first step in assembling a team to help with the church communication ministry and here you'll learn what else is important.

Few church offices have enough time or people to get done all the communications they know they need to do to adequately inform and instruct their congregation and to get them involved in ministry activities that will help them grow to Christian maturity. Rather than complain or cut back on communications, one solution is to train a team of volunteers to help. That suggestion can be terrifying, but in what follows I’ll share strategy and tools that make it possible. Not easy, but possible.

First divide your communication ministry into two levels

Before we discuss the specifics of training tools it’s important to divide your church communication ministry into two levels because one of the greatest concerns churches have is that volunteers won’t do an acceptable job or won’t meet the overall standards expected by the church.

This is a valid concern, but it can be solved by dividing your communication ministry into:

#1 The PR Level

#2 The Production Level

The PR Level is the top level that encompasses the communications that define the church: the website, the church bulletin, the overall newsletter. This level has the strictest guidelines in quality and because of that, the work done by church staff.

The Production Level varies in communications, but it has items such as postcards, flyers, misc. communications from individual ministries within the church. This level can vary in quality (be realistic, you don’t need the same care for the postcard reminding the men’s ministry of a workday as you do the Sunday morning bulletin. There are lots of communications that are important to get people involved in ministries, that remind, educate, and encourage, and these are ideal projects for volunteers.

Prepare Guidelines and Templates

Two more things need to be in place before you launch your training program. [Read more...]

How to effectively name and create a logo for a church or ministry

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Church Logo Sample
Church names and logos represent your vision and calling--take time to carefully make your decisions.

The name of your church or ministry and your logo is the first thing people see. What impression does it give them? Does it give a message that you want? An email from a young pastor prompted this article. Following is his email and my answer that, though not exhaustive, gives some important guidelines for naming and creating a logo for a ministry or church.

The email that started the conversation about naming and branding a ministry

Yvon,
After a year and half of working with this youth group we still have the old Ignite name and logo.  I don't really like either one but am having trouble coming up with a better one.  So I was wondering what process you go through to choose names and how you finally decide on one and if you have any names you would suggest?

I would love for the name to represent our ministry well, but mostly I just want to it to help give the ministry an identity and brand so to speak.  I want to be able to get some shirts made with a simple name and logo which will spark curiosity.

A few names that have popped up are: The Bridge, Rip Tide, Altered, and Driven. What do you think of these, any suggestions?
Thanks!

Following are my suggestions:

Dear Pastor,

I commend you for thinking through these issues. Corporations spend thousands of dollars deciding questions like this and though we don't have those resources, with thought, prayer, and the Lord's guidance I have seen many churches come up with excellent solutions. Here are some thoughts and suggestions that might be helpful:

#1: Recognize that naming a ministry and creating a logo are very important.

These are not frivolous, non-ministry related actions. The group’s name, the way it is presented, the colors used, the connotations of the name and colors and the logo all give out an impression. These impressions are the first thing people see and hear and they help form their first response to your ministry.

Give yourself plenty of time, thought, and prayer as you decide. There are many resources on the web that can help with the design itself, but the suggestions that follow are all decisions you need to make before you have a graphic design implemented.

#2 The name/logo will give an identity and ministry direction to your group, so think it through carefully.

Groups will live up to their name. In my experience, when my husband Paul and I first led a Single Adult Group, we called it OASIS. We were very intentional about it and the name came from what we wanted the group to be about. Here was our thinking:

Being here in S. California, we liked the California connotation to a tropical idea, we had a palm tree and sun for our logo, it had the idea of rest, relax, recharge. More important than that, we had a ministry direction to the name we wanted the name to emphasize:

OASIS stood for:

Our Adult Singles In Service: Service to God, Service to others, Service to our world.

We worked hard to make certain everyone in the ministry knew the meaning of the name. We never allowed the name to be used in any church publication without the tagline. We did that intentionally because we wanted singles to know that singles are not to live only for themselves, but that the Bible teaches singles are to be the most involved, godly, active people in the kingdom of God. We constantly stressed that in our teaching and activities.

#3 Color is also important in your choice of a logo.

Think team colors. Our primary color for OASIS was yellow; we colored the sun in the logo that color. When we printed stuff it was always on neon yellow paper. I used to send out (before everyone had email) lots of postcards, always on yellow card stock. People referred to getting those “little yellow postcards from Yvon”

Because then the church did not have a full color printer, all our bulletin inserts, newsletters, everything, was printed on that neon yellow paper. We had yellow t-shirts with our logo on them. This was very effective when all the singles would wear them on a Sunday and it was a not-so-subtle way for the church to see that singles were involved (at that time we had about 300 of them) in all aspects of the church: choir, children’s ministry, ushers, you name it.

Also with color you have to think through your printing options, can you print in full color? How will it look if you can’t? Today, be sure to pick colors that will work on email, the web, up on PowerPoint.

Keep in mind that colors have different associations to different groups and that colors change in popularity.

#4 Think through carefully the connotations of a name

What do you want your group to be about? To be known as? This is especially challenging with a youth group, because the temptation is to focus on the impact of the name itself, (what is cool or edgy or "in" at the moment) but all words in common usage have previous connotations that you can’t ignore.

Because of that don’t only think of the current appeal of a name—think the identity you want the group to be known for, what has the Lord called you to be?

Here are a few thoughts on this topic in connection with the names you suggested:

The Bridge:

The “bridge” has lots of good connotations of unity and joining God and people and all that, but at present it is also a common church name and there is at least one church here in Ventura named “the Bridge” so that name could be confusing in your advertising and outreach material.

Rip Tide

The idea of going against the current is a good connotation, but I wouldn’t use this one because rip tides also kill people, as happens at least a few times a year in this area. It also is something you can't see, and if you are caught in one, it is very hard to get out of it. It can carry away and you'll die. None of these are great connotations for a youth group.

Altered:

This name has possibilities. It is a bit edgy and counter cultural—altered states of consciousness come to mind. But it also has some valid biblical connotations:

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Cor.5:17, NLT)

Today people alter lives and bodies for all kinds of reasons, why not for one of eternal and real value? If you are in an altered state, people usually know it—so, don’t hide who you are in Jesus!

You could come up with some interesting light/ dark/contrast sorts of logos, any strong color combination could work—this one has real possibilities

Driven

This one also has some great possibilities: ideas of direction and what is driving you and to get somewhere, who is driving you, what fuels your life, etc. Lots of biblical images of the road, the way, are obvious here.

Again, could do some neat graphic images for the logo, some contemporary ones—ideas of road trips, maps needed, lots of good analogies and design images for websites, e-newsletters, social media groups, devotions for the road, etc. could go along with this.

Also too I like the idea of this one because the term “driven” usually means someone is really committed to, sold out on what they are doing—could have some great lead-ins for challenges to discipleship and being driven by things eternal.

#5 You don't have to be where you want to be when you pick a new name/logo

As you read some of the material above, you might be hesitant as you pick a name because you know your church or ministry isn't what you want them to be. They may seem more like a dangerous rip-tide at the moment than a group of people driven to love and serve Jesus.

In situations like this, let's look at some biblical examples of naming. When God first called Gideon to deliver his people, he said:

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” (Judges 6:12)

When Jesus called Peter, he said:

Jesus looked intently at Peter for a moment and then said, “You are Simon, John’s son—but you shall be called Peter, the rock!” (Jn. 1:42, TLB)

Gideon was hiding in a winepress when God called him and Peter would go on to deny Christ—both were a long way from mighty men of God they would become.

Give your ministry a name worthy of the calling God has given you. Don't settle for a name based on your current situation, but on a vision for the future and with His help, work to make it all the Lord wants it to be.

What matters most in evaluating software and services for church communications

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Tips to help you make software choices.
It's usually not as clear-cut when you need to make ministry software decisions, this article will help.

In the process of finding Membership Software for the ECC website, I learned valuable lessons, which I'll share below, that I think are of benefit to anyone looking for a new software or service. In addition, I wanted to share how these will affect future training on the ECC site.

An overview of lessons learned as I looked for Membership Software

Please note, this is a totally different kind of software than Membership Software for a church. The kind of software I was looking for is primarily business software that protects and charges for content on a website. It has nothing to do with churches.

Here is my overview of lessons learned:

  • Don't look for perfection in software, look for a good fit.
  • A good fit is what is determined by your needs, situation, budget and ability to use the software.
  • Almost every software or system that I read about had some people who thought it was wonderful and others who hated it.
  • Feature lists mean almost nothing—most are either obvious, bloated, or exaggerated.
  • Good support and explanations are priceless.

Expanded comments on what I learned:
I realized that the differences in how various software and systems were reviewed had little to do with the products themselves and much more to do with who was reviewing them. Unfortunately in the case of most reviews of the membership programs often tech gurus reviewed them. What a tech guru found "easy and intuitive" I often found impossible to understand or carry out.

I also became very weary of so-called "reviews" that were nothing more than a collection of links with content pulled from the sites they were reviewing. There is too much of this on the web. I found almost no "reviews" from people who actually used the materials, unless they were comments on the manufacturer's site or blogs where people hated something. I can understand this because the programs are costly and extremely time-consuming to learn, but it wasn't very helpful to someone trying to figure it all out.

The features in membership software that meant a lot to some people such as "the ability to drip content" and "lock RSS feeds" meant nothing to me. There are many instances where an abundance of features isn't positive, but overly complex and overwhelming when you only want it to do a few simple things. Most membership sites are for people who are selling expensive business services or content, so every bit of content is locked, locked again, put on an access level and sold piece by piece. They don't want people to share, they want to sell it one post, video or article at a time.

In contrast, I simply wanted to set up a membership site so that I wouldn't have to charge people every time I created a new ebook, training video, template or other resource. I wish I could give it all away for free, but since that isn't possible, this seems like the best solution. Church communicators are on a budget and I felt that if you could plan a month to month or year to year, on a consistent cost, or if you got a life-time offer, it would be easier for churches to have the content and training needed.

The conclusion of the above observations is that there is no objectively "perfect" software for any task. Software is perfect for you if it meets your needs, your budget, your level of training, for the tasks you need to carry out at your church. To figure that out, research all you can, but remember to pray for wisdom (James 1:5) remembering that your Lord loves you and the people you serve and wants to help equip you to do the best job possible in your work.

How I am applying them to future training on ECC

Because I learned there is no perfect tool to carry out any church communication task, I will try to present options for different situations in the programs I review or lessons I teach—to enable you to make the right decision for your needs, your budget, your level of training, for the tasks you need to carry out at your church.—which is the most important thing I can help you do.

I came to this conclusion after analyzing my frustrations, when I realized that one particular thing that bothered me was that almost every reviewer or commentator assumed (I'm sure in many cases, they not even aware they were doing this) that all their readers were exactly alike and more than that were exactly like them and had the same likes, dislikes, knowledge level and needs as the person doing the review. Because of that they would make statements such as, "this is the best and so easy to use….." Maybe it was for them, but it certainly wasn't for me.

It was upsetting when I realized that far too often I've unthinkingly done the same thing and I apologize. Let me share a current example of how I plan to change in this:

More options for website training

For some time I've been working on a new series on how to do websites. I had a very specific way I liked to create websites and host them. I was planning to teach everybody MY PLAN and only MY PLAN (because of course I thought that was best—oh how the sin of pride sneaks in where we least expect it), but as I've thought and prayed about it more, I've realized that there are a number of ways to create and host websites that would work out well for churches of various sizes and for people with various skill and budget. In researching and trying different options, I have found a number of systems that work well. In fact, I now have several systems and hosts I'm personally using for various ministries, and like any parent with several children, I no longer have a favorite.

As part of this new way of approaching training, I will do more video reviews and make them as clear as possible with the benefits and challenges for each new topic I'm teaching. For example, on the upcoming series on websites, I'll talk about when and why you may want to use a free WordPress template and modify it for your church; when and why you might want to use a hosted WordPress site and a purchased church-specific template; when and why you might want to use a service to create and host your site. I'm not you, at your church or with your budget, and though I can't give you unlimited options, I will work hard to make the options I do present as clear as possible.

The Lord tells us that "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28). When I started the search for new membership software, I didn't know how difficult and frustrating it would be, but I also didn't know how it would teach me lessons that I believe will ultimately be of great value to the guests and members of the ECC site—and the Lord knew that was the most important part of the process.

Teamwork in Times of Change

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Teamwork in times of change
More than ever, success in the church office is the result of teamwork.

Ed. note: If you've served in the church for any time at all, you've not doubt experienced changes and will experience many more in the times to come. In this encouraging article, Gayle helps us see how to make the most of the most challenging changing times.

In September 2011 the Hartford Institute for Religion Research released a new decade-long survey of congregations in the United States. It will come as no surprise to you that the past ten years have brought enormous changes throughout religious communities.

One disturbing conclusion is that median weekend worship in all sizes of congregations has significantly declined since the 2000 survey. Along with the drops in attendance was a significant decline in financial resources.

Still, despite fewer dollars and fewer people, a lot of churches—large and small—are doing some things quite well. One example: the vast majority of congregations have implemented electronic communications. More than 40 percent even use social networks like Facebook to keep in touch with congregants. These congregations and their leaders realize surviving and thriving in challenging times doesn’t just happen. [Read more...]

Just how important is Know-how?

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Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. Note: Although I am always encouraged and motivated by the articles Gayle shares with us, this one is especially appropriate for the vision and ministry of Effective Church Communications. My goal is to equip you to share the Words of Eternal Life and as Gayle shows to do that best is not so much about what tools you have, but about YOU, your training, insight and use of the skills you bring to the church. Read on and be encouraged that the time you spend learning will give you a mastery far beyond your expectations!

Just how important is Know-how?

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord…” —Colossians 3:23

When it comes to getting the job done, it’s all about knowing what to do with what you have. The church with the most equipment does not necessarily produce the best looking publications. The one with the priciest management software does not automatically have the accurate and usable records. Nor does having an elaborate phone system guarantee the church’s calls will be handled properly. [Read more...]