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.

Successful Christmas Outreach Strategy

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Christmas tree
For Christmas outreach to be successful take lots of work and prayer.

For many churches, their idea of successful Christian outreach means finding and buying the best looking, professionally done postcard and then paying lots for mailing lists and a large mailing.

It doesn’t matter how great your outreach marketing piece looks, how flawless the printing, how inspired your slogan, no one piece can carry the weight of assuring a good turnout for a Christmas event. Even if you do get a good turnout, that doesn't mean that the response of the people who attend will be anything more than appreciation for a good time.

This is not to say that these things don’t matter, because they may be steps towards a connection with your church and Jesus, but the key thing to remember if you want your Christmas outreach to be ultimately successful, is that it takes many actions by every part of your church and here are some suggestions:

1. First for leaders and decision-makers in the church, spend time in prayer asking God to impress on your heart the seriousness and the privilege of our opportunities this time of year. Remember, this might be your one opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus with visitors and relatives. The eternal destiny of people can be decided at your church this holiday season. [Read more...]

Ready-to-Print Sept. 11 (and other times): Postcard Prayers for Police, Firefighters, Soldiers

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Thank you card for those who serve
Any time of the year it is appropriate to say thank-you and pray for those who serve: the police, fire-fighters, soldiers.  The cards here can help you do that.

Though this collection of Postcard Prayers was created initially for Sept. 11 commemoration in the U.S., this set of materials also has generic cards that can be used in any location, at any time, to honor Police, Firefighters, and Soldiers from any country, anywhere.

The cards could be used for the holiday season along with homemade goodies or healthy snacks. The holidays throughout the year are often either times of loneliness or extra work for those who serve the public. We can serve them with our thanks and prayers. [Read more...]

From a Father’s Heart, a touching and useful tool for evangelism

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As part of our Great Idea Swap, Mary, from Cambridge, Ontario sent in this note:

We give as a gift to visitors a text page and an audio CD of “The Father’s Love Letter,”  along with just a note of welcome and a magnet of the logo of our church. Here is the website for "The Father's Love Letter."

http://fathersloveletter.com/text.html

They also receive a ‘Welcome Folder’ with information about our programs, our Vision, our history and statement of
beliefs.

Please go to the website to read or listen to this piece. It comes in a variety of formats including a one page PDF, a bulletin insert and a variety of other layouts. The audio is beautifully recorded and you can download the mp3 file or listen to it online. I do recommend having a box of tissues handy if you read it—I cried as I was so touched by hearing those words from the Bible in a new way that deeply expresses God's love and invites others to become part of His family.

Canvas Salvation Book, a tangible way to share the gospel

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Good News 1Note from Yvon:  This is one of the most wonderful and caring ideas I've ever seen on how to share the gospel. For those of you who remember the "Wordless Book," a little booklet that told the gospel story through colors as you explained it, this is an expanded version of it, done up in cloth and decorated with lace, buttons, jewels and decorations. Below are complete instructions as well as pictures of the entire book. There are so many ways this can be used in evangelism at nursing homes, hospitals, many other places.

In addition, making them could be a great project for Ladies Circles and other church groups. Changing production methods in churches make the groups that used to collate the bulletin no longer necessary in some churches, but getting together to work on projects that serve others is always a joy.

I cannot thank enough, Joyce Joseph, who sent these samples, the pictures and instructions. Her mother (age 85) does a lot of the sewing for her.  She told me to please pass on her information and to contact her with questions concerning construction of the booklet at jwjoseph320@yahoo.com.

Canvas Salvation Booklet

Taking a cue from the song “Tell Me the Story of Jesus”, this canvas booklet spells out the ABCs of salvation: admit, believe, commit. Follow the plan below to make your booklet today and start sharing the good news story.

Create A Canvas Booklet in 8 Steps

1. Copy and laminate story cards (found at womenonmission.com). If printing a large quantity, go to a copy center. Otherwise, use the church copier. Lamination can be done at a copy center or school supply shop.

2. Cut 20 14-inch canvas circles. Purchase a 14-inch circle shape, or use a plate or bowl. Duck Canvas is a good thickness and stiffness. Each page is separate and sewn to the page in back of it. Pages need to be made and decorated separately (this step hides stitching) and then sewn together by hand or machine. Again, sew the buttons, jewels, and decorations on BEFORE sewing the book together.

3. Cut two large red hearts.—One for the GOOD NEWS page and one for the HOW CAN I BECOME A CHRISTIAN.

4. Cut nine smaller hearts of the correct colors for the story cards. (See photos on womenonmission.com.)

5. Cut all letters from felt. Use 1-inch, 1-½-inch, and 2-inch letters. Use precut letters or trace on the felt with wood letter shapes or stencils.

6. Cut the correct color shapes on felt for the letters to be sewn on. The exact shape is not that important as long as the letters fit on it and the shape fits on the page. Use your creativity. Search craft shops (JoAnn’s, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Wal-Mart) for wood shapes that will fit.

7. Decorate the pages with sparkly sew-on jewels, buttons, sequins, etc. Glue-on felt and jewels will work, but they will not be as sturdy and permanent. Make the page attractive, bright, and attention grabbing.

8. Make this a joint effort and project—organizing, designing, cutting, and sewing. Women who do embroidery or appliqué work can really use their imagination.

—Instructions by Joyce Joseph, Tennessee. Contact her with questions concerning construction of the booklet at jwjoseph320@yahoo.com. The booklet has now been translated into Spanish and she will be glad to help you with story cards and photos for that translation.

Use Canvas Salvation Booklets for:

  • Overseas or stateside missions trips
  • Vacation Bible School
  • Children’s Sunday School classes
  • GA® and RA camp
  • Day camp
  • Migrant camp
  • Homeless shelters, women’s shelters
  • Nursing homes
  • Retirement centers/assisted living facilities

Here are pictures of the booklet.
Good News 1Good News 2-3
Good News 6-7Good News 8-9Good News 10-11Good News 12-13Good News 14-15Good News 16-17Good News 18-19Good News 20

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If you have ideas, project, communication tools of any sort that you would like to share with others to encourage and enable them to better communicate in the church please read about our Great Idea Swap (Click here to so to that section) and send materials via email to: yvon@effectivechurchcom.com.