Effective Church Communications

All will be well—because Jesus came and is coming

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Jesus died on the cross for us
Jesus came humbly the first time and died on the cross for us. He is coming back a second time in victory. And then truly "all will be well."

The world has gotten pretty crazy over the last year and it probably won't improve much next year. But as Christ-followers our hope isn't in dreams and prayers for a better life that may not happen, but in the Savior, whose resurrection we recently celebrated.

As I was thinking about this, I remembered a quote from Julian of Norwich:

All will be well,

All will be well,

All manner of things

Will be well.

It is more than a comforting saying. For those who have trusted Jesus as Savior it is true—in the midst of the crazy world we live in and no matter how insane it gets, now and forever.

We forget the true meaning of "saved"

We forget how incredible our salvation is because sadly being "saved" in much of Christendom today is synonymous with the idea of goodies from God. And those goodies are supposed to include health and wealth or at least a comfortable life.

That's not how the Bible looks at it. Here are two verses we don't often think about:

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! Romans 5:9

You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. 1 Thes. 1:9-10

There is, of course, a sense that we are saved here and now in that we are reconciled to God and at peace with him. We are saved from our selfish selves and able to live for God. But as wonderful as these things are, more wonderful yet is that we are saved from final condemnation and judgment.

One day this present reality with all its pains and fears will be transformed into a new heaven and new earth. There will be a final judgment for those who do not know Jesus and we work hard in all we do to share his message of salvation.  But those who know Jesus are saved from condemnation and judgment. For them, there will be no more crying or tears and all the sadness will be gone forever.

Never forget that your work as a church communicator has eternal consequences. Keeping up with trends and technology may be useful, but far more important in your work is that you consistently make clear the message of salvation.

The first advent was humble; the second will be triumphant

Jesus came the first time as a little baby to poor parents who could only find shelter in a barn. He died on a cross with common criminals.

His second advent will be triumphant and glories.

Now we can only trust and believe that "all will be well." But Jesus is coming a second time and then truly and without end, "all manner of things will be well."

Postscript:

I did up a set of cards with the saying "All will be well" on them. CLICK the link following to go to the FREE PDFs to download and share: https://wp.me/pDky9-8T4

 

One person can change the direction of your church communications

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Nehemiah has lessons for church communicators
Nehemiah has lessons for church communicators in terms of vision, hard work, and how to trust God.

Out of the 66 books of the Bible, 39 of them are the names of people.

Ordinary people no different from you or me with one difference—they allowed an extraordinary God to use them for his purposes. As you consider the communications needs of your church, you might be tempted to think there is little you can do, but God can use you in the same way he used the people of the Bible to change the course of your church, your church communications, and your community in extraordinary ways.

As an inspiration, let's look at Nehemiah. He was an official in the palace in Babylon, with no doubt a comfortable life. That changed when he heard about the situation of his fellow Jews back at Jerusalem, when the word came that they were, "in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire (Neh. 1:3)."

Most likely a lot of people heard that report. Many in Babylon and the thousands living in Jerusalem knew there was a huge problem. But one man let it break his heart and he took that heartbreak to God and did something about it. [Read more...]

Resurrection Cookies, a Free recipe that will teach children and parents about Easter, and it’s something you can do at home now

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Res Cookie Bunny Verstion
Resurrection Cookies are a wonderful way to remind both children and parents of the real meaning of Easter--the Resurrection of Jesus. Plus it's a fun and yummy project!

For a great strategy to teach children about Easter, involve parents, and provide an outreach tool, NOTHING beats Resurrection Cookies.

When you make the cookies, you visually illustrate Jesus suffering, burial, death and resurrection. Because you are doing it with cookies, it is much less intimidating for people who don't go to church to be involved with it.

In other years you can do this with friends and neighbors. This year with everyone staying home it is a wonderful activity for a family.

Below are pictures of a variety of designs for the Recipe. To see larger images of the pages, click on the first image and a larger slide show will come up. The file below them has both PDFs and MS Publisher files for you to download.

Various designs for Resurrection Cookies:

To download the Resurrection Cookie File, click the following link: Church Bunny Resurrection Cookie Files

Later in this article is the text for the handouts, including the introduction, recipe, and Bible verses if you choose to create your own verses of the handouts or if you want to put the material on your website or in a church newsletter. You have my permission to use it freely. The text is the same for all of them—choose a style that suits you best or use the text below to create your own version. [Read more...]

Motivational materials to encourage your congregation to invite their friends to Easter services, and why it matters

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invitation
People inviting people is the best way to increase your Easter attendance. Here is some motivation for your congregation

Sometimes we all need a little help to do the right thing and the materials here will help you encourage your congregation to invite their friends to your Easter services.

The communication has 2 forms, a 1/2 page flyer and a 1/4 size that prints well on card stock. On the one side is a motivational piece that lists 4 Reasons to invite friends and on the back a place for names of people they will be praying for.

Here is what the front of the card says:

Invite your friends to church this Easter season!

....or 4 REASONS why I should bother to pray, ask, and remind people to come when I’d rather just relax and sit around munching the ears off chocolate bunnies.

  1. Life is scary

The economy, terrorism, tornadoes, crazy weather—there is a lot to be afraid of in our world today. But those who have met the One who calms storms, know that though the journey might be challenging, we are ultimately promised a safe harbor. Invite your friends to meet Jesus, the only reliable guide through scary times.

  1. People are lonely

Lies, abandonment, abuse, disappointment—no matter how wonderful the person or relationship, there are times when the best of human companionship will disappoint. That’s because, as St. Augustine said, we all have a God-shaped place inside that only Jesus can fill. Invite your friends to meet Jesus, the only person whose love will never fail through all of life, through death, and into eternity.

  1. Everyone needs a purpose

As a former Watergate conspirator said, many folks live their lives climbing the ladder of success only to realize it was leaning against the wrong wall. Jesus’ resurrection provides us with the power to live lives of significant purpose and to discern between true and false success. Invite your friends to discover Jesus, the only compass to guide you to a life of genuine, meaningful purpose.

  1. We’re all going to live forever

Most folks today believe that and the Bible agrees. The question is, if you are going to live forever, what neighborhood will you live in? Jesus promises that for those who believe in Him they will live in an eternal neighborhood of light, joy, purpose, and companionship. But Jesus won’t force anyone to live in His neighborhood. Problem is, any place outside His source of light, joy, purpose, and companionship is an eternal place of darkness, pain, regret, and isolation—not a neighborhood we want anyone to live in. Invite your friends to meet Jesus, so they can live forever in His neighborhood.

Then on the back is a place for a prayer list of people to invite

Pray and List Family, Friends, Neighbors and Coworkers to invite:

________________________________                                                              ________________________________

________________________________                                                              ________________________________

________________________________                                                              ________________________________

If you need more motivation

I wrote the following if you or your congregation need additional motivation to invite people to your Easter services. It is a bit heavy and serious, but a good reminder to all of us of the importance of the work we are doing. We aren't simply getting communications ready for Easter. We are potentially changing the eternal destiny of people.

It doesn't matter much if you merely think of Easter as a time for chocolate and brunch. It isn't really important if your Easter service is primarily about fun things for kids and a musical extravaganza as uplifting as that might be.

But it does matter tremendously if you believe the message of Easter that Jesus Christ, fully God and fully human died on the cross to pay for the penalty of sin and that He rose bodily from the grave and is our living Savior and coming Lord.

It does matter tremendously if you believe that those who do not trust him as Savior will miss far more than a petting zoo and free candy if they don't attend your church on Easter. The Bible says those who die without Jesus will spend eternity in darkness, pain and conscious regret. Your Easter message can change all that.

We don't like to think about these things in a day when so much of the media message of the Christian faith is on what makes for your "best life now" and how to entertain people and make them feel good and prosperous. But closing our eyes to eternal realities doesn't make them any less true.

Boldly proclaim the truth of the gospel this Easter and equip your people to invite their friends to hear you.

Here are pictures of the images and a file to download

The motivational materials are illustrated below and are in 1/2  and 1/4 sheet of paper sizes. You can download a ZIP file that has ready-to-print PDFs and editable MS Publisher files of the images below. It also has a MS Word file of the text only if you want to create your own publications or use it on the web or in email newsletters or other materials. The link is below the images.

CLICK on the following link to download the ZIP file that has the PDF, MS Publisher, and MS Word files: Easter Why Invite Friends Motivational Materials

You don't need to spend lots of money for purchased church outreach this Easter season. YOU CAN equip and inspire your people to be inviters with materials you create in the church! Have them pray for their friends, bring them to church and be part of introducing them to God's forever family. In other posts and upcoming articles, we'll have lots more ideas and communications to help your congregation invite their friends.

To get you started, CLICK HERE for a set of Easter Invitations.

A thoughtful challenge for Valentine’s Day from St. Augustine – a cure for empty hearts

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This is one of 8 flyers you can use to remind people that God can fill empty hearts and lives.

Valentine's Day can be fun and fluffy, a time for flowers and candy and silly, sappy cards.

But it can also be seriously sad. If you have someone in your life or not, your heart can feel empty.

As those who know Jesus, we can use this time not only to remind ourselves of how much Jesus does love us, but we can also use it as a time to reach out to people who don't know Him and let them know that there is One who can fill their empty, restless heart.

To help you do that, I created the following handouts ( 2 sets of 4) that you can freely download and give out as mailers, postcards, bulletin inserts or on social media. In addition, below the handouts is a word file of the free verse I wrote that you can put into anything you want to remind people that "our hearts are restless til they rest in him."

Click on the links below the images to download the Zip Files that have ready-to-print PDF images and editable MS Publisher files.

SPECIAL NOTE: if you'd like to know more of the story of St. Augustine, the author of the quote, see the note at the end of the article.

Click the following link to download the ZIP file that contains the files above: MS Pub St. Augustine quote, set #2

Click the following link to download the ZIP file that contains the files above: St. Augustine quote

Written out message

[Read more...]

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