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.

Open Letter in response to a church secretary whose job was cut

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I received the email below from a church secretary whose church terminated her job because of the challenging financial times we are in. In the time spent praying over how to answer wisely, I realized that an answer to her questions and some comments on her situation might be useful to other church communicators, so I am answering in the form of an Open Letter.  Below is her email and then my response, her name and church are confidential.

In this tough economy many churches have had to make the tough decision to no longer have a secretary.  I am trying to communicate to the congregation that I love the Church and support the decision that was made.  On the other hand when I am in service I want to cry because for me this drastic a change is very scary.  So I may need a break not from God but from the Church so I can refocus and not be the cause of any problems (many do not agree with the decision).  Do you have any suggestions on how to communicate this in a positive way to the congregation.  (PS - I have not been able to have a Sunday to just worship since I started 3 years ago.  People always assume I am working if I am here, despite reminder that I will take care of that when I am working on Monday)

My response, an open letter

First of all, let me say that I honestly feel the pain that underlies your question. It is more than theory—my husband was on staff of a large church and we had a huge and successful Single Adult ministry that was our life—and his position was terminated because of budget cuts. While serving as a bi-vocational pastor since then, we have had some interesting experiences with churches promising to pay and “budgets just not working out.” Whatever the reason, when money, one’s income, and all those sorts of financial things get tied up in our church life, it not only becomes challenging financially, but messy and potentially very destructive to our own spiritual health and that of others in the church.

Ultimately, what you decide to do is between you and the Lord Jesus and I know you will be spending much time in prayer and in His Word to decide your actions, but since you asked, let me share some thoughts that I trust are guided by Biblical principles. I will try to summarize your concerns and then offer some thoughts and Biblical advice on them. [Read more...]

Christmas Letter and Handout that includes an explanation of why Jesus is the Reason for the Season and gives an invitation to respond to Him

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Click on the image to download the PDF with this Christmas letter as well as the back side of faith exploration resources. Editable files and more options are available for ECC Members on a link at the end of this article.

At Christmas we work really hard to get people to attend the events we put on, but just getting people to attend an event matters little if we do not introduce them to the reason for Christmas—Jesus.

In addition to events, we often send out personal, church and ministry Christmas letters, but again, if we don’t share with people the real joy of Christmas—Jesus and the salvation He gives us—our Christmas message is incomplete.

This Christmas publication here will help solve both of those challenges. It uses the favorite hymn, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” as an introduction to why Jesus came at Christmas and invites people to respond to him.

The piece to your right is a free PDF of the piece along with the page described below as a second page of the PDF. Additional options are available for Effective Church Communication Members and are shown later in this article.

An additional resources for faith exploration

Many people today, know little about the background of Christmas or little about Jesus. Because of that you may want to print on the back of the handout the list that gives websites where people can explore the Christian faith in depth.

Becoming a Christian is not a decision not to be taken lightly and  this sheet encourages careful exploration of the facts before a decision is made.

Suggestions for use:

This piece can be:

  • Given out during or following any Christmas service
  • Posted on your website for your people to use any way they want
  • Given out on a CD following a service.
  • Printed up and passed out to your people to include in Christmas letters.
  • Copied and sent out on email letters.
  • Any other way you can think of to share the gospel joy this Christmas season!

For Effective Church Communication Members, below is a MEMBERS ONLY ZIP file download that includes:

  • 2 more designs of the publication, illustrated below
  • A PDF booklet of all of them
  • Separated files for printing on a spot color digital duplicator
  • Editable MS Publisher files for all
  • MS Word files for the basic text files of the letter and the resource list
  • PGN images of all the letter and the resource list
Three options for Christmas letter
All of these PDF options, plus MS Publisher editable of each, MS Word text files and images are available for ECC Members.

CLICK HERE  to download the ZIP FILE. Remember to "SAVE IT" to your desktop and then click to open to access the individual files.

 

Why it is incorrect to think that graphic images mean the same thing to everyone who sees them

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Images should be used only if they add to the message expressed primarily in words. They are not sufficient in and of themselves to communicate much of anything. They may look nice, they may create an emotion, designers may congratulate each other on their brilliance when they share their creations, but if you want to communicate a significant Christian message, images alone won’t do it.

Some of you may object: “But, a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Whenever I hear that statement, I always respond with the question, “What thousand?”

People often make the first statement as some sort of understood truth that images say more than words do. That is simply not true. Reality is that the same picture can mean as many different things to as many people who look at it. Not convinced?

What would you say a picture of the American flag means to:

  • A Marine just out of boot-camp?
  • A terrorist who has been water-boarded?
  • An immigrant just granted political amnesty?
  • An Al Qaeda sleeper cell member?
  • A member of Congress?

It’s the same flag—but we all bring different histories, experiences, loves, and hates to any image from flags to puppies to clowns. No image, picture, or graphic is self-explanatory.

Testing that backs up the statements above

Gerry McGovern, communications writer and expert has written a blog entry, which I have quoted below, in which he details marketing research that shows the ineffectiveness of images to communicate a message. Mr. McGovern is kind enough to allow reprinting of his material and I strongly recommend you visit his site and sign up for his newsletter. Information on how to find out more about Mr. McGovern’s website and articles are at the end of this article.

ARE MARKETING IMAGES DAMAGING YOUR BRAND?

By Gerry McGovern

On the Web, traditional marketing images are increasingly being seen as useless annoyances by customers. They undermine the credibility of the brand.

The two webpages were trying to get you to sign up for test drives for supercars. They were identical (pictures of the cars, video, etc.) except for different headlines:
LIFE IS SHORT. JUST DRIVE
DRIVE FIVE SUPERCARS. THE US SUPERCAR TOUR

One headline convinced 34 percent more visitors to fill out and submit the lead generation form. “We think headlines can be the most influential element on the page, and this test certainly shows that,” the WhichTestWon website stated. “WhichTestWon.com research shows headline tests are one of the easiest ways to raise your site’s conversion rates,” Ann Holland founder of WhichTestWon states. “Subhead tests and response device headlines (such as wording on a button or at the top of a form) are also extremely powerful.”

Words are absolutely critical to the success of a website and yet many marketers, communicators and senior managers spend far more time on images.

“My group must continually respond to requests to add yet another image to our home page,” Cliff Tyllick wrote to me in an email recently. Cliff is the Web development coordinator for the Agency Communications Division of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Cliff went on to state that they had done a large study of their homepage’s usability which “showed quite clearly that images not only divert attention from themselves ("This looks like an ad. I'm not here to buy anything; I'm here to get something done.") but also poisoned the drawing power of words at or below their level on our home page ("This looks like fluff, so nothing beside or below it could possibly be serious. I'm looking for serious content.").

One participant in the study Cliff’s team conducted visited the website every day and complained that it was impossible to find information on a particular program. For the previous six months there had been a large graphic on the homepage advertising this very program.

In another website we were involved with there was a graphic advertising a service in the right column of the homepage immediately visible. The homepage was long and three screens down there was a text link for this service. The link got several times more clicks than the graphic ad. In another study we did most participants never even saw the banner ad that took up 40% of the homepage because they had clicked on a navigation link before it had time to fully download. Yahoo did a major study on banner ad effectiveness and found that while these ads had some impact on those over 40, those younger than 40 hardly ever saw them.

If these stock photography marketing cliché images are actually damaging to a brand’s reputation, why do we keep using them? There was an Irish family that had a tradition of cutting the roast in two every Christmas. One of the children wanted to know why but nobody could tell her. It was a tradition going back generations, she was told. Finally, the child asked her grandmother. “When I was young, sweetheart,” the grandmother said, “we had a very small oven.”

Citations and ways to contact and sign up for Gerry McGovern’s emails:

www.gerrymcgovern.com


Closing comments from Yvon Prehn:

Images do not fully communicate the complexity of the Christian message. Images do not give time, date, location, and let you know if child care is provided. Images can stir up emotions, but they don’t make practical connections.

We need words. Let’s choose them as carefully as we do our images.

 

A solution to Christmas burnout & an inspiring communication example: the Advent Conspiracy

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I wish I would have discovered this group sooner--I would have done much more to promote their message, but that said, having just found out about it, I could not wait to share it with all of you. It is a wonderful reminder of the real meaning of Christmas, it presents solutions AND it does them in a very upbeat, entertaining way.

Though their message is powerful, the please take time to view this little video for a unique way to share a convicting message. An article that explains the program follows. For much more information, downloadable resources and more please go to: http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

note: an ECC reader just sent this link, which is a great companion to the one above: http://www.rethinkingchristmas.com/

Presents or Presence? Gifts that Matter

By Susan Passi-Klaus, from the United Methodist News Service

What if we just stop? Stop the madness. Stop the frustrating pursuit of the perfect present. Stop shopping until we drop. Stop trying to “people please” through gift giving.

What if we spend less, but give more, love more? And here’s a thought. What if we use the holidays to worship God more fully?

Those are questions posed by a grassroots group known as the Advent Conspiracy, http://www.adventconspiracy.org/.  They’ve partnered with more than 1,000 churches—more than 300 of them United Methodist—in 17 countries to change the way the world does Christmas and the way the world gives presents or . . . presence.

“We’re not trying to kill the idea of giving gifts,” said Ken Weigel, pastor of ministry development at Imago Dei Community in Portland, Ore. The nondenominational congregation is one of the founding churches of the Advent Conspiracy. “What we’re saying is that instead of buying your kid the Xbox, buy him a baseball mitt, and yourself a mitt, and actually make a commitment to your son to play catch regularly.”

Or, suggested Weigel, give a friend or family member a couple of mugs and a pound of coffee with a note that says, “This coffee is for when we sit down and talk because what I want to do this year is spend more time with you.”

Called “relational giving,” it’s an important tenet of Advent Conspiracy’s philosophy.

“We’ve got to re-examine this weird idea of saying ‘I love you equals X amount of money,’” he said. “What everyone really wants is to be loved and to have time with the people they love. Nobody lies on their deathbed and says, ‘I wish I had more toys.’”

In fact, Weigel believes it’s a relief to most people when they finally let go of their grandiose expectations of both giving and receiving over the holidays.

“Just look at Black Friday. We spent the entire day before giving thanks, and then the next day we go crazy going after things we’ve convinced ourselves we need. What if we just stopped the consumerism? What if we just said we actually have the things we really need—we don’t need another sweater or another set of screwdrivers. What if we just looked the empire of consumerism dead in the eye and said, ‘I don’t need you!’”

According to Weigel, moms often have the hardest time reining in the spending because their love language is gift giving. And dads? Well, they too often try to solve Christmas giving dilemmas with a credit card. However, parents can lead by example and model giving to kids.

“Say the family has an extra $200 they had planned to spend on a Wii, but the neighbors don’t have heat, or the homeless don’t have food, or a family at church doesn’t have Christmas gifts. Do we want to give the neighbors heat, or the homeless a few meals, or the family who is down on their luck some stuff they need . . . or do we go buy the Wii?

“Somewhere along the way, kids have got to get the message, ‘Let’s stop worshipping the idol of consumerism and actually start looking at Jesus and the gift God gave us in giving him.”

It’s about the meaning behind the giving.

This is the first year the Rev. Kevin Raidy’s congregation has collaborated with Advent Conspiracy. At Bloomfield United Methodist Church in Indiana where he serves as pastor, a large outside banner announces, “We support a conspiracy!”

“This is an awareness project for us,” Raidy said. “Meaning is lost at Christmas. Jesus was born in the simplest of settings; yet, we’ve lost the message.”

In a series of sermons and other lessons inspired by Advent Conspiracy, Raidy is driving home the message that it is not always about the gifts; it is about the meaning behind the giving.

“The Christmas ‘kick’ is starting earlier and earlier every year,” the pastor said. “There are pre-Black Friday sales, then Black Friday, then Cyber-Monday. Everyone is wanting bits and pieces of our money and our time. We can be stressed out from overdoing. We can be maxed out on our credit cards from overspending. Or we can have God’s peace that comes from giving from the heart. It’s a choice we make.”

Give more of yourself so there is more for others.

In his first Advent Conspiracy sermon of the season, the Rev. Brian Germano encouraged his congregation to spend less on gifts of excess—the filler and fluff gifts they didn’t really need—so that they could contribute to causes that make a tangible difference in the world.

On a recent Sunday at East Cobb United Methodist Church in Marietta, Ga., Germano asked his parishioners to “give more of yourselves.”

“God didn’t give us things,” Germano preached. “He gave us himself so we should give gifts that do the same—give of ourselves and give gifts that celebrate a relationship.”

“Buy one less gift,” he suggested. “And the money you save on that one less gift can then be used for gifts that matter like helping a needy family, or filling a care package for someone, or helping with a mission project.”

According to Germano, the apostle Paul talks about the use of money and possessions where our abundance can be shared with others in need so there is a balance.

“So spending less,” said the pastor, “helps us fulfill Paul’s advice to use our wealth in ways that truly make a difference in the world.”

Ministry opportunities your website may be missing

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Every church knows they need a website and most churches have them today. Sadly, however, many churches buy a website creation program and do little more than fill in the blanks needed to make sure that something is on all the template pages.

Sadly that something is often no more than a paragraph, that once entered is often forgotten.

The church can say it has a website, but a website like this misses many ministry opportunities, including:

The staff misses the opportunity to become real people to their community.

Is the pastor a real person? What does he or she really think about God or problems or people? Are they in touch with the real world? If the pastor writes a blog or articles, people checking out the church can get a real sense of what that person is like. Not only the pastor, but Bible class teachers, the staff, ministry leaders, small group leaders, all would benefit from an online presence. People in your community are looking for real people with the answers to spiritual questions. The web provides a priceless opportunity to allow people to get to know you.

One caution: NEVER have your blog written by someone else—blogs or online articles do not have to be perfect literary masterpieces to touch people, but they do have to be honest. [Read more...]