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.
  • Home
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • PODCAST
  • FREE PRINT TEMPLATES

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.

 

 

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Tweet
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on Tumblr

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

Timely Fundamentals, part two

22 February, 2012 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. notes: last week we shared the first of Gayle's great tips for using our time wisely.  Here is the second part of these very practical little nuggets of wisdom on a topic that we can always learn more about and apply better. 

For the first part of this series, CLICK HERE.

Timely Fundamentals, part two

Looking for a novel technique, an insider secret, a magic solution to create more time? Try these basics for personal effectiveness instead. They are not new, but they do work. You may have heard them before, but do you use them?

  • set priorities
  • stick to your priorities
  • delegate when possible
  • vary routines occasionally
  • arrive on time; leave on time
  • respect and appreciate others
  • respect and appreciate yourself
  • ask for help when needed
  • be willing to help
  • create shortcuts
  • eliminate  what you can
  • unclutter your space
  • see all time as God’s gift

for Part One, CLICK HERE

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Tweet
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on Tumblr

Filed Under: Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Contributors Tagged With: church office skills, time management, wise useof time

Being a Better Office Manager, part three

16 January, 2012 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: This is the last week of a great series on How to be a Better Office Manager and this week  she concludes with some excellent advice:

As an effective manager, you will:

• Learn all you can about the church, the denomination, office administration, management principles—every subject related to the work of the church office. Use online resources, study written materials, and attend seminars. Study communication and human relations skills.

• Communicate with others. Let your team know your standards for good work and periodically tell them how they are doing. Provide the information people need to do their jobs well. Touch base with them often; be available for questions and suggestions. Include them in decisions concerning issues affecting their work, but realize group decisions are seldom good decisions. Listen; then make the decision alone.

• Involve your team. Delegate. Trust your people with responsibilities. Effective managers do not try to do everything themselves. Turning loose of routine tasks allows you to focus your efforts on the parts of the job only you can do.

• Support your team. Show confidence in them; let them know they can have confidence in you. Pray with and for those you minister with as well as for those you minister to.

Encourage people in their efforts. As a manager you want your team to be willing to try new things. They need to know it is acceptable to make mistakes, or even to fail. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Develop mutual trust and respect. People usually live up to the expectations of others. Expect excellence, not perfection, and show appreciation for your team’s efforts. Go to bat for them for equitable pay and benefits. Be the kind of manager you would like to work with.

____________________________________________________

For the first two parts of this series:

Being a Better Office Manager, part one

Being a Better Office Manager, part two

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Tweet
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on Tumblr

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

Simple Timely Tips for the Holiday Season beyond the PC by Gayle Hilligoss

17 October, 2011 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed note: We all need ways to save time, but at no time more so than at the holiday season. The computer makes so many things possible, but with that come increasing demands and Gayle's advice will help you in ways that will help no matter what technology you have in your church office.

The computer has taken over so many office tasks it could be easy to neglect the scores of time saving tips having nothing to do with technology. Here are some to review—and to keep in your tool box:

• Plan your errands. Make one trip do the work of several. Visit banks and stores at their least busy times.

• Accumulate matters to discuss with your supervisor rather than having several conversations during the day.

• Let a ring of the telephone signal you to relax for a mini-second. Take a deep breath, exhale slowly, ease your shoulders, smile.

• Sort mail when it arrives. Make a stack for each person; place priority mail on top.

• Instead of taking time to read non-essential mail when it arrives, put it on hold in a convenient drawer. Scan it for helpful information during your low-energy time.

• Develop simple forms for hospital information, requests for assistance, funeral arrangements, and the like.

• Use the four Ds of paperwork. Each time you are confronted with paper, either Do it, Delegate it, Delay it, or Drop it.

• Handle each piece of paper as few times as possible. Each time you handle a document move it toward its ultimate purpose.

• Keep a list of needed supplies on the inside of the supply cabinet door. Check your list before each visit to the store or online order.

• Order spares of necessary supplies. Emergency purchases waste time and money.

• Keep your desk orderly. Avoid UPOs (Unidentified Piled Objects). Have a place for everything. Clutter is a time and energy waster.

• Purge files regularly. As much as 90 percent of material filed is never used after the first year.

• Establish a message center at your desk for staff members. A message center for church officers, committee members and others who are in the office seldom is best in an area away from your desk.

• When you work, work. When you relax, relax. Take breaks away from your desk rather than bringing a snack to your desk and having a “working” break.

• When counting cards, count only a fraction of what you need—25, 50, or 100— and stack. Make other stacks of the same height until you have the required number.

• Eliminate forgotten enclosures and save the time involved in sending them in a second letter. Put a paper clip at the enclosure notation before giving a letter to your supervisor to sign. When the letter comes back to you, you’ll be reminded to send the necessary enclosures.

Time management is a skill to be learned like any other. There is no magic formula, just basic principles. Right now you have the knowledge you need to make a significant step toward enhancing your time management ability. Put what you know into practice and you will see results.

 

 

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Tweet
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on Tumblr

Filed Under: Columnist Gayle Hilligoss Tagged With: church office skills, timely tips

Church offices: How to get ready for Fall 2011

26 August, 2011 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: another school year is about to start and 2011 is almost three-quarters gone. It's easy to panic about all the things we have to do and all that is ahead in the many church demands of the fall. Gayle's wonderful article will give you the encouragement you need to make the most of it.

Fall and the start of a new school year is a good time both to reflect and to project—a time to look back and consider what you’ve experienced and learned, a time to look ahead to where you will go next. One sure sign of personal progress is the realization that you not only know smart things, but that you do those smart things. You will know, feel, when it happens. The difference is beyond measure.

• Put first things first. Sometimes we stay so busy doing the good that we neglect the best. Pray for wisdom to know what is truly important to you. Then give your time, energy, and love to those things first. Unless you make a deliberate effort to set priorities and to stick with them, your days will be filled 
with other people’s priorities and not your own.

• Respect time.
Understand that time is the most precious resource you have; without it you have nothing. Spend your hours and your minutes wisely. Plan your days rather than just letting them happen.

• Stay calm.
Know what matters—and be passionate about those things. Know what doesn’t matter—and don’t let those things get you down. You know you are becoming more mature when you control your emotions instead of allowing them to control you.

• Take care of yourself.
Your body is a gift from God; being as fit as you can be is a testimony in itself. Eat wisely, exercise, get sufficient rest, schedule regular checkups. Don’t allow lesser activities to keep you from a daily walk. Commit to some healthy extras: swimming, biking, whatever you like. Few of us do all we could or should. But we can!

• Nourish your mind.
God’s world is a wondrous place. Learn something new every single day. Today, look at a flower and be amazed. Tonight, go outside and gaze at the stars. Tomorrow, visit the library and check out books on a subject you know nothing about. Or use the Internet to travel a new part of the world. Talk with someone—and not on a cell phone. Think new thoughts. Grow wise.

Now you know smart things. And you can do them!

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Tweet
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on Tumblr

Filed Under: Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss Tagged With: church office encouragement, church office skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Fall preparation, time management

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • …
  • 8
  • Next Page »
Link to Easter Templates of all sorts

Seasonal Templates

  • OVERVIEW of TEMPLATES for Church Communicators, please read first
  • Valentine’s Day Templates
  • Lenten Templates
  • Easter Templates
  • Mother’s Day Templates
  • Father’s Day and Men’s Ministry Templates
  • Graduation Templates
  • Summer-related Templates
  • 4th of July, Canada Day, and GRACE for All Nations
  • See You At the Pole
  • Harvest Festival and Halloween Templates
  • Christmas Templates

Recent Posts

  • Social media images for Easter with challenging messages
  • From our vault: Everything you need for Easter: Templates, strategy, inspiration and encouragement for all your Easter communications
  • Why just “Come to Easter at Our Church” isn’t enough–FREE invitations with short, but powerful messages
  • ESSENTIAL Christmas Communication advice and free tools to implement it
  • A Free Template of the Christmas Story and short gospel presentation based on “Hark the Herald Angels Sing!”

Most read posts

  • Bulletin inserts or social media content for Father's Day; poetry, challenges, encouragements
  • A Prayer for Graduates, Free flyer, bulletin insert
  • Father's Day and Men's Ministry Templates
  • FREE PRINT TEMPLATES
  • Multiplication vs. Addition Church Growth Charts that illustrate the difference
  • Business/Invitation Card Templates
  • Church Signs, what works and what to be careful about

Misc. Church Communications Templates

  • Church Connection Cards
  • Business/Invitation Card Templates
  • Back to Church for Kids in the Fall Templates
  • Church Bulletin Template
  • Volunteer and Encouragement Templates
  • 2-page Senior Adult Print Newsletter Template
  • Misc. Church Templates
FREE Bible Verses and Sayings in both print and social media format at Bible805Images.com
FREE Bible Verses and Sayings in both print and social media format at Bible805Images.com
  • Home
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • PODCAST
  • FREE PRINT TEMPLATES

Copyright © 2025 · Enterprise Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in