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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What should be the length of church communications? Bulletins, newsletters, website entries?

4 June, 2013 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

What should be the length of church communications?
What should be the length of church communications? This article will show you why short isn't always best.

The answer to these questions isn’t as obvious as it might seem. I think initially, with our busy schedules today many people would instinctively answer “SHORT!” Almost no one complains that church website, bulletin, the printed newsletter is too short. But before you set an arbitrary rule such as "all website, blog and newsletter articles must be less than 500 words, or "the Bulletin can never be longer than 2 pages" consider the following statements that apply to both print and digital church communications:

Church communications contain a variety of written topics

Many church communications are news, notes, and announcements about upcoming activities that work well in short-form messages. But that isn't all--churches communicate vision-casting, teaching, history, and story-telling. Church communications include schedules, guidelines, rules (such as, what you need to do to become a volunteer in children's ministry), and ministry instruction. This variety of content requires a variety of length and the variety of communication no more needs to be the same length than all the articles and sections in a newspaper need to be the same length. The editorial requires a different amount of space than a box score and a lead article more than an ad selling a refrigerator.

The length should be appropriate to the topic

More important than setting an arbitrary length, the length of the communication should be appropriate to the topic. For example, if the senior pastor is explaining the vision of the church, inspiring members for outreach or missions, setting a new direction or challenging for a building campaign, that piece will need more space than directions to the church picnic.

 

Have layers of length on the same topic

Announcements of recurring events do not need long, lengthy explanations on why people should attend. Short, catchy announcements designed what I call “want-ad style” and that contain the name of the sponsoring person or group, purpose, starting and ending time, full contact information, cost and directions to get there and if childcare is provided are what is needed in a list of announcements. If more information is needed place a hyperlink to another page on your website or to the website if you are writing in your bulletin to a section that has more materials, background, or staff explanations.

Giving options like this—a basic list of connecting details that links to a longer explanation if wanted—is great for both people who are familiar with the church and visitors or newcomers. When you give people options like this you are respecting their need for however much information they want. If you decide for them, you will most likely not meet the needs of one group or another, but if you give options, everyone gets the information they want.

Longer material can be made more visually interesting by breaking it into sections

In both print and on the web, sections and lists can have headers and subheads that define the topics. You can also use bullet points or numbered lists, summarize key facts in a side-bar, pull out interesting or key quotes and highlight them, add a picture and caption. A page or two (print or digital) with these visual elements integrated into the content will be read more easily than a solid page or two of text with no breaks.

Give the sections titles that can be scanned for content, not labels

One of the biggest reasons people don't read through the event or announcement lists in either print or digital church communications is that for many of them you have to read the ENTIRE list to see if anything is useful to you or applies to you and your family. This happens because many of the subheads say the same thing:

  • Don't miss this!
  • Mark your calendars!
  • Greatest event ever!
  • This will change your life—be sure to come!

All of the above are rah-rah fluff and don't say anything, let alone encourage anyone to read the content or attend the event. Instead, consider subheads such as these:

  • Children's baptism class will be held on Sat. June 14
  • Summer camp for junior high July 1-8
  • Evangelism tent meeting will be held at the church in August
  • Digital Bible Study tools workshop to be held at church this Thursday, 7-8pm

With a subhead list like the one above a person could quickly skim through the topics or events, but would only need to read what applies to that person and their family.

Finally, focus on content, not length

Length, especially for digital communications where we don't need to worry about paper or printing costs, is one of the least important considerations for church communications.

No one ever says, "The 500-limit word count of that article changed my life!" But there are many stories of lives changes from reading the short verse of Jn. 3:16 to the longer book of Romans. Different people respond to different amounts of content.

No matter what the amount, be sure to create worthy content, making certain that your words are reflective of your Lord. If you do that, no matter what the length of your communication, they will all have a part (even if it is a tiny step) in fully fulfilling the Great Commission of helping people come to know Jesus as Savior and growing to mature discipleship.

Don't cut yourself short; don't waste words and babble on without editing, but say what you need to say to fulfill the message the Lord wants you to share today. Ask for His help. Little or long, He knows precisely what is needed.

[Read more...]

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Filed Under: Church Bulletins, Church Newsletters, Writing Tagged With: church bulletin length, church writing, Communications, length of church newsletter articles, length of church website articles

Writing as an act of discipleship

4 June, 2013 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

As church communicators, the power and impact of our writing on the lives of those in our church will be a reflection of where our heart is with our Lord. Whether you plan it or not, who you are always comes out in your writing. Below is a challenge from Dallas Willard on discipleship and then one on writing from C.S. Lewis. Below them is a resource that will encourage your heart as a church communicator.

The challenge:

The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”
― Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship

Some advice on how a writer might meet the challenge:

If I have read the New Testament aright, it leaves no room for 'creativeness' even in a modified or metaphorical sense. Our whole destiny seems to lie in the opposite direction, in being as little as possible ourselves, in acquiring a fragrance that is not our own, but borrowed, in becoming clean mirrors willed with image of a face that is not our. . . .An author should never conceive himself as bringing into existence beauty or wisdom which did not exist before, but simply and solely as trying to embody in terms of his own art some reflection of eternal Beauty and Wisdom. . . And always, of every idea and of every method the Christian will not ask, 'Is it mine?' but 'Is it good?'

C. S. Lewis, Christianity and Literature

A resource to strengthen your heart as you write

Devotions for Church Communicators
This devotion will remind you of the immense and eternal importance of the work you do.

This book, Devotions for Church Communicators was previously titled The heart of church communications. I may go back to that title when I reprint it. Regardless, it will help you tremendously to approach your communication work as a disciple of Jesus. It is free for Effective Church Communication Members and can be bought for immediate download or as a paperback or Kindle from the links below.

ECC Member download

Buy for immediate download or links to Kindle or print purchase

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Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: Christian writing, Communications, encouragement for Christian writers, Writing

Little communication details can accomplish miraculous results

16 May, 2013 By Yvon Prehn Leave a Comment

Naaman being healed
To be healed, Naaman had to do a little thing--just wash in the Jordan. In the same way, it's often the little things in our church communications that accomplish the most.

The story of a stubborn general in the Old Testament book of 2 Kings, illustrates the critical importance of not ignoring the seemingly little things in church communication because of a focus on the expensive and extravagant. For example, when churches spend lots of money on big communication projects such as a website redo, buying high-end design software with thinking the software will result in impressive designs, or spending so much time on launching a social media campaign that you forget to put adult Bible class schedule on the web. When the large amount of time or money spent does not produce the desired results, discouragement and questioning often result.

The danger of ignoring small actions

It's not that these things may not be important and there are times when they may need to be done, but we mustn't forget the importance of little things, when we do them in God's service. The Old Testament story of Naaman illustrates this lesson well.

Naaman in 2 Kings 5, was commander of the armies of Aram. He expected significant results from extraordinary efforts on the battlefield and he was successful in his expectations. But when he got leprosy, he found an enemy he couldn’t conquer. On the advice of a captive servant girl in his household, he went to the prophet Elisha in Israel to be cured.

As befitting his status, Naaman expected the prophet to appear and with thundering words and grand gestures, heal him of his leprosy. That didn’t happen. “Go wash in the Jordan seven times,” was the message delivered by Elisha’s servant to the general. Naaman was not pleased. In anger, he vented his opinion and prepared to return home, until his servants convinced him to try the little thing suggested by the prophet.

Naaman dipped himself into the Jordan seven times and the seventh time, “his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy (2 Kings 5: 14).”

Applications to church communications

Often as I interact with pastors, church leaders and church communicators, I find they know something isn’t working well in their church communications program. It may not be leprosy, a life or death of the church situation, but it is serious. Most often the key symptoms, even though the church prays and plans, are in following categories:

  • Lack of church growth: not enough people coming into the church.
  • Lack of member spiritual growth: not enough people attending the events outside Sunday morning that will help them grow to Christian maturity.

Right answer, wrong approach

Improved communications are often seen as the answer and I agree with that conclusion.  But just as often, I see the desire to improve communications takes a wrong turn. The wrong turn is that like Naaman, a church will often look for the grand and glorious; the latest and greatest either software of new social media as THE solution to their communication problems.

Remember when email was advertised as the solution to all church communication problems? Currently we're told Facebook and other social media are absolutely essential to church communication success, but a couple of weeks ago NPR had an extended program with the headline:

Letters are dead. E-mail outdated. Text messages so passé. What’s going on with how we communicate? (http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/04/03/communication)

The feature interviewed people who have shifted to the new social media and texting platforms including: WhatsApp, kik.com, and Snapchat, while declaring that Facebook for many was so outdated.

This is the true story of a church that decided that lots of money and impressive design would solve their communication problems: they hired a national company to create an incredible website for them. They spent thousands of dollars. It took months to create. Their communications director contacted me and asked me to look at the website and a redesigned bulletin that went with it because with all the money and time spent, little had improved in terms of people response. The church spent a lot of money, but attendance had not only did not improve, it declined.

Why the money was wasted

After looking at the website and the revised bulletin I could see why. Both had beautiful graphics, lots of color, pictures, action, etc. The problem wasn’t in the big things, but in absence of the seemingly little details that were essential for people to actually connect with the church events. Lots of graphics, few meaningful links to information that actually informed you of specific events.

The church bulletin was worse. Not in looks—it was beautiful and probably because someone thought they needed “white space” there was a beautiful graphic design and lots of open area, but in the section to inform visitors of ministries going on in the church outside Sunday morning there was a list. That’s it—just a list of the ministries. No information whatsoever on when they were meeting, how to attend, who to call, social media links, website info, who to contact for more information, nada.

The designer designed a beautiful bulletin, but people don't automatically know what time the discipleship class meets and if child care is provided when they look at lovely graphics and cutting-edge typography.

Do the simple things seven times

Interesting graphics do not guarantee people connections—the simple repetition of connecting details does. It doesn't matter if you use Twitter, Facebook, email or send a postcard—a great graphic or the newness of the technology doesn't actually get anybody anywhere. Clear content: who it’s for, when things start, when they end, how to get there, who to contact, how much it costs and if child care is provided—this is what actually connects people with events that will change their lives.

And you need to repeat these details through the various channels of communication: print, web, email, social media, projected media, postcards, whatever you can. In addition, to be sure people get the message, professional marketers tell us you need to get out this information seven times, in seven ways for effective communication. Just like Naaman had to dip himself into the Jordan seven times, though he probably didn't understand why the repetition was necessary, and though we can't figure out why people don't remember something when we tell them about it one time—that's just the way it is and we have to repeat information for it to change lives.

These little details are the links that connect people to the church events that will result in church growth and in personal spiritual maturity for your people.

Why, why are these things routinely left out and money spent on the big and extravagant?

This is a question I agonize over.

  • Maybe, I wonder, is it because of our human tendency is to want to do the big, the quick, the extraordinary to get results and get them now?
  • Is it an unconscious carry-over from the world of business that assumes that throwing money on a problem is a way to solve it?
  • Is it a lack of faith that if we only do the little things, like print boring details week after week, that God can really use them?
  • Is it that if we put our money and time into training the staff to do something like the website instead of hiring an outside professional that we have that we might have to trust God for results we won’t see immediately?
  • Is it because we are impatient and forget that the often used analogies in the Bible, about farmers, shepherds, about growing and tending plants all teach us to wait for results that only come in small, incremental ways?
  • Are we a bit blinded by the media that reports and idolizes the big and spectacular when Jesus described the Kingdom growth as yeast permeating, a small seed germinating?

Our churches need healing and I wonder what would happen if we’d stop looking for the spectacular solution and humbly focus on the little things, the communication tiny tasks that connect people. I wonder what would happen if we focused on training our people at church to do communications, even though it might take longer, instead of hiring for immediate results. Like Naaman, after his seven trips into the water, in our church, after weeks of training and encouraging the people closest to us and a focus the little details that actually connect people to life-changing events, we might be surprised at the new life and healing that results.

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Filed Under: Leading & Managing Tagged With: church bulletins, Communications, details in church communications, web, Yvon Prehn blog

If you were a sales rep for the kingdom of heaven, would you be fired?

8 December, 2012 By Yvon Prehn 1 Comment

Sales reps can challenge us with their skills
Sales reps can inspire us with their skills in outreach.

As we near the end of the year, evaluate the past, and set goals for the present, I updated this blog. . . .

Please do not take this the wrong way—to use the analogy of a "sales rep for the Kingdom of God" is not meant irreverently at all—it is meant to provide an analogy that may help all of us be a better witness for Jesus. Jesus used many analogies with the professions he knew well to illustrate his messages; I am attempting to follow his example here with an analogy meant to challenge all of us to take seriously the message with which we have been entrusted. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Misc. Advice and Articles Tagged With: church communication, communication evaluation, Communications, evangelism and outreach, yvon prehn

Communication creation tips for reaching time-stressed and time-starved audiences

15 October, 2012 By Yvon Prehn

Remember time stress when creating church communications
Remember the time stress of your audience when creating church communications.

Need some evidence that it isn't just your imagination making you feel stressed out? An article in the Wall Street Journal concluded: ". . . .at the end of the weekend, you are more than a full day behind in your activities. Even if we went to an eight-day week you still would be 4.5 hours behind."

Ed note before I continue: I wrote this article several years ago and while updating the website ran across it. The time challenges of your audience today make it worth another look because though a few years have passed if anything the situation of time demands has become even more challenging as we attempt to reach people. Following is a reprint of the article with a number of updates added.

An article in the Wall Street Journal reported Americans work an average of 53 hours a week. Dale McFeatters took that statistic and calculated that if an individual did all the activities reported such as sleeping, TV, dressing, etc., without multitasking, that person would have a 28.5 hour a week time deficit. In addition to helping explain why we often feel stressed and tired,his calculations help explain why it is so difficult to get people respond to the communications from your church. Following are some ideas on how to communicate your church's message to a time-stressed and time-starved audience. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Characteristics of ECC, Website Creation Tagged With: Church Websites, Communications, time-saving communications, volunteers, yvon prehn

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