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.

Free ebook on Basic English Grammar and a helpful website for writing advice

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This book is a free ebook on the site link below. It is a helpful review for what we all learned a long time ago.

We could all do better on our writing, grammar, and editorial skills and this website has a wealth of articles to help. In addition, they also have a very useful FREE Ebook on the Basics of English grammar. They send out a daily newsletter with short writing tips that I don't always read, but have found useful.

They also have a number of blog articles they link to that are excellent reminders and training to help us keep quality in our church communications.

Be a bit careful of the advertisements on their site. For example, I didn't like the big display ad on self-publishing "for only $100." You can self-publish books for free, you don' t need to pay someone to do it for you. That's one of the reasons we do self publishing. But overall, lots of useful material.

CLICK HERE to go to the site overall

CLICK HERE to go to the page to download the FREE Basic English Grammar ebook.

How to create ministry videos with emotional impact & how I do that with animoto videos

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You won't read posts like this very often from me. Most of what I teach is very direct and step-by-step:

  • Use this typeface and your text will be readable
  • Include connection cards if you want a visitor to respond
  • Here is a useful resource for free clip art, check it out

The creation of animoto videos (using the software at http://www.animoto.com, that makes creating videos ridiculously easy), requires a different approach. For this time of year, when you may want to create a video about summer mission projects (as I did for one that follows and is used as an example) I thought this might be helpful.

There are three videos that I created that I refer to in the materials that follows, these are all at the end of the text. You may want to jump down and watch them first (it will take less than 5 minutes to watch all three), but you may have already watched them.

A very different approach, but ministry sometimes needs it

But in wanting to help you create effective animoto videos like them, I realized that some of the following advice isn't so much cerebral as from the heart. And, gasp, horrors to my German, Mennonite soul--a bit undefined, touchy-feely, emotional even. Yet the topic seems to need a different approach, and so here are some thoughts that might be helpful:

1. I approach these kinds of things with a spiritual lesson in mind. I want people to feel something after they see it. I want to touch hearts.

2. In the past when I wrote for mission organizations, (and now today when I create things for our missions outreach), the thing I'd always say to myself is that I want to go for the gut--if people don't feel something, if they don't respond viserally, I've missed it.

I want people to spontaneously cry--just a bit--but when their emotions respond that is usually when people take action.

At the same time****VERY important***if your video is for a mission project or something else that requires specific action BE SURE you have concrete response materials. For the mission video below I had lists, brochures, a poster display, materials online and at the church welcome center. NEVER stir up emotions about a particular specific cause without giving people a way to concretely respond to it.

3. BUT to do that you don't use mushy words or pictures. If the gut/heart response is to be from God--the most important thing we can do is to present the story truthfully and get out-of-the-way.

4. You have to have good images to do that--I am really grateful to FREE BIBLE IMAGES (http://freebibleimages.org)  for the project they are working on--to give us accurate images for Bible lessons. Though all their sets might be useful for a more linear form of teaching, for the videos, I look for ones with a narrative, emotional impact.

How to get pictures that will touch hearts and motivate to action

For mission ones, like the ones in the video below--you need to train your people who go out on mission trips to take good pictures. I went through over 100 ones to find the few I was able to use in the video. Most mission pictures are of groups (which communicate nothing) are shot too far away. Shoot up close; take people pictures, don't always have everyone staring into the camera. One of the best things to do is to shoot closely AROUND people when they are engaged in action. Take pictures that describe the setting--big and little things--don't just show me the building from a distance--show me the front door, the view from it, what kids see from their windows.

For the third video, "why I can be happy" I found images from the web--it took an incredible amount of time to do that and then I modified all of them into black and white--I was on sort of a black and white kick then--also because the images came from so many sources, this was a way to even out their tone.

5. YOU MUST use words--but be so careful with your words. A picture may be worth a 1,000 words, but without caption-type words--or the ones I like what I put into the video, the pictures alone either mean nothing, or more often they mean whatever story is going on in someone's head at the time.

You must guide the thought pattern of your audience. Not too much--this is where animoto is a great help because you are limited in your words. It forces you to create almost haiku phrases. But they must be clear and almost without emotion. This is where it gets tricky. For example, in the video about the Prodigal Son:

I wrote: and his only friends, were pigs

I didn't say: it was horrible the mess he got in--what a failure

I wrote: instead of scolding, his father through a party

I didn't say: his father was merciful and gracious like God is to us sinners

You see how the second examples of what I didn't say were a correct description--but said that way, the writer does the feeling for you. And if that feeling does not resonate with the reader, maybe they don't think the mess was "horrible" or don't like the term "sinners", the images lose their impact. In what I wrote, I tried to give the most precise, short description possible and then let the reader feel the emotion.

6. Selecting music. This is incredibly hard for me because I don't listen to hardly any music ever (long story behind that--no theological reasons-- a painful inner ear issue). I have the songs on animoto--many of you would have many other songs available and would actually know something about them, which I don't. I pray a lot about this first so I don't have to deal with it for long. But I try to find something that really fits either in the words (as in the Prodigal Son one and why I can be happy) or with the tone of the images as in the mission one. And then I try to fit the pacing of the images and music to it. I fiddle around a lot with this.

7. When I hit the "produce" button, I usually redo the video at least half a dozen times to fine-tune words, music, order of images.

8. One more thing: videos like this need to be SHORT. I ramble a bit (I do edit out a lot actually) when I talk and teach on  how-to videos and sometimes that is necessary so I don't sound like a drill sergeant, but for a video to have a powerful, emotional punch you can't ramble on. For Fathers Day our church showed a video with  father and children images interspersed with verses--I don't know who did it or where it came from, but not only was there not particularly anything new shown or anything added to the verses--but it went on and on and on and on--for over 5 minutes. That is WAY too long for a video that is supposed to inspire. Cute has a very short interest span.

For editing on videos and everything else--one thing I remind myself of is that if the Lord wills that you continue in your communication ministry--this is just one part of the conversation He wants you to have with your audience. You don't need to say everything at this one time.

9. Finally pray and let it go. But be sure to have the specific follow-up if the video message requires it.

 The three videos referred to in the material above:

Does God care when we mess up?

Mexico Backpack Ministry

Why I can be happy video

The biggest mistakes made by Christian Communicators, part two

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Part one started this listing of mistakes is both a report and my commentary on a presentation at the Outreach Convention in San Diego, November 2010 by Phil Cooke, a writer and commentator on media, faith, and culture.

The first three mistakes (available by clicking here ) were:

Mistake #1:  Thinking that that value of your message means people will pay attention to it

Mistake #2: Bad writing

Mistake #3: Lose the Lingo

These aren’t the only mistakes we make in communication, so let’s continue. . . .

Mistake #4: No recognizing that media has become a 2-way conversation

Phil Cooke talked about the significant difference social media has made especially for the younger generation whose parent’s raised them to believe everything they did was wonderful. They were raised wanting to be heard and believing they were special. They want to have a voice; they love discussion and feedback.

In addition they are the first generation to grow up with computers. Combine those two ideas and it is no surprise that 96% are connected to social networks. An obvious application for church communication is to have places on your website for comments and interaction; to have Facebook, Twitter and other social media interaction opportunities for your church members.

My comments: church leaders of my baby boomer generation are used to making decisions and statements and then expecting people to listen and obey based on their position. Often a question is heard as a challenge to spiritual authority and the person asking is the subject of subtle or severe discipline. This attitude is death to interaction and communication with today’s audience.

All of us in the church who lead and teach, no matter what our age or position, need to provide opportunities for feedback and interaction. We need to look at questions, not as sinful rebellion, but as an opportunity to engage with people who may see things in a different way than we do. This is not easy, but it can provide exciting opportunities to learn from others and help them perhaps grow in coming to know Jesus.

People will react and talk to each other—why not work to make that part of your church?

Mistake #5: Forgetting that Everything communicates

Everything that we do and say, how our building looks and smells, (don’t think about that very often do you?), the state of repair or cleanliness, if we have adequate handicapped parking or access—everything communicates.

Phil Cook reminded us that if your usher is a jerk—he represents your brand. No secular company would intentionally allow rude and cranky people to stand at the front door--a bit of training in hospitality and kindness may be in order.

My comments: I often remind pastors that they may be the greatest communicator in their city and if they preach the gospel clearly, they are sharing the most important message ever. But in most churches people have to walk through an almost literal mine field before they even get to the listening to the sermon. The parking situation, finding child care and bathrooms, where to sit and when to stand, making sense of a bulletin without an order of service (a current trend in some churches and a huge mistake if you want to reach visitors), all of these things must be conquered before the sermon begins.

No matter what your position on staff, pray that the Lord will enable you to walk through the path, meet the people and look at the communications people encounter when they come to your church with eyes that are open to see if all these things represent the gospel message in a way that is honoring to your church and our Lord.

Mistake #6: Forget the power of a niche

Phil Cooke reminded us of how many options people have in how they will choose to spend their time and attention. If we want to capture them, he reminded the audience for their church to focus on what they are really passionate about. He challenged church leaders to ask themselves, “What is the ONE thing you would preach about if you could only preach about ONE thing?”

Once you decide on that one passion, you have an idea what your niche might be.

My comments: others might refer to this as vision, but no matter what label we use, it is incredibly important. I constantly encourage church communicators to be who YOU are, and communicate the particular way of sharing the gospel that the Lord called you to share to the group He called you to share it with.

On a practical note, that is why I think it is so important for churches to create their own communications. I can give you ideas and samples, but always take whatever advice is shared and tailor it for your people. If God expresses his creative joy in making every snowflake, every fingerprint, every person different, do you really think He wants you to preach sermons downloaded from the internet or to buy tacky bulletin covers, when you can create your own of both and be YOU, not a carbon copy of someone else?

Finding your niche isn’t just good marketing, it is about being true to your individual calling.

_______________

IF you’d like to listen to Phil Cooke’s complete presentation (which was fantastic) with so much more content and without my comments, click here to go to the Outreach Download site.  http://www.outreach.com/print/List.asp?rpp=43&N=41+292+4294966036

The biggest mistakes made by Christian communicators, part one

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This listing of mistakes is both a report and a commentary on a presentation at the Outreach Convention in San Diego, November 2010 by Phil Cooke, a writer and commentator on media, faith, and culture.

Phil is one of those rare individuals who is in touch with current  culture while at the same time someone who has a passionate devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. In addition, he is a dynamic presenter, both fun to listen to and extremely thought provoking.

In addition to presenting his comments, I’ll be adding my additions to them.

Mistake #1:  thinking that that value of your message means people will pay attention to it

This one is my comment on his statement that current studies show most people are bombarded with over 5,000 messages a day. Because of that, he added that it isn’t enough to just have a great message.

We have the greatest message, that’s a given—eternal salvation freely given to rebellious humanity, who neither earn it, deserve it, or even after they accept it, are seldom thankful for it. Having the greatest message, isn’t the same thing as communicating it.

Resting on the value of their message, some church communications don’t work very hard on making their communication clear, creative, or something that even makes sense to people outside the church. Communication that results in action is hard work.

Mistake #2: Bad writing

Phil Cooke had a number of examples of this including a picture of a billboard that said:

Sinners is Welcome

The next one was a church sign that had lost some letters and said:

Disciples of Chris

Phil went on to say that grammar and spelling are the basics of our toolbox as communicators.  Just as any athlete knows he must stay strong in the fundamentals, we’ve also got to be careful about these areas.

My comments: today there seems to be the idea that if the design is fancy enough, the words don’t matter, but words are what clarify our message. If they are muddled, your audience may walk away with a nice feeling, but little else.

If you feel your writing needs improvement, there are lots of writing classes online, but one of the best ways to learn to write is to read good writers. C.S. Lewis is one of my favorites and I like to have his clear, logical writing in my mind as I try to write.

Don’t forget reading your Bible, not only to learn and grow in your faith, but to train your mind and writing. If you think God’s thoughts clearly and if his Word is the foundation of your life, your writing will reflect it. Many of the great writers of the past had the Bible as their primary instructor in life and writing and we do well to follow their example.

Mistake #3: Lose the Lingo

Many people outside the church today did not grow up with any understanding of Christian images, references, vocabulary. The primary cultural vocabulary for many today is the media. One example of the problems this can cause is for a person who saw the Alien movies where the monster comes bursting out of the chest of its victim. What do you think that person hears when he attends church and the pastor talks about how “Jesus will come and live inside you.”

Our first response might be to laugh, but to muddle serious spiritual truth because we don’t take time to think through what our spiritual jargon is saying to a person raised outside the church.

____________

To go to part two of this series, click here.

How to write visually to reach today’s audiences

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To touch hearts and change, lives it takes more than a list of facts. We want people to see an image  in their mind's eye that will cause them to feel an emotion they can respond to.
A PDF of the article: How to write visually. We want to do more than convey information, we want to create images in the mind's eye so our readers can see the lessons we want to share.

It is not difficult to this, but you have to be intentional about it in your writing. This PDF article will help you.

To download the PDF of the article, click here or on the image.

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.