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.

Yvon Prehn's Church Communication Blog

The Bible tells us that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, (Luke 6:45)” or as the J.B. Phillips translation puts it “For a man’s words will always express what has been treasured in his heart.”

My goal in these blog entries (actually in all of the ECC Ministry, but particularly here) is to give your heart and mind a biblical viewpoint and foundation in church communications, so that your communications, whatever form they take, will reflect God’s Word and not primarily secular marketing or current cultural views, fears, or attitudes.

I used the word “primarily” quite intentionally in the previous statement because though we learn from secular marketing and contemporary culture, these influences should not be primary in our work. The primary influence on our work is God’s Word. God’s Word informs the Effective Church Communication ministry in our goal, which is to help church communicators create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission.

Learning from, observing, and sharing other sources, while staying true to a biblical perspective and providing useful commentary is a challenging path to walk. No doubt I will often make mistakes, but to serve you in this way is my goal in these blogs.

The most important communications you’ll be doing this busy holiday season

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The most important thing in the balance of church communications
In the midst of balancing many things this holiday season, always keep your eye on what is most important to Jesus.

As we go into the busy fall and winter season of church special events and outreach, it's easy to focus on the visible, tangible aspects of our church communications: the design and graphics we use, a discussion on what should be printed and what should be sent out digitally. All these are important, but they aren't the most important thing.

As we prepare for the huge amount of work ahead, we need to stop and as church communicators and as a church staff commit to what is most important in our upcoming communications. To do that as disciples of Jesus, let's look at what is most important to Jesus.

How do we determine what's most important to Jesus?

We don't have to wonder—the four Gospels paint a clear picture of Jesus' priorities. Clearly, his priority was people. He spent his time with people, teaching, challenging, touching them. One of the most astounding things about his interactions with people was how he seemed to go out of his way to interact with people considered unimportant by the rest of society: lepers, the blind, tax-collectors, women with bad reputations.

Though he preached to crowds, we have many stories of how he focused on individuals. In John 3 we have the record of his conversation with Nicodemus, where one of the most important summaries of his mission and purpose, John 3:16 was shared with one man, not announced to a crowd. In Luke 8 he stops on the way to heal an important man's daughter to talk to a woman with a crippling, life-long disease. Though she was "unclean" to the rest of her world, Jesus took time, spoke to her and healed her.

One of the most important summaries of what is important to Jesus is in Matt: 25:37 through 40, when at the final judgment he summarizes what he considers most worthy of reward:

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

I've often thought how foolish it is for us to argue about the signs of end times and wonder about what will happen, when Jesus has clearly shown us what we wants us to be about before that time comes. If we want it to go well for us in the last judgment, we want to be about what is pleasing to Jesus. With this background of a clear picture of the priorities of our Lord, let's get practical. [Read more...]

Please, don’t be phony friendly and publish your email address if you don’t want to answer it

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Once again, I was sadly shocked by someone who (I won't give the name so as not to embarrass a brother in Christ), who has a ministry proposing to tell churches how to be successful. Perhaps he can; I'll never know based on a recent email interaction with his company. Here is what happened and following a brief retelling, some advice for all of us.

I am working to get some materials into a more professional form for on-demand publishing and noticed this person worked with a company I was considering. I sent a short email asking for a brief response, did he find the company useful to work with?

His email address and CONTACT ME --were all clearly displayed. In addition, on his email page, he specifically invited people to email him personally.

I didn't expect much-- a "Yeah, they were OK" or "No, stay away" would have been fine. What I got back after several days was an email from one of his marketing manager informing me he was traveling and wouldn't have time to answer my email. She knew he used that company, but also several others also. No comments, no "I'll get back to you." End of email.

Don't do that please

It was a simple business request and I couldn't believe how bad I felt with her answer. I wondered if I'd use their contact form for consulting (that was another option) if Mr. X would have had time to interact with me. Again, I'll never know.

The lesson I came away with and wanted to share is that we must be so careful that we do not portray one persona online when we are a totally different person. It is perfectly OK if the head of an organization or ministry or church doesn't want to answer their own emails. The problem comes in when you say you will, when you invite people to email you and you don't.

Excuses don't count. I traveled for over 20 years and somehow managed to keep up on ministry emails. My life schedule now is very challenging and I continue the effort. I am the first to admit I'm not perfect in answering emails as promptly as I sometimes wish I could, but I do try hard and I hope I've never rudely dismissed someone (I apologize greatly if I have.)

Ministry application

You never know what is behind an email--the emotions, the real needs. I imagine most of you reading this do answer your emails, but during the holiday season especially, make an extra effort. We don't want anyone to feel ignored or less than important.

Have an honest conversation with your church staff and don't simply publish email contact information if people aren't going to answer. If they prefer texting, make that clear or show people how to get email on their phones and how to quickly respond. If they don't want to answer emails, be honest and remove their email contact or have it clear that someone else will answer them. If you have someone answering for you, be sure they do it with courtesy.

The person who answered the email I received was simply dismissive and rude when she really could have gracefully salvaged the situation with a little time (several typos also showed how quickly it was answered). For a ministry that loudly proclaims how they want to serve others in their ministry promotion page, I couldn't help but wonder how she identified service.

It isn't the length of a response that matters in emails, it is how we value the person with whom we are communicating and that comes through clearly. Pray that we all remember the importance of the one little sheep the Good Shepherd went after and that we focus the same love, care, and attention on every email interaction we have with people during this busy holiday season and always.

Is anyone else tired of all the demands to “act now!” “limited time offer!” and similar urgent appeals?

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Now is the time for salvation
Many things are't urgent and we shouldn't falsely advertise them in that way.

I was just looking over a recent "free" e-book I downloaded thinking it might have something useful for me to pass on to ECC readers. It didn't really say anything new, so I'm not passing it on.

In addition to the e-book's lack of usefulness as a whole was the strong emphasis in most of it on how when you are selling something how important it is to create a sense of urgency. Though I understand the theory behind this and goodness knows I have responded to more than I should have to appeals like this, I really dislike them.

I dislike them primarily because in most instances they simply aren't true.

As anyone knows who subscribes to Vista Print or any other online service or company, the urgent sales price TODAY ONLY will be repeated once again in a week or two. And then a week or two after that.

I am finding that unless it is an item I have wanted for some time (e.g. a truly large discount for all the themes from www.studiopress.com and a sale price I hadn't seen before) I have become callous to the appeals.

The application for church communicators in general is to be clear and honest about deadlines—people become callous and turn us off if we attempt to force a sense of urgency that isn't real. Always be honest in communicating deadlines in your communications.

The one deadline that is truly urgent

As I thought about it, I realized that though many marketers falsely use a phony deadline to create a sense of urgency, we may forget we have a real deadline that our audience may not know about and that "with gentleness and respect" we need to communicate it to them.

That deadline of course is that Jesus is coming back and when He does the eternal destiny of every person on earth will be decided based on that person's relationship to Jesus.

The work you do today—making sure the dates are correct and descriptions complete for the bulletin or social media; gently answering questions you've been asked a hundred times, being sure to enter addresses and send out follow up—though all these actions may seem routine, they may help someone take a step toward coming to know Jesus as Savior.

As you do your work today ask the Lord to give you a sense of urgency. Not a false sense, not a guilty, burdened feeling, but a joyful strong heart that rejoices that you are working on communications that aren't pushing people needlessly, but helping them to make the most important decision of their lives.

2 Corinthians 6:2 for He says, "AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU." Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION"

John 4:35-37 "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. "For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.'

2 Timothy 4:1-2 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

 

Is your website an open door or barrier to your church?

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Church website=church door.
Your website can either be an open door or a barrier to your church--it's your choice.

Today, if we have a question about anything, where do we look up information? If we want hours of operation, products offered, staff bios? If we want to know what movie is playing, what time a concert starts, what classes are offered at a college where do we do to find out? Obviously, we go to the website. It's the same whether we are looking up information about what computer to buy or what church to attend.

We judge the organization, its people, and its products based on the website. If the website gives us winter hours and it is spring; if the sale has been over for weeks or if the hours of operation are incorrect, we aren't likely to visit the business or have confidence in it. If the business is a franchise and the website is an obvious template, with little local personalization, we won't think much about the technical skills (equated with competence overall) of the staff. Again, we judge a church the same way.

Unfortunately many church websites don't meet the minimal standards.

Though lost customers may be bad for a business, the consequences for a church are much more serious. Following is an example of what can happen and then some suggestions for change.

True story here

A couple hadn't been able to attend church for some time after moving to a new community because the wife was ill. Her health improved somewhat and they were excited about attending church the following Sunday. It wasn't easy for her to get up early, take the needed medications, and prepare for church, but they loved going to church and after checking out many churches in the area found one on the web they wanted to visit. The website told them the details, time it started, directions, and they assumed, all they needed to know.

As they walked through the doors they were met by a woman who said, "do you know what is going on today?'

"No," they replied.

"We are not having church today, we are doing a community service day. You can stay and work or go somewhere else."

When the couple asked why this was not on the website—the woman replied, "It probably should have been. I'll pass that on."

It was not a pleasant encounter and the couple left.

What if. . .

The couple who related the story to me, consulted the web again, and went to another church later that morning. They were upset at that church and may or may not visit again, but they are believers in Jesus and will eventually find a church home.

However, what if the visitors had been a couple in emotional crises? What if they were not believers in Jesus and had finally worked up the courage to visit a church only to be told that it was a day for the insiders to do a project and that they were not included? What if it was the last time a person who had been hurt by church leaders in the past decided to try one more time to attend before giving up on church completely?

Of course we can't know the situation of every person who comes through our doors and of course there are always people who won't read notices no matter where we post them, but there are things we can do to prevent potential spiritual disasters and that in addition are simply good business sense and good manners.

A primary recommendation

Keep your website CURRENT! Not only on your home page should you have any changes that differ from your normal schedule, but also on the pages that list ongoing events. For example if your service is cancelled for a work day, on the home page, if you have rotating headers, one should say "WORKDAY this SUNDAY—no regularly scheduled services.

A similar message should be on ALL listings of your service times throughout the website. This is because you never know where people will drop into a website based on the results of a search engine.  If you've done these things and a visitor still shows up – honestly apologize and ask them how you could have communicated more effectively.

A foundational to-do—learn how to create a living website

Your website is not only a static brochure, but should be a living, ever-changing communication vehicle with your community. Having said that, there is also place on your website for static information that rarely changes—staff bios, overall vision and mission of the church, etc.  Information like this is essential and having it in a consistent location is one of the primary benefits of a website as opposed to the ever-flowing river of social media.

Social media is at best an interactive communication tool useful most often with people who are already interested in or involved in your church—but it is a lousy tool to find out about the background of the staff, the beliefs of the church, or for an overview of the children's ministry. A website is the perfect tool for this factual information, but even though this information stays relatively the same, it must also be updated immediately when things change.

To make your website living, you must have a website that the church office staff knows how to modify. Before the objections start, there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for members of the church office staff to not know how to modify your website. Churches have had access to the Internet for over 20 years and most churches have had websites in some form for over 10 years. But for some reason, many church communicators, including pastors and church office staff think they can't create a website, modify an article, or create a blog and that simply is not true.

Get a grip people—if you want to communicate to your world today, you must to learn the language of the digital world. It isn't that hard, it is exciting, and can be tremendous fun. You've learned how to drive a car, use a computer, and any number of additional skills for your work and life. You can learn this.

More will be coming on this site about websites and how to create them, but in advance of that, there is an abundance of instructional videos, books, websites, and tutorials on how to create websites and blogs with WordPress— the free and easiest way to do it.

Finally, all the above isn't simply a push for church staffs to update their websites, so visitors aren't turned away; it's about doing all we can to help people find Jesus. Throughout history missionaries have learned new languages, given up family, safety, and comfort to share the gospel. Our challenge is to become fluent cyber communicators, let's not be found wanting in this.

Jesus and Perfection in Church Communications

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Jesus Christ our Lord
Of course we want our work to be pleasing to Jesus, but let's look at what really matters to Him.

Sometimes people don't think they are doing all they can for the Lord, that they aren't excellent or perfect enough in their communications ministry unless what they produce professionally perfect, high-tech exciting creations day-after-day, no mistakes allowed. Now all those qualities can be wonderful, but  sadly, it also often means that no one in the church is good enough to create the communications in print or on the website, so an outside, professional firm must be hired to do it. Or, if the work is done at the church, only a select person or two in the church is good enough to produce the quality needed. In other words, the church needs to have the design standards of a professional advertising agency to be pleasing to the Lord.

Being expensive and professional, as defined by using the standards of a professional ad agency, though it might be commendable, isn't the only standard of perfection for the followers of Jesus. [Read more...]