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.

FREE Text for Halloween Outreach for invitations, postcards, congregational motivation

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Halloween Cards to Consider Jesus
This article contains the text-only files for all these communications, free for anyone to copy and use.

Following are the text only files from the Halloween materials. These text files are for anyone who wants to use them to create Halloween outreach materials

If you are an ECC Member you have access to them in finished files, click here to go to the overview page that shows how they are used in church communications and for the download. If you'd like more information on how to become a Member of Effective Church Communications and save yourself the time and work of creating these communications yourself, CLICK HERE.

For everyone, for all the materials that follow, PLEASE simply copy, download and use in any way you want to help your congregation reach people for Jesus this Halloween season.

Motivational text to get your congregation to invite  [Read more...]

Back-to-School Backpack Ministry, church communication resources to motivate your congregation

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Back-to-School  is a time with great outreach potential. Backpack Ministry, where your church assembles and gives children backpacks filled with school supplies, now more than ever, is a greatly needed ministry. Children in homeless shelters, kids whose parents have lost their jobs, or whose jobs have been cut back, many of them face a sad and embarrassing time—to be forced to go to school without the required supplies their parents can't pay for and the schools don't provide.

To keep that from happening to any little child in your community, below are PDFs of bulletin inserts (two styles, same content) you can download and print up for your church with the specific details for your church on the backside. First are some links for websites that will give you additional ideas not only on Backpack Ministries for this time of year, but year-round for needy children.

Many families need help on a continuing basis. These backpacks aren’t filled with school supplies, but with food for children who may not eat on the weekend without help. Check out churches in your area who may do this and if none do, consider starting that ministry at your church.

May the Lord burn into our hearts the needs of children and make us motivated to meet those needs. May the Lord give you, the church communicator, the passion, power and prayers to create communications that will link needs with resources.

You may freely download, copy, share, use the following inserts in any way you want.

Backpack Ministry Bulletin Insert, click here to download PDF

 

 

For another set of designs, PLUS a downloadable ZIP FILE of editable MS Publisher files of the new designs, jpg, png and a text file of the content CLICK HERE

PDF: Business cards, many ministry uses in a small package

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PDF of a variety of church business cards
PDF of a variety of church business cards

This PDF shows business cards used in a number of ways, all of which are effective for outreach.

But example #1 on the page needs a little more explanation. It is a card that a church can give out to people after doing some sort of service project. For example in the winter, perhaps the youth group shoveled sidewalks or scraped windshields or the church gave folks hot chocolate at rest stops. Whatever the kindness, this is a great way to let people know the church did the action and to invite people to come visit the church.

Some folks might say that perhaps the church should simply do the act of kindness without saying who did it and if that is what the Lord tells you to do, by all means do that. However, if you don't let people know who you are and let them know that the church is there and wants to have a continuing relationship with them, you might be cutting off someone who has a real need and who might want to connect with the church. A third option might be to make up the cards and allow individuals to choose if they hand them out or not.

To download the PDF, 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.

 

Give the gift of communication tools to your congregation, at Christmas and any time of the year

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Christmas is the time for giving. This year give to the people in your churches communication tools to help them share the gospel. We all know that Ephesians 4 tells pastors and teachers that their job is “to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry.” Communication tools can quip your people to do evangelism for the holidays and all year around.

Communication tools for evangelism

Most Christians know they are to be about sharing the good news of the gospel to people who don’t know Jesus. However, exactly how to do that keeps many people from doing that. Most of them think that sharing the gospel means getting up enough courage to say to a co-worker or stranger, “Are you saved?” and then proceeding to present a 3-minute canned gospel presentation.

God in His mercy does sometimes use that method, but it is probably not the most effective or is it one that most of your congregation look forward to using. In addition, current studies show that in our secular, post-Christian society it usually takes repeated exposures to the gospel message before an unchurched person really understands it and can honestly respond.

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Those repeated exposures usually take place in some church or church-sponsored activity such as a social event or small group. The communication tools you give your people gives them a way to bring friends and invite strangers to church or into a small group where they can get the repeated exposures they need to make an informed decision about the Christian faith. Some of the communication tools are:

Invitation cards

You can turn any standard business card from your church into an invitation card by simply placing a blank line where the name would be on the card and just below it, adding “member of Your Friendly Church.” In another place on the card place the words, “BE MY GUEST”.  On the reverse side of the card put a map of how to get to the church, service times, website, and whatever additional information you might think is important, such as if child care is provided at all services.

Depending upon the size of your church, make up hundreds or thousands of these cards and ask all the members to take a handful of them, carry them around at all times and give them out.

You could also make up special cards for a special series. One idea would be to make up a small fold-over card the size of a business card. On the outside have a simple cross and the words: What if it’s true? Inside invite folks to a series of upcoming sermons at your church, such as: “Is the Bible Really God’s Word?” “Why Do We Say Jesus is the Only Way to God?” “Why Does a Good God Allow Evil in Our World?”

Gospel Presentation Brochures or tracts

You can either create ones specific to your church or use ones that you get from the American Tract Society (http://www.atstracts.org/). You can personalize them for your church by adding an address label on the back. The standard 2 x 3 inch mailing labels from office supply stores fit perfectly in the open space on the back of many gospel tracts. Use the label to invite people to a special event at your church. For example, on Christmas tracts create a colorful label inviting people to your Christmas concert or other outreach event.

CDs and DVDs

It is so easy to create CDs these days and many larger churches (and many teenagers) are quite good at doing it. If you need a professional source to create music CDs for you or CDs in bulk, contact  http://www.discmakers.com/. They create very professional CDs for excellent prices.

If your church is known for its music and if your music the kind unchurched people respond to, create a CD as an outreach piece. Church members can give it to friends and tell them that if they’d like more, your church has wonderful music like that available every Sunday.

The small business card CDs would make great music invitations to youth programs that have bands.

Discmakers as well as local media production houses in your community can also create DVDs from your church videos. You might want to add a new invitation or introduction or perhaps shoot various programs in your church to include short samples on your DVD for various holidays or different groups.

Web site support

For each of the communications above, be sure include your web site on all printed pieces and on the CDs and DVDs.  On the web site be sure to have current  information on all your church events and schedules.

In addition, have links for additional evangelistic  and outreach information.  For example, to back up the invitation cards, you should have more background about your church, perhaps a bio and picture of the pastor and his or her qualifications for teaching that series. For the salvation tracts let people know that on the web site you answer the “Top Ten Questions People Ask Before They Become A Christian” and similar questions.