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.

Don’t steal videos for ministry—create your own with animoto!

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animoto video creation web software
Use animoto video creation software to legally create fantastic videos for ministry.

As I talked about in a previous article, it is illegal, it is stealing, to download and use videos from YouTube that you did not create. It doesn't matter if you are using them for church or if you don't get caught—you aren't supposed to do it.

It is a lot more work to create your own, but the online video creation software, animoto, makes it easy to create great looking videos for a variety of ministry purposes.

The software is SUPER EASY to use. After the demo videos below is a short video I did to show you how simple it is to use. It isn't cheap, currently it runs $22 a month if you pay for a year's subscription, but you don't need editing software, or any knowledge at all and your can create great church videos.

Two videos I created with animoto pro:

First is one I created using the free images from www.freebibleimages.com, a site I cannot recommend enough for a wealth of both drawings and pictures of actors in Biblical settings. You can use them to create your own videos as well as any other communication project in print or online. The second one is for Mother's Day and following it a short video that shows how I used animoto to create the Mother's Day video.


Video of how easy animoto software is to use

The video below was created a couple of years ago and animoto has made the process even faster and easier, but this video still give you a good idea of how the software works.

 

Q&A, “Is it illegal to download YouTube videos for use in ministry?”

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The legality of use for YouTube videos
The legality of use for YouTube videos goes beyond the letter of the law for the Christian communicator.

The context of the following question was an email conversation that about downloading YouTube videos, shortening them, and using them in animoto. I highlighted the question.

Question:

I think it’s OK to do that  with a YouTube video [one she downloaded]. Do you know anything about it?  I’m not changing the content only shortening it.  Info. I have about copyright laws from the Canadian Council of Christian Charities says there is an exception for YouTube etc. videos in 2012 and you can use them to create other work as long as it meets criteria and says what that is.  Non-commercial purposes, info. about original mentioned if reasonable, it doesn’t infringe copyright, not a substitute for original and not a substantial negative impact on markets for original material.  I used www.keepvid.com to download the video.  Hopefully all OK.  It’s not easy getting exactly what I want.

 My answer:

To answer the question, I tried to get access to the copyright laws from the Canadian Council of Christian Charities and was unable to do so because I am not a member.

However, regardless of the opinion of that group, I researched the question, "Is it illegal to download YouTube videos?"

The short answer is "yes" it is illegal. No question about it. 

First I'll share the resources that support my conclusion that come from YouTube and a secular and then Christian web . In addition to sharing the sources that answer the question of legality, included are opinions of a couple of online commentators and finally some comments that I believe should be important to all of us a Christian communicators.

From: YouTube answers

In general, downloading videos that other people have posted on YouTube is not allowed. However, you can download MP4s of your own uploads.
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6035694?rd=1

From: PC Advisor website (good quotes of original Terms of Service)

Consider the fact that lots of the people who create YouTube videos rely on the money they make from the adverts displayed on their clips. And downloading video from YouTube does breach Google's terms of service, too. Within Section 5.1 it states: "YouTube hereby grants you permission to access and use the Service, subject to the following express conditions, and you agree that your failure to adhere to any of these conditions shall constitute a breach of these Terms on your part: you agree not to access Content through any technology or means other than the video playback pages of the Website itself, the YouTube Player, or other means as YouTube may explicitly designate for this purpose. See also: How to download YouTube videos to your iPhone or iPod touch.

"You agree not to access Content for any reason other than your personal, non-commercial use solely as intended through and permitted by the normal functionality of the Service, and solely for Streaming. "Streaming" means a contemporaneous digital transmission of the material by YouTube via the Internet to a user operated Internet enabled device in such a manner that the data is intended for real-time viewing and not intended to be downloaded (either permanently or temporarily), copied, stored, or redistributed by the user.

"You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube or the respective licensers of the Content."

In other words, you are permitted to view YouTube video only through Google's own website and apps.

From:http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/internet/3420353/is-it-legal-download-youtube-videos/

From:  www.communicatejesus.com website

I thought I’d check out the CCLI (Christian Copyright) website to see what they had to say about churches using YouTube clips. The only article I could find was from 2008 entitled – ‘Playing it safe – internet content and copyright‘and it said,

As far as I can tell, the long and the short of it is this – in most cases, it is not legal to download YouTube videos for church use, personal use, or any other use, . . . . Similarly, I discovered that should you (for some reason) want to reproduce (e.g. quote) comments made against videos, this too is a breach of the terms of use.

Steve Fogg wrote in with the following comment:

“…it is actually illegal to play this kind of thing [YouTube videos] in a church service or public space unless you have written authorization from the ORGINAL copyright holder

Which means if people who put together videos for YouTube sample vision or sound from somewhere else you need their expressed written permission.

CCLI who give license for music offer video license for most major movies which gives you rights to play a clip for a sermon. Outside of this, if you don’t know created the video or don’t have their express permission as copyright holders it is breaking many intellectual property laws and could break a small churches bank totally as fines for these kinds of thing are massive.”

http://www.communicatejesus.com/2009/08/only-two-legal-scenarios-to-download-youtube-videos/

A troubling trend in many of the answers

Because I did not want to cause confusion, I quoted the resources above that made clear, statements about the stated legality of the practice.

However, those were not the only kind of answers I found that were similar the one above, that after clearly stating it was illegal and against terms of service to download the videos, had a link to an article for how to download them to your iphone or ipad. Did you notice that? I had to reread it several times, because I couldn't believe that after telling people it was illegal to do this, they gave a link to an article that told you how to do it. In addition, the one below is typical of many others:

 From: Yahoo answers

Well if it's music or music videos that you don't own, then yes it's technically illegal, but if you use a YouTube downloader or Keepvid.com to transfer them, nobody's going to know anyways.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110118162831AAVjWmG

The idea that yes it was illegal to download videos, but "nobody's going to know" so it is OK to do what is illegal if you don't get caught, was a common theme in the answers to the question and is sadly a common theme for so much digital content today.

But for the Christian communicator who seeks to honor God in all his or her work, it isn't OK.

There is no such thing as not getting caught for a Christian. Our work is open to our Lord as are our hearts and motives as we do our work. We might wish it were different when it is very frustrating to work hard to find the right video or piece of artwork to illustrate the message we want to illustrate only to realize when we take the time to read the fine print of rights and terms of use that we can't use it or download it for our purposes.

But we must always remind ourselves that we are doing what we do to honor our Lord and advance His kingdom and that isn't always easy. The hosts of heaven are watching us.

Reminder of a temptation long ago, but one that always returns

In situations like this I always remember when I was first starting out in desktop publishing. Young Life, where I worked as senior editor, had shut down their in-house communication program. I was on my own, single, and desperately poor. I was making my living as a Christian free-lance designer and the resources I needed to do my job were very expensive. At that time, my laser printer cost about $5,000 and individual typefaces cost hundreds of dollars. To do freelance work I needed more than the few that came with my Mac and someone offered to give me a pirated copy of the entire Adobe type library for free.

I am ashamed to admit I had to think about it overnight before I turned her down.

Today when more typefaces than we want or need junk up our hard drives, it's hard to imagine how difficult that decision was, but I now suspect it was far more important to the health of my soul than it was to the health of my financial state. Typefaces might be free today, but there is always something that tempts us to betray what we know isn't right for reasons that make perfectly good sense when we are tired and stressed to finish a job.

Money is still an issue (You mean I have to PAY for clip art? Every year???), but so is time (You mean I have to look for hours for something legal when I can find, download and paste any image I want from Google in minutes?). Since both are in short supply, I have lots of excuses to cheat--or so it is always easy to tell myself that. 

But as I thought back then and have to still remind myself today: how can I do the Lord's work with stolen tools?

The question isn't trivial because, as C. S. Lewis reminds us:

“Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.”

It is not a small, insignificant decision whether to follow copyright and fair usage rules or not as you create church communications.We don't get a pass because we are tired, stressed, or didn't have the time—all of that is a given in ministry. Our work involves the eternal destiny of the souls entrusted to the care of our church or ministry.  The little decisions we make as we do our work will be reflected in the quality and integrity of the result and in how the Lord will use it. As much as is possible, in everything we do, we need to remember:

Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.  2 Timothy 2:20-21

We want to be clean vessels so that the Lord can use us and bless the work we create to help people come to know Jesus and to grow into maturity in Him. Ultimately the success of our communication work never depends on time or money saved, never by "might or power" but always by the blessing of His Holy Spirit, who touches hearts and changes lives through the communications we create for Him.

A tool to help us in our work

There are many tools today that can help us do our work in time and cost-saving ways and one of my favorites is: animoto. This program is so easy to use, very powerful and free. CLICK HERE to go to an article that illustrates some vidoes made with it as well as a short video on how to use the program.

_____________________________________________

If you have a question, ask me! Just email yvon@effectivechurchcom.com

Just as the church communicator did who was the inspiration for this article did. I have a number of other questions that are in the pipeline to answer in articles in the coming week and I want to do this regularly. Send questions about any aspect of church communications to: yvon@effectivechurchcom.com.  I can't guarantee how quickly I will get to the answer, or if I will answer it with an article, but I will read all of them and send you a private response.

What I Learned in the Church Office

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What I learned in the church office
So many pieces of advice here are helpful not only for the church office, but for organizing your life.

Gaining knowledge from the experiences of others is far more time effective, and much less painful, than making every mistake yourself and learning every lesson firsthand.

Likewise, we cannot argue with what others have found to be true. Agree or disagree, here are some things church office professionals say are worth knowing, some things that work for them. And maybe for you too.

• Create a pleasant environment.
“Our offices are where we spend a good part of our lives. Do all you can to make that time as pleasant and productive as possible. Take an objective look at your work space. How could it be better?”

Can you easily locate paper and computer records you need? Is equipment placed conveniently? Are supplies handy? What small irritations slow down your efficiency?

Make a list of these negatives and jot down how they can be corrected. Appropriate background music, a lovely plant, framed art, rearranged furniture, whatever it takes—every day do something to brighten the place where you live so many hours each day.

• Invest in training.
Knowing how is a great time saver. “One of the biggest challenges I face, over and again, is learning how to use the features of our software. Until I found an affordable source of help, I spent hours of trial and error.”

Depending on your software, you may have the option of free or low-cost support. More complex software may require paid support or printed resource manuals. Ministry assistants overwhelmingly say the training is well worth the investment.

“Nothing helps me to do a good job more than regular participation in our church secretaries association. Our meetings keep me updated, aware, and inspired.”

If your denomination has an organization for ministry assistants, find out how you can connect with a local group. If none is available, investigate starting one. One of the absolute best things you can do for yourself professionally is to participate in training events. Then, augment your in-person training with online sessions. A wealth of information is available 24/7 at effectivechurchcommunications.com.

• Never underestimate attitude.
“When I came to the church office I never imagined that keeping a positive attitude would be a challenge. I was totally unprepared for criticism and negativity; I began to doubt I was doing anything right.”

Allowing self-doubt to get the upper hand wastes time, hinders effectiveness, and robs you of the satisfaction of your efforts. What can be done?

•Focus on doing your job well

•Treat others with respect

•Expect to be treated with respect

•Never take criticisms personally; learn from them, then put them behind you

•Commit only to things you can deliver

•Be absolutely honest

•Own up to your mistakes and not to those that are not•Have something good to say

•Be aware that you are a person of worth; you are more than your job

•Know who your “boss” is and don’t even try to please everyone; it cannot be done

•Strive to be assertive, not aggressive•While serving others, be good to you.

• The church is not Big Business, Inc.
And assistants are fine with that. We are more interested in ministry than in upward mobility. We can do tough administrative tasks, but are secure enough not to mind the mundane; making coffee is not an issue. This profession is one that offers each person a place of service perfectly suited to his or her career goals.

• Everything is not digital.
“I still get many good ideas from magazines and newsletters. The trick is keeping them organized and accessible. Old-fashioned file folders are my answer.”

As you browse publications crossing your desk, slice out pages that have information you can use and slip them into labeled folders. Ideas:

• Type—ideas on how type is used; typefaces you like
• Layout—page arrangements; use of color
• Office equipment—consumer reports; price lists
• Storage ideas; furniture arrangements
• Timesavers—tips for working smarter

You can, of course, scan this material but there can be obvious advantages in just using paper. First, it’s faster. And, I like taking a file or two with me to browse at lunch. When I’m done with the paper it is easily pitched.

• For every 100 files, pitch 90.
Researchers say that only 10 percent of files, paper and digital, are ever referred to after six months.

Trim files are a major aid to organization. Make a plan, check with any powers that be, and proceed with care. First, identify and move to appropriate storage any documents or digital files to be preserved for legal or historical purposes.

For paper: assemble storage boxes, trash bags, file folders, and markers. Completely empty and sort one file drawer or box at a time. Start with your oldest files, usually not the ones in your immediate work area. Clear out first the files with the most things to pitch; this frees space for transferring items later. Some paper can be recycled; financial and other confidential files must be shredded.

As you go through retained papers, note a purge date on the top right hand corner of each. Once this big job is done, keep files trim by regularly discarding documents as those dates come around.

Revise this system to attack your digital files. Computers can get just as cluttered as file cabinets. Some would say more so.

• Look, act, and speak like a professional.
“Though there are no guarantees, my experience was that when I got serious about my work and my approach to it, others gave me the respect I felt lacking before.”

These are some lessons learned by ministry assistants. The hope is we can learn from their experiences and then pass our knowledge along to others. Together we grow!

 

Free ebook on Church Leadership and Teamwork in the church

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Free ebook on Leadership and Teamwork in the church
Click on the image here to down this free ebook on Leadership and Teamwork in the church by Robert Sherbondy

For the last two weeks I've written about church communication teams and in this context, I am excited to share a training manual, Leadership and Teamwork in the Church by an ECC Member, Bob Sherbondy. If you follow the advice of this book it will help you build a team for effective church communications.

Bob has very generously made the book, in e-book format, available as a free download for readers of this site. You can download the book by clicking on the image to the left. Following are Bob's description of the book as well as a brief bio from him.

There is a large amount of valuable information and practical application in this book. I urge you to download it, read it, use it and please let Bob know your response to it: bsherbondy@gmail.com

Bob's overall comments and description of the book

Leadership and Teamwork in the Church is written as a manual for a series of 8 training workshops involving group discussions and a special exercise on cooperation for these church workers. Its greatest benefits will be experienced as its principles are taught and practiced by church teams. This is a manual for the practice of teamwork in churches and not just an e-book about that matter.

I've used parts of the manual as resources for brief teaching sessions with church members and leaders, and this approach has produced some helpful insights within them, so I know that it can be used in parts.

A partial understanding of these principles may not enable a team or a committee of church leaders to be completely effective in the efforts to work together. It would be like a basketball or football team that didn't understand the principles of playing good defense as well as functioning offensively. I trust that [readers] can recognize the important principles for effective teamwork that are presented in this manual.

About Robert Sherbondy

I am an old retired Baptist minister who has had a lot of special experience and training in over 50 years of service as a pastor, Christian education specialist, designer and writer and editor of curricula, marketing, and fund-raising.

I’ve served on local and national and international committees, including positions of leadership as the president of the Religious Education Section of the Adult Education Association of America and president of the Chicago Chapter of the Religious Public Relations Council.

I have a BA degree in Sociology and a BD in New Testament and special training in group leadership and organizational development.

Everywhere that I have served I have seen a need for effective teamwork between individual workers. This is the reason for the writing of this manual on “Leadership and Teamwork in the Church” as well as the other resources on my website regarding “Christianity and what is good forever” at http://www.christianityetc.org.

I will be glad to answer any questions that anyone has regarding the use of this manual if they contact me at my email address: bsherbondy@gmail.com

 

Why ministry leaders aren’t always good communicators and what to do about it

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Leaders communication challenges
Leaders can't sit at their desks to create all communications needed--they need a team to help.

The important term in the headline here is "aren't always." Ministry leaders, including pastors, leaders of groups like Young Life, and missionaries are almost always great verbal communicators or they wouldn't be in ministry. They do great talking to groups, teaching, challenging, motivating. But in today's multi-channel communication universe, that isn't enough.

What's needed today

When the Apostle Paul said he needed to be "all things to all people that he might win some," he had no idea of the multitude of communication tools and effective ministry program needs today, but his words couldn't be more true in this area.

You need a variety of communication tools because no church or ministry is a homogeneous group when it comes to what communication tools works best for each person in it.Your message stays the same, but for different groups of people to take it in and act on it, you need different ways to reach them. Here are some examples:

What works in a church

In the church, some people like the traditional bulletin and print newsletter to find out what's going on at the church. Others prefer to get their church news online. Others will only pay attention if they get a text message just before an event and others need large print format to stay informed. In the church if you want your people to know what is going on and to take part, it doesn't matter what you as a leader like or think is useful and proper for the church. What matters is what channels of communication are the various people in your church are responding to.

In the church we always need to remember that the majority does not rule when it comes to being a servant to all. There may only be 4-5 or 10-20 people who still need the newsletter printed out and mailed to them, but we must always remember that our Lord went after the one little sheep. He expects us to value the straying and weak in the same way. [Read more...]