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.

What will really make Mom happy for Mother’s Day

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Mothers Day can inspire Moms to pray.
Mothers Day can inspire Moms to pray.

Flowers and candy are nice and at church praise from the pulpit for all Mom's hard work is always appropriate. But in addition to those things, we've got two others that may have more eternal impact.

Inspiration to pray for her kids: One Mother's Prayer

This short piece, One Mother’s Prayer, has probably impacted more people than anything else I’ve written. It is the simple, but true story of a young man One mothers prayers, cute onewhose life was going very wrong, whose Mother prayed, and his life changed.

It was first published in Today’s Christian Woman magazine. It was repeated in their Best of Ten Years of writings, it has been reprinted and republished all over the world, and it continues to bring tears to the eyes of any group I read it to. You are free to use it any way you want and share it however you want.

It is useful for Mother’s Day, for Moms in Touch and other prayer ministries and to give out in Children’s ministries. CLICK HERE  to go to One Mother's Prayer.

Come Back #4 IMAGEMother’s Day: Come Back to Church Cards

One of the things that will make Moms most happy is for the people they love who only come to church on Mother’s Day and other special events to come every week. It won’t happen by simply wishing it will happen. You  can help this happen for Mom's by providing a way to intentionally let visiting family members know you want them to come back to church. Come Back #1 IMAGE

You have to invite them back.

Subtle doesn’t work as a communication strategy in our world today. Think of how the secular media bombards us with repeated messages to buy this, come to that, don’t miss out on some special sale. Though we don’t want to be obnoxious we do have to be persistent and clear.
The link here will help you do this: CLICK HERE to go to it.

eAdditional resources of all sorts for Mother's Day

Inspirations and how-to videos, ebooks, connection cards and bulletin inserts for Mother's Day are all at this link:  https://www.effectivechurchcom.com/mothers-day-resource-list/ 

 

Mother’s Day is your church’s BEST opportunity for evangelism!

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When you think about Mother's Day celebrations at your church, evangelism probably isn't the first think you think about--but it should be!

Mothers Day Book
Click here to download this free e-book. Read and share with your church staff and it will change your view of Mothers Day.

If we are to "make the most of our time" and our calling is to introduce people to Jesus and help them grow to mature disciples, we need to realize that Mother's Day brings many unchurched spouses and kids to church who seldom come any other time. If all we do is give out roses for Mom and say a few nice words (nothing wrong with that), we will miss out on the opportunity to give Mom the best gift ever--kids and husbands introduced to Jesus.

This free e-book will give you a new view of Mother's Day--just click and download.

For more resources for Mother's Day, CLICK HERE.

ALL of the materials are free for Effective Church Communication Members, in ready-to-print PDFs and in editable MS Publisher files. For more information on membership and to sign up, CLICK HERE.

#6 Difficulties and testing are as much a part of God’s plan as blessing

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It takes training in any area of life to be successful
It takes training in any area of life to be successful and God gives us challenges in church communications to grow us spiritually.

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 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.

In the same way that we can’t correct a problem in a manuscript until we see it, it is hard to grow in our faith until we are aware of our shortcomings. So our Lord allows the testing to come, often in the midst of our work for him, so we can learn and grow. If we haven’t taken time to learn the skills we need, a technological challenge might force us to learn a skill we have put off learning. If we don’t see the sin that lingers in our souls, we aren’t challenged to grow in our Christian life so that we can respond with gentleness and kind words under pressure.

Not only will our growth benefit us, but we can be an encouragement to others and remind them that God cares just as much about helping us create an effective newsletter with the computer or other church communication team tasks, as He does about helping us teach a Bible lesson effectively.

The context of these verses also gives us hope. Neither Jesus or the children of Israel stayed in the desert of tempting. Jesus came out of the desert into a life of ministry. The children of Israel went into the promised land.

Our trials prepare serve the same purpose. We aren’t destined to stay in them, but to learn from them to be better equipped for the communication ministry our Lord has given us.

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Devotions Cover The above material is from: Devotions for Church Communicators. For a complete copy of the book in print and online formats, CLICK HERE. To sign up for our online emails that come out when new information is posted on this site, including when new devotions or Biblical challenges are posted, CLICK HERE. To find past devotions and challenges on this website, CLICK HERE.

What you bring to the job

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What You bring to the job
Though skills are important, YOU are the most important component of your work in the church office and this week we celebrate YOU!

Ed. note: Gayle asked that I publish this on YOUR celebration day for Administrative Professionals and I couldn't agree more. YOU are the heart of the church communications ministry and I celebrate your service to our Lord and praise Him for YOU!

You have worked hard to develop and strengthen your skills. You stay updated on techniques, learn the ins and outs of the latest software, and network with others to share ideas and tips.

Are your hard-won administrative and interpersonal skills all that important to the work of the church?

Absolutely!

But the most important component you contribute to the job is none of the above. You bring an element even more valuable than your excellent skills of organization, of communication, time management, or desktop publishing. You bring you!

As essential as your ministry tasks may be, what you are is even more valuable than the tasks you do.

Your unique contributions—faith, commitment, ethics, how you relate to others—these things most certainly affect others in ways your expertise with newsletters and data bases cannot.

Aspects of contributions only you can provide:

• Personal faith
Whether you are a member of the church you serve or of another congregation, being committed to the tenets of your denomination enhances your service.

• Professional image
While it must never replace substance, image does matter. You want what shows on the outside to accurately reflect the professionalism you possess on the inside. Look, speak, think, and act like the professional you are.

• Positive attitude
The only trait more contagious than a positive attitude is a negative one. Your positivity helps make problems solvable, cares bearable, goals reachable.

• Sense of humor
Sharing a good laugh can change a sad circumstance into a funny one. Learn to look for the humor in situations; it is usually there.

As you continue to grow in your job, appreciate your most valuable contribution—YOU.