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.

International Friendship Day: an opportunity celebrate and teach about friendship

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Celebrate Frienship Day
Friendship Day is a great time to learn to be closer friends with Jesus

International Friendship Day is celebrated on July 30 or the first Sunday in August. Though the day of celebration has varied over the years, (CLICK HERE for one interesting history of it), no matter what the exact day or the history of it, it is a time to celebrate friendships.

At your church it is a great time to remind your people not only of the joy of human friendship, but the incredible reality that God wants to be our friend and that the death of Jesus makes that possible. You can use it as a time to teach and challenge your people. Below are some quotes, Bible verses, and suggestions for how to make the most of this day to help your people grow into maturity as Jesus' friends.

Quotes on friendship

“FRIEND is one who (F)inds you in a (R)ush of people (I)nspires you to do something in life, catches your (E)motions and (N)ever leaves you until (D)eath….”

Best friends are people you know you don’t need to talk to every single day. You don’t even need to talk to each other for weeks, but when you do, it’s like you never stopped talking.

My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

The only way to have a friend is to be one.

Bible verses on friendship

The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray. Proverbs 12:26 (NLT)

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. Proverbs 17:17 (NLT)
Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? Proverbs 20:6 (NLT)

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)

“Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13-15

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 2 Peter 3:14

Teaching/blogging/tweeting challenges—ways to make Friendship Day a spiritual growth opportunity

Take one of the verses above and either share in a group or journal what it would look like in practice. For example, what does it mean to "lay down your life for a friend"? We may not have a chance (though one never knows what the future will hold) to give our physical life for a friend, but what about stopping what you are doing if a friend calls and taking time to really listen?

What about when you have a challenge to volunteer, perhaps weekly at a soup kitchen or other service opportunity and you'd rather spend time on your favorite hobby?

  • What about when your spouse or friend wants you to join them for an activity, a walk, fishing, going to a movie, gardening, and it's not something you really want to do?
  • What about when you know you are right about something, (not something moral or biblical, but an opinion) and your friend does not, will not see it your way?

How would your relationship with Jesus be different if you really believed that He considered you His friend?

  • What would you share?
  • How would you spend time together?
  • How would this change the way you introduce other friends of yours to Him?

Take this day beyond platitudes and merely kind wishes (though these are not to be discounted) and use it as a time to help your people grow in discipleship as they learn and practice what it means to develop an ever-growing relationship with Jesus.

Create events that are an “easy ask” for your church members

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how to create "easy-ask" events
Do you make it easy for your church members to ask people to events? This article will show you how.

Question: which is easier for you to invite your unchurched friends and neighbors to? Also which one do you think they are more likely to respond to?

The Sunday morning church service.

or

Summer free movies in the park with free popcorn, lemonade, and frozen yogurt, bounce house and face-painting?

The fairly obvious answer is the second one and that answer is more than hypothetical to me as our church just finished sponsoring the second one of three Fun Free Friday Movie nights this summer.  A professional I do business with attended with his daughter. Though we'd talked about church, he was someone who previously was not interested in attending any church events. But not only did he attend this one, he went out of his way to too thank me and tell me what a great time they had.

As I was sharing his response with one of the leaders at our church, she responded by telling me that one of the reasons they did this is because events like this are such an "easy ask." I'd never heard that term before (probably most of the rest of the world has), but I loved it and wanted to share it with you, along with some related ideas on how your church communication ministry can apply them.

What makes an "easy ask" for a church event?

Here are some characteristics:

  • This is an event that you aren't embarrassed to invite an unchurched friend to attend.
  • There is no cost, no obligation to attend.
  • It is sponsored by your church, but not an obviously churchy event.
  • You have something tangible to remind them of the event. We had postcards/invitation cards with the time, date, location and website link on them. For additional information on how to create invitation cards and how you can use them effectively: https://www.effectivechurchcom.com/2012/10/church-invitation-cards-why-they-work-so-well-how-to-use-them/
  • The reason this last detail is so important is that it isn't easy to ask someone to something if they don't know how to get there, if there is a cost or not, what is involved. Communications are one of the most important details and one many times forgotten--but remember you can have the greatest event in the world, but if you don't have something tangible (postcard, business card, invitation of any kind) to remind people of the details when they remember it at the last minute, they are not likely to attend.

Why schedule easy-ask events?

In our post-Christian world where few people have a felt need to go to church on Sunday morning, easy-ask events are a wonderful bridge to involvement with your church. You can create these events around any special event (free movies, any fun things for kids and families) or around any holiday or seasonal celebration.

To contact people for further interaction and invitations to your church you can capture names and contact information with sign-ups for free drawings (at our summer events, we have a variety of local business gift cards with the big prize give-away of a $200 Target gift card). There is a lot of additional information on follow-up after special events on this website and one of the most useful articles is: Follow-up after a church holiday outreach event: speed dating or relationship building?

Now it's your turn

You can use any holiday, a fun celebration, or any special event in your community as an "easy-ask" event for your church members.

Please share any ideas or events your church has done in the past in the comment section below--let's make it easy for everyone to invite everyone they know to church!

Shop til you drop for Backpack Ministries and Christmas Shoe Boxes!

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Shop the summer sales to get great supplies for Backpack ministries
Shop the summer sales to get great supplies for Backpack ministries and to save for Christmas Shoe Boxes--here are links to free Bulletin Inserts to encourage your church to be involved.

If you are the kind of person, male or female who considers shopping one of your favorite recreational activities, this time of year is perfect for you to combine your love of shopping with significant ministry.You can do that by shopping for school supplies at the greatly discounted prices this time of year and using them for Backpack Ministries and saving them ahead for Christmas Shoe boxes. To encourage and inspire the people in your church to take part, Effective Church Communications has links at the end of this article to entries that have church bulletin inserts in a variety of illustration formats. Some are free PDFs that you can personalize on the back. There are more designs available in editable MS Publisher format that you can download and modify if you are an ECC Member. The first two links are for Backpack Ministry Inserts, the third one encourages people to shop for your Christmas Shoe boxes when the fall sales are on, and finally a personal article on why this ministry is so important to me.

Click on any title to go to the articles:

Back-to-School Backpack Ministry--an opportunity to bring joy to needy kids A new set of designs with templates for Effective Church Communications My personal reasons why backpack ministry is so important to me Bulletin Inserts: Shop for Your Christmas Child Boxes in August--Samaritan's Purse shopping Tips!

Relief for church office blahs

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If you're feeling a little blah in your work, Gayle's advice here should get you feeling better in no time!
If you're feeling a little blah in your work, Gayle's advice here should get you feeling better in no time!

Have you ever felt you are losing the joy you once felt from your work? Few things are more difficult than coming to the office each day, going through the motions, but no longer experiencing any real enthusiasm or sense of accomplishment. You may not even be sure why you have the blahs, but you know you have them.

Thoughtfully answering these workplace questions can help you gauge your job enjoyment temperature—and locate the source of any discontent. Each question that follows identifies a possible problem area. You have a better grasp of your specific circumstances than anyone; use this self-knowledge to choose appropriate cures for your office doldrums.

• Do you know what is expected of you?
If not, create a position description or review your current one. Arrange a time to talk with your supervisor about any ambiguities. Ask the hard questions; leave the meeting knowing exactly what your responsibilities are and what they are not.

• Do you have the materials and equipment you need?
If a lack of resources constantly hinders your ability to do what you need to do, let your supervisor know specifically what is needed. Discuss options. In nearly every church there are people willing and able to help—if you ask.

• Do you make time daily top do what you do best?
What you do best is often what gives you the most joy. Sometimes in the crush of getting tasks done favored jobs are ignored or delegated. Rework your schedule as necessary to restore those rewarding assignments.

• Is your good work noticed and acknowledged?
We all like to believe what we do well is observed and appreciated. In some offices, this just does not happen. It should. But it doesn’t. For your own peace of mind, accept that reality—and don’t need the accolades of others to know you are a professional and a person of worth. Reward yourself when you do a difficult task well. Something visible is nice; maybe a flower for your desk?

• Do your opinions count?
Wise supervisors know that job satisfaction always soars when workers are involved in decisions affecting their work situation. Wise secretaries know it pays to do their homework and to offer rational, insightful opinions.

• Do you know what you do is important?
Sincere joy comes from having purpose. In theory, all churches have a clear purpose. In fact, sometimes the focus gets blurred. When assistants know the church is directing its primary time, effort, and funds toward goals with eternal consequences, they know even stuffing bulletins is ministry. Think through your contribution; decide if you are spending your time on tasks of value. This may be something to talk over with your pastor. If you are unclear about the church’s focus, others may be as well. Occasional clarifying is worthwhile for everyone.

• Are staff members committed to quality work?

It is difficult to find joy in doing the mediocre. Aspire to personal excellence; inspire others with frequent words of encouragement and appreciation. Your positive example can set the pace.

• Do you have opportunities for professional growth?
The work of the ministry assistant has never been more challenging. You need the best resources available. Take responsibility for seeking out and taking advantage of every possible avenue of training. If your denomination offers an association for ministry assistants—connect. Sign up for conferences or seminars when you can. And, use the tremendous resources available through Effective Church Communications. Learning and using new skills is a fabulous way to beat the blahs!

 

Communication implications for those who “live their lives on mobile”

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For a generation that lives on mobile devices, you many need to adjust how you communicate.
For a generation that lives on mobile devices, you many need to adjust how you communicate.

From the Quote & Commentary Series:

Quote:

"Entrepreneurs in places like Cairo live in chaos and therefore, are not afraid of chaos. Out of that often comes innovation, she says. "Secondly, kids in many of these countries don't have much broadband, so they bypassed computers and live their lives on mobile. I expect to see great leaps in mobile coming from those places. "From Marco della Cava, "A not-so-crazy goal to find, nurture talent" USA Today, 7-16-2013

Commentary:

Though the immediate challenge is for missions and how they can use mobile technology to communicate the gospel, following are four implications for all church communicators.

Implications of increased mobile/smart phone use:

  1. Realize the computer-based communication is often ignored. If it isn't a text message, it may not be read and it doesn't matter who it comes from (this means pastors and other church leaders—you position matters little in online communication). For people who communicate primarily through their mobile phone, sitting down to a computer, turning it on, finding and reading email through the sea of spam that floods email in boxes,  is something they rarely do. And this isn't all age-related—it's more a technology preference, so check with your audience to see what they prefer.
  2. No-brainer: make sure your website is mobile-friendly. This doesn't mean you can see a tiny site on a smart phone and can pinch it to make it bigger. Your website has to be responsive, which means it automatically optimizes for reading on any device used to use it: phone, tablet, laptop or desktop.
  3. Consider creating a content-rich, minimal to no graphics, mobile-friendly site with WordPress. Most WordPress templates are already optimized and need no more work on your part to make them accessible on any device. Even if your main church site is a complex, graphics –intensive one that you don't have the time or money to change now, start a blog on a WordPress site and link to it. Even if you don't publish it to the world or link it to your church site—this is a great way to practice creating a site and it's all free at http://www.wordpress.com.
  4. You can talk directly to people through podcasts on mobile phones. Podcast listening is dramatically increasing especially on smart phones and experts predict continued growth.  Create podcasts to niche ministries in your church—encourage workers, challenge youth, read to the homebound. You may need to show people how to use them, but the one-to-one potential impact is worth the effort.

We're in for another big shift in communications and our God who sees the beginning and the end and is surprised by nothing in-between is still ready to give us wisdom and strength in the mobile communication world.