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.
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Clipart for World Religions, tools to help you be a modern-day Paul

27 February, 2011 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

There are many reasons why you might want to find clip art for religions other than Christianity, including to study and understand them or to do outreach. The Apostle Paul in Acts 17 carefully studied the pagan idols so that when he preached to the people he used what had learned about their religions as a bridge to share the good news of the true God and Savior Jesus. Below is how Paul did this and following are some websites of high quality clip art that you can use to reach the Athens in your world:

Acts 17:22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[c]

29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Taking your cue from Paul, if you want to study the representations of  other faiths today, below are some sites that will help. Please enter any that you know about that I may have missed in the comment section below this article.

Good overall site to purchase high quality software

http://www.fotosearch.com

This site is listed in the categories below, but it is by far the highest quality site. The site has samples from many other sites, some of which are not widely advertised. You can buy the images individually and the site links to the collections the images come from. There are many beautiful, innovative and interesting images for the Christian faith in addition to a large variety of world religion images.

There are no free images listed and some are quite expensive, but the quality of many is quite high. Do take the opportunity to browse through it for ideas even if you don't purchase something.

JEWISH CLIPART COLLECTIONS

http://www.fotosearch.com/clip-art/jewish.html
Wonderful collections and images, links to complete collections.

http://www.jewish-clip-art.com/

Contemporary, informal style, some cost

http://www.jewishsoftware.com/products/jewish_clipart_84.asp

Very nice CD, a comment on it: "Jewish observance permeates the content of this disk, which will be welcomed by Jewish schools here and in the Diaspora that need artwork to decorate classes or newsletters, religious children who want to illustrate school reports, and synagogues that produce bulletins to their members."

ISLAMIC CLIPART COLLECTIONS

http://www.fotosearch.com/clip-art/islamic.html

Professional, quality images, priced per image, beautiful images. Also has links to more complete collections.

http://www.sakkal.com/IslamiClip1.html

Traditional calligraphic images

BUDDISM

http://www.fotosearch.com/clip-art/buddha.html

Beautiful collection, contemporary, professional, links to complete collections.

http://karenswhimsy.com/buddhist-statues.shtm

Really nice black and white drawings. Don't let website title mislead you, this site has many vintage images that are excellent in a number of categories, check it out.

World Religion Collections

The quality, type, and religions represented below varies tremendously, but many religions represented.

http://www.fotosearch.com/clip-art/world-religions.html
Clip art sets, high quality, that have images for a group of religions.

http://www.aperfectworld.org/religion.htm

http://vector-images.com/cd_contents/mythology.php

http://graphics.elysiumgates.com/cultural.html

_________________________________

Please do add additional sites that you use for images for Christian or other religions in the comments below—thanks so much for sharing!

 

 

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Filed Under: Clipart, Graphics, Images Tagged With: church clipart, clipart links, religious clipart, world religions clipart

One purpose of your church website: to explain Sunday services, at least as well as a document does for an oven

27 February, 2011 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

Answer church questions
People shouldn't leave your church with more questions than when they came in

Gerry McGovern, one of my favorite web gurus, had the following observations on how documentation for products is shifting. I think his thoughts present a challenge to the disconnect between what the picture of Christianity presented on Sunday morning and the reality of what it means to live out the Christian faith.

We need to evaluate our Sunday morning service, website content and everything else we produce to see if it is clear about the content of our gospel--in other words, does the product of our lives and worship back up the documentation of it in God's Word?

[Read more...]

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Filed Under: Church Outreach and Marketing Tagged With: church advertising, church bait and switch, church honesty, Church Websites, Yvon Prehn blog

19 February, 2011 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

https://www.effectivechurchcom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/CONNECT-CARDS-BOOK1.pdf

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https://www.effectivechurchcom.com/9079/

Filed Under: Misc. Advice and Articles

How to be a SUPER ASSISTANT in the church office

16 February, 2011 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: Sometimes we might wonder why we do what we do and how do we measure our success? This inspiring article from Gayle Hilligoss will help challenge and encourage you. Though currently I do all the church communication work from home for my bi-vocational pastor husband, I found this advice timely and practical.

As a full-time trainer I met with more than 75,000 ministry assistants throughout the United States and Canada. I visited hundreds of churches from New Hampshire to Hawaii, from Wyoming to Florida, and spent time with you in dozens of states between. Many of us have corresponded regularly for years. So, I speak from firsthand experience and observation when I say you are an extraordinary group.

You know what your job is—and what it isn’t.

As a super assistant you understand that to hit the target you need to know where the bull’s-eye is. You know the responsibilities and duties involved in your job. Even better, you know what results are expected. Knowing what the job is allows you to take the proper steps toward being able to handle it with confidence, skill, and poise.

When no position description is in place for your job, you take the initiative in writing one. With your job clearly defined, you enhance and extend your responsibilities without taking on the responsibilities of others. While always ready to lend a hand when needed, you focus on your own work and allow others to do theirs. People enjoy working with you.

You work toward being effective—not merely efficient. Efficient secretaries do the job right; effective ones do the right job right. You make wise choices regarding how to spend your time.

You recognize your job as ministry.

Your job is more than a job. It is ministry. Ministry is seldom convenient. Needed but routine work can be tedious. People tend to take you for granted. Service above and beyond is often required. Emergencies arise, extra effort becomes necessary.

You shine because when the need is there, you do more than just enough to get the job done. Whether managing the everyday work of the church office, rolling up your sleeves for special church programs, or dealing with emergencies, you approach the tasks at hand as ministry—an opportunity to show God’s love through service to others.

You commit to excellence.

The difference between excellence and mediocrity nearly always lies in the small things, in the details. And taking care of details is what your work is all about. Ministry involves a million little things done with consistency, competence, and compassion.

It takes more effort to look after the little things. But you do it. And the effort shows. You are known for your good work. The pastor and congregation can depend on the quality of your work.

People are still touched by dedication. While they may not know the mechanics involved, they can tell the difference between a neat, accurate bulletin and a messy one full of errors and misinformation.

Whether people notice or not is not the question though. You are serious about your work and feel an obligation to do your best. You care enough to invest yourself in doing excellent work—a mark of the true professional.

You keep learning.

Twenty years ago maturity and experience compensated to some small degree for current training. No more. Today, the knowledge you need to do the job—the methods and the machinery—becomes obsolete very quickly. You are committed to staying on the cutting edge. Seminars, webinars, classes, print journals, digital resources, and ministry assistants organizations keep you informed and inspired.

Certainly, there is a price to pay for training—in time, effort, and dollars. But you know the price to be paid for not learning; you choose the wiser option.

You communicate responsibly.

The secretary is the hub of the information wheel in the church. You are the one people count on to know who, how, what, when, where, and why.

No organization can do its job well without the free flow of necessary information. But, in order to use and dispense information, you must have access to it. That access requires your confidentiality. You have the trust of others because you never indulge in gossip or loose talk.

You aren’t afraid to ask.

The three-letter secret to success is ASK. If you need something, or think some action ought to be taken or some situation ought to be corrected, you communicate those concerns.

If, as people communicate with you, you are in doubt about any aspect of the information or instructions, you ask questions rather than assume. Assumptions are too often wrong. Asking saves time, dollars, efforts, and tempers.

You accept criticism objectively.

It can be difficult to take criticism for what it’s worth, to remember that sometimes it’s worth a lot and other times it’s not worth much.

You don’t allow yourself to take criticism as a personal attack. You learn what you can from it, resist trying to justify your actions, and always consider the source.

In your own operating style, you practice being a role model instead of a critic; your goal is to fix problems rather than to place blame. You assess situations, plan constructive courses of action, and set them in motion.

You maintain a positive attitude.

Each of us tends to find whatever it is we look for. You have developed the habit of immediately seeking something positive in every experience—especially in the experiences others might view as negative. You are not a Pollyanna, but are resilient about foul-ups, knowing that mistakes and misunderstandings are a normal part of life. You never make them more important than they are.

Unlike those who allow the weather to dictate their feelings for the day, you remain sunny even on gloomy days. Others may allow how people treat them to set the tone of their day. If people treat them well, they feel good; if not, they have a bad day. You know that no one can ruin your day unless you allow it. You  don’t expect praise or appreciation for everything you do—even the outstanding things. For you, the satisfaction of a job well done is its own reward.

You are flexible.

Being flexible is being willing to discard a cherished opinion, to try new ways of doing things, and to learn new methods. As comfortable as an old habit can be, a new way can be even better.

While a detour from the familiar may temporarily slow you down, it keeps your job from being boring and demonstrates your professionalism.

You keep your eyes on Jesus.

Strange as it may seem, working at the church can be detrimental to one’s faith. Nurturing your spiritual life is essential.

Church members, perhaps even the pastor, can (perhaps unintentionally) treat your Sunday worship time like just another day at the office. Wisely, you don’t.

Because you care so intensely about the church and its ministry, it could be easy to become disillusioned when plans and people fall short. Wisely, you don’t.

Daily time in prayer and reading God’s Word keep you on track. You understand people, even God’s people, may fail you—but Jesus never will.

You are super assistants! Keep up the good work.

“But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” —Isaiah 40:31  NLT

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Filed Under: Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss Tagged With: church assistant, church office assistant, church office skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss

GREAT Church Bulletin Sample: order of service, newsletter, evangelism tract, refridgerator reminder and more–all on ONE sheet of paper

3 February, 2011 By Yvon Prehn 2 Comments

This church bulletin sample is truly an example of genius in layout and design. I'm not using that description because of its use of fancy graphics, but because it packed in essential communication components, including an order of service, place for sermon notes, announcements, a gospel presentation, and a weekly schedule that is ready-to-post on the refrigerator, all the parts that a church needs for its various audiences all into ONE piece of 11 x 17 paper.

It is a few years old and you will want to modify for your church, but the idea, the layout and the essential communications it packs into one piece of paper are timeless.

This was sent in as part of our Great Idea Swap, where church communicators share with church communicators.

Below  are two images of the bulletin for everyone to view.


How it works and how it was created

[Read more...]

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Filed Under: Church Bulletin Samples, Church Bulletins, TEMPLATES Tagged With: Church Bulletin Sample, Church bulletin template, church bulletins, Communications, great church bulletin, Great Idea Swap Sample, one page church bulletin

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