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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Church communications give a voice to the silent and shy

29 August, 2012 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

Church Communicators can give a voice to the silent
Church Communicators can give a voice to the silent and shy through the tools we create.

I can be loud--really loud. Not obnoxious loud, not loud when I speak normally, just loud in volume when necessary. I often joke that it's because I'm the daughter of a drill sergeant, but regardless of the reason, if a group of people at church want an auditorium of milling adults and kids to be quiet so we can pray and no microphone is available, no problem.

Though I spend a lot of time quietly writing and putting together resources, love solitude,  and don't consider myself particularly chatty, I never really thought about what it means to be too shy, too quiet to talk about something when necessary. For some reason I assumed that most church communicators were people who didn't have a problem getting their message out when they wanted to and that the tools I create for them simply helped them do, in perhaps different or more professional ways, what they were already doing.

Then I got this comment after creating a series of church invitation cards for Come Back to Church Sunday (CLICK HERE if you want to see them): [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Church Invitation Cards Tagged With: Church Invitation Cards, Communications, sharing the gospel, speaking up for others

What is really difficult about YouTube and what it teaches us about church communication

12 August, 2012 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

The popular perception of YouTube is that it is really simple, easy, and anybody can slap up a video. In addition--if it is catchy, funny, or inspiring enough that the video will go viral and the video creator will gain immediate fame and fortune.

It really doesn't work that way.

I've spent a lot of time on YouTube lately trying to understand how it works and how I can make the most of it to equip and inspire church communicators. Part of that has been to study some of the popular producers and to look the advice YouTube gives on realistically how to make a video channel that will have significant impact on the audience you want to reach. My first conclusion is that it is much, much harder and more difficult than I imagined.

At the same time, if you follow their instructions--which require a tremendous amount of time and precise, repetitive work--chances are you will achieve your goals.

One set of instructions is their Creator Playbook

Without going into details, which I am very much in the process of learning and trust you will see the results of, I want to share the Creator Playbook from YouTube. CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE to go to download the ebook--it's free for anyone who wants it.

The Creator Playbook has 91 pages of how-tos. The book is one of the most useful, well-written and laid out of any ebook I've seen in a long time. It is worth the time to download it simply to study the structure.

More than that, it is a reality check. If I want to use video effectively to help train church communicators (and notice I said help train, not everyone is into video and I will continue to practice what I preach on the need for multi-channel communication) that it will take lots of time, work, focus, and prayer for understanding to make it work. The big and splashy aren't what count--it is learning how to do many new, repetitive, tasks:adding annotations, creating playlists, release schedule, better links, captions, descriptions--learning how to use analytics. Yet when I get past the initial, "Oh, my....how will I ever do this?" --there is also a growing excitement of how powerful the final results can be and awe of the incredible tools the Lord has given us.

How this YouTube experience applies to church communications [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: church YouTube, Communications, YouTube and church communications, Yvon Prehn blog, Yvon Prehn commentary

What is difficult about YouTube and what it teaches us about church communication

8 August, 2012 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

YouTube has a lot to teach us about communications
YouTube has a lot to teach us about communications creation.

The popular perception of YouTube is that it is really simple, easy, and anybody can slap up a video. In addition--if it is catchy, funny, or  inspiring enough that the video will go viral and the video creator will gain immediate fame and fortune.

It doesn't work that way.

I've spent a lot of time on YouTube lately trying to understand how it works and how I can make the most of it to equip and inspire church communicators. Part of that has been to study some of the popular producers and to look the advice YouTube gives on realistically how to make a video channel that will have significant impact on the audience you want to reach. My first conclusion is that it is much, much harder and more difficult than I imagined. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Basic Church Communications Training, Devotions & Challenges for Church Communicators, Evangelism & Outreach, Leading & Managing Tagged With: church communication strategy, Communications, difficulty of church communications, YouTube and church communications

Flyer to encourage church communications: You are one of the Great Ones!

29 June, 2012 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

The Great Ones Flyer, image 1
This is an encouraging devotion for church communications. It is a free, ready-to-print PDF.

Church communicators work very hard at one of the most important tasks in the church and the purpose of this piece is to encourage them.

The flyer to the left is free for everyone to download and print, either to remind yourself of the incredible importance of your work or to encourage another church communicator. It is a copy of the devotion, "You are one of the Great Ones and far more important than you may realize" CLICK HERE if you want read the devotion before you download it.

It is a black and white PDF and would look very nice printed on colored or parchment-looking paper. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Misc. Advice and Articles Tagged With: church communicators, church volunteers, Communications, encouragement for church communicators

In the church office: Keep It Simple, part two

6 June, 2012 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

 Ed. note: Part one of this series got us started on ways to simplify our office and in doing that become more productive and help us accomplish all God wants us to accomplish. This second set of suggestions by Gayle Hilligoss will challenge and equip you even more.

• Don’t reinvent the wheel
Establish written policies and procedures for how to handle recurring jobs and situations. While this is helpful for all tasks, it is particularly beneficial for jobs done only every few months.

The advantage of following written steps, rather than just doing the task, is that a guide reminds you of what needs to be done and when. You have already figured out what works. Use your experience. So simple.

• Share the responsibility
Simplify your schedule by making another person responsible now and then. If a vendor hasn’t delivered by the promised date and asks you to check back in a day or two, ask him to give you a call when the job is ready. Give similar responsibility to coworkers and members when situations allow. The more you practice this kind of sharing, the easier it becomes.

• Commit plans to writing
A weekly planner, either paper or digital, is the 21st century version of the to-do list. Organizing by the week provides a broader view of your schedule, more flexibility, and the best possibility for using your time productively.

Dozens of formats are available; choose or design one that works well for you. Make it detailed enough to be effective, simple enough to ensure you use it.

• Establish priorities
All tasks are not of equal value. Life is more simple once the important is identified and addressed, and the nonessential is eliminated—either ignored or dispatched as quickly as possible. No one has the time or energy to do everything; invest your efforts in what produces the results you want. Many tasks just burn hours; they have no payoff.

We have learned not to write down most busywork jobs. The next step is to learn not to do them.

• Start your day productively
Time studies reveal that in many offices the first hour of the day is the most nonproductive. Desks are tidied, plants watered, papers shuffled, pleasantries exchanged—but nothing done toward reaching the day’s goals.

Simplify your life by noting your tasks for the next day before leaving the office each afternoon. Be the person who hits the office with a clear sense of purpose and ready to go. Making your first hour purposeful makes the following hours less stressful.

• Concentrate on one thing at a time
Interruptions are sure to occur during your day, ones you cannot sidestep, but you can avoid interrupting yourself. Once you start a task, do your best to stick with it. Moving randomly from one assignment to another is self-defeating behavior that can easily become a habit. If you are distracted by someone else, make a quick note to mark your place. Do what you must; then resume your work and see it through to completion.

• Set self-imposed deadlines
One of the undeniable facts of life is that nothing moves a task along as well as having a specific time when it must be finished. Think of occasions when you have accomplished the seemingly impossible in record time simply because it had to be done. Doesn’t that make you feel great?

Attaching a target time to every meaningful task is an effective way to simplify. Since work tends to fill the time allotted for it, deadlines keep you from spending longer on a project than it is worth. You work with purpose, maintain focus, and experience a valid sense of accomplishment. Great payoffs.

• Group similar tasks
You can greatly increase your productivity by grouping related activities. Use one or more blocks of time to schedule the day’s time intensive tasks (filing, data entry, correspondence) instead of doing bits and pieces throughout the day. What you save is the “getting back in the groove” time involved every time you stop and have to restart.

• Take the threat out of big projects
Many tasks you handle can’t be completed in a day or two. Some require many, many hours; some can be intimidating.

Simplify by breaking these huge projects into small, measurable tasks. First, determine when the entire job must be completed. Then, jot down everything that must be done to achieve the desired results. Put the tasks in order and give each a deadline. Allow ample time for each segment and for a final review.

Finally, working backward from your completion date, place those tasks on your planning calendar at the appropriate dates. This system converts your big job into a series of doable little jobs.

• Go basic
Even in today’s casual work environment, office attire matters. Create a wardrobe of comfortable separates that work together. Your closet will be trimmer, your upkeep less, and dressing appropriately will take less time and effort. Use the same system of going basic with makeup, toiletries, household linens, furnishings, landscaping, whatever makes your life more simple and satisfying.

• Create quiet times
Stores, restaurants, and offices constantly bombard us with sound. We compound the racket with phones, iPods, television, and more. It is not just kids who are accustomed to constant music or chatter. No wonder we find it hard to get in touch with our inner voice, to think, to reflect, to meditate, to pray. Try turning off what you can when you can. Life can be beautiful without being constantly connected. Really.

• Focus
There isn’t time in life to do everything, but simplifying life gives you time for all the important things. You need not try to convince any who may say your ideas are undoable; you have the power to work your plan. Success begins with small steps taken daily. Simple.

________________________________________________

To read part one of this article, CLICK HERE.

 

 

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Filed Under: Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Contributors Tagged With: church office skills, church productivity, Communications, siple life tips

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