Effective Church Communications

The Effective Church Communication ministry from Yvon Prehn provides inspiration, training, and resources to help your church create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission. It focuses on Bible-based and timeless principles and strategies that work no matter what digital or print channel you use to create your communications. The site has links to many free TEMPLATES and other resources, plus links to free TRAINING VIDEOS, and a RESOURCE LIBRARY for church communicators. 

The Effective Church Communication ministry from Yvon Prehn provides inspiration, training, and resources to help your church create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission. It focuses on Bible-based and timeless principles and strategies that work no matter what digital or print channel you use to create your communications. The site has links to many free TEMPLATES and other resources, plus links to free TRAINING VIDEOS, and a RESOURCE LIBRARY for church communicators.

Devotion #9: Often the only thanks we get from our communications work is from the Lord

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Do you ever feel that no one understands or appreciates all the hard work you do as a church communicator?

If we’re honest we’ve all felt that way! And, truth be told, that is probably a realistic assessment of our situation—nobody does understand or appreciate all we do any more than we understand the work, prayers, and struggle put into the Sunday sermon, or what it means to care for a spouse with Alzheimer's for one more lonely day. But in today’s podcast I’ll share how people not understanding what we do in church communications might actually be a great compliment.   

   Devotion #9: Often the only thanks we get from our communications work is from the Lord 

The LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites” (Numbers 18:20).

A church secretary recently shared with me that she had spent great effort redoing her church bulletin. She showed me the before and after. The new version looked fantastic. It was much easier to read, her choices in typography and layout were clear and professional-looking. But, she said, almost nobody noticed or commented on the changes. [Read more...]

Devotion #8: Verses on Discipline

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Make the Most of time
What character trait will help you the most when you are confronted with the many competing demands of church communications ministry?

Though many are useful, in our podcast today, we’ll look at what God’s word says about discipline—the character trait that is the foundation of all others.

As always in this approximately 5-minute podcast I want to help you focus on God’s Word, the incredible calling you have to share God’s message of salvation, and to strengthen and encourage you.

Below is the podcast and below the podcast is a copy of the devotion.

Devotion #8 Verses on Discipline

The field of church communications is challenging in part because there are so many things to do and so many potential distractions in life, in the church office, and online.

The following verses, mostly from Proverbs, remind us of the importance of building the character trait of discipline into our lives. As you read through them, think about how you might apply them to your work in church communication. [Read more...]

Devotion #7: Difficulties and testing are as much a part of God’s plan as blessings

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Devotion for Church Com about trials

Why is it that when you have an especially tight deadline for a church communication project that the printer jams and the church phone won’t stop ringing?

We seldom have the time or the perfect setting in which to create our church communications, but in our podcast today I hope I’ll help you see how God has a purpose in whatever challenges you face.

Below is the podcast and below the podcast is a copy of the devotion.

Devotion #7: Difficulties and testing are as much a part of God's plan as blessings

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. (Deut.  7:13)

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. (Matt. 4:1)

These are difficult words. We like to focus on God’s promises of provision and joy in our lives. To be reminded that difficulties and testing are also allowed by our God—we’d rather not think about that option.

But difficulties are a part of life, especially a life spent working on church communications. The world of computer-created communication will never stop changing; it will never become less complex and demanding. Temptations to despair, frustration, and anger are part of our work.

Sometimes the team of people we work with doesn’t make our load lighter, but heavier. Sometimes we can’t explain why we aren’t able to produce what they want and we don’t know how to fix the problems. Sometimes we are shocked by the anger and resentment that wells up in response to what we consider an unreasonable demand.

At those times, these verses can comfort us because even our troubles have a good purpose. We never know how strong a rope is until a weight is hung from it. We never know how genuine our trust in God is until it’s tested in the daily grind of projects and deadlines. We might assume we rely on God in every area of our lives, but until we absolutely cannot handle a technology or communication team issue without Him, we may not realize how we have left this part of our  life out of His guidance and control. [Read more...]

Devotion #6: Make your communications a joy to receive

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Jesus
When you think about Jesus, do you immediately envision someone sad and grumpy? That isn't how his contemporary audience saw and our communications should reflect the same joy they did.

When you think about Jesus do you picture him as primarily judgmental and disapproving of all you do or as someone who loves you incredibly and accepts you unconditionally? The way you see him will probably be reflected in your communications.

As we’ll see in our podcast today, Jesus was a delight to listen to and our communications should reflect his joy.

Below is the podcast and below the podcast is a copy of the devotion.

Make your communications a joy to receive

The large crowd listened to him with delight. (Mark 12:37)

And the common people heard him gladly. (Mark 12:37, KJV)

And the great crowd enjoyed listening to Him. (Mark 12:37, NLT)

Church Communications Quote #6Did you ever think about how much fun it was to listen to Jesus? We sometimes think Jesus sounded like some professional radio announcer with a deep, serious voice and an always condemning message—but the Bible presents a different picture. As these three translations show, he was someone people heard with delight, enjoyment, and gladly.

What a wonderful example and challenge for our church communications. Our message is the gospel—that is good news and our challenge is to communicate it in joyful ways.

Desktop publishing and the web give us great flexibility in our work. We can do things with type, illustrations, sound, color and motion that would have been impossible a few years ago. Spend some time brainstorming with your communication partners about what it means to create communications that your audience will "hear gladly" either in print or on the web.

It doesn't mean we have to always do wild and crazy things with graphics, sound, and motion, but if we are working with Jr. High students, what some folks consider too much might just start to get their attention.

Wild and crazy isn't for everyone. Communications create joy when they meet needs. For the mothers of preschoolers, it might mean putting together a special calendar with all the events for kids, times, places, and contact names in a large-print format that's easy to read when taped on a refrigerator door.

For businessmen in your church, it might mean putting together an upscale, high-quality on-line newsletter that highlights some seminars your church offers as an outreach to their peers.

For young professionals, it might be social media that sends them short Bible devotions to encourage them in the midst of crazy days.

Whatever it might be, ask the Lord to give you a light heart as you create your communications so that people might "hear gladly" the messages you share from him.
*****
From: Devotions for Church Communicators by Yvon Prehn

For Successful Fall & Winter Outreach Publications: Clarify and Coordinate for greater lasting impact

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welcoming people
If you are planning a fall or winter outreach event at your church, these tips will help you have lasting success from it.

Fall and winter are two prime times for churches to plan outreach events for their communities. Large amounts of time and money are spent on these events and often the church gets a great community response to the free Harvest Festival or Family Thanksgiving Dinner or Community Caroling and Hot Chocolate Party. But seldom do these activities generate the kind of continuing church involvement a church hopes for. I'd like to offer some suggestions on how to CLARIFY and COORDINATE your message for greater lasting impact.

If you don't want to waste your time and money the following tips are essential!

To help you understand how important this is and to give you a sense of how futile it is to hold events without good communication to clarify and coordinate your message, primarily for the ladies reading this, think about when you buy cosmetics at the department store or online and you are given some free samples. (The gentleman reading this may or may not have some sort of similar situation, regardless the example will make sense.)  The company that makes the cosmetics don't have the samples in the middle of the mall set up on a pretty display that says, "FREE FOR ALL." No, you go to the specific cosmetic counter and you know without a doubt who is giving them to you. [Read more...]