Below is a selection of church newsletters sent in as part of our Great Idea Swapalong with brief comments by Yvon Prehn. Church newsletters are still one of the most useful church communication pieces whether they are sent out or delivered digitally and the samples below are shared to help make yours more effective.

These samples are not shared for design and layout ideas alone, but for a variety of layout, content, and style considerations that are highlighted with the brief comments by each one. Study the newsletters from other churches always with the prayer of what you can learn that will help you be more effective with your congregation.

To study each more closely, you can click on the image and it will take you to a downloadable PDF of the newsletter.

Out of the Blue
The Blue Ridge Bible Church

This is one instance where the name of the church provides a great name for the newsletter--it doesn't always work out this way, but it's fun when it does.

The editor of this newsletter has a wonderful way with words in other areas of the newsletter:  the children's ministry is called ZONE which stands for: Zeal for God; Oneness in relationships; Nurtured with the Truth; Expressing the Love of Christ. One more: "Why do we dye?" an article about Easter Eggs—great stuff!

To download a PDF of the newsletter, click hereor on the image of the newsletter.

The Family News
The Laurel Church of Christ

Notice how nice and clean the layout is on this newsletter. Though there are lots of colors and images used, the creator stayed within the grid lines. The grid is the invisible underlying structure of your communication piece.

To see what I mean, look at p.3 and notice how each entry stays within the three column lines. Many church newsletters don't do this. They may have similar collections of ads, updates and information, but they scatter them around the page without regard to any underlying structure. Because of that they look much less professional.

To download a PDF of the newsletter, click here or on the image of the newsletter.

The Net
St. Andrews Lutheran Church and Early Childhood Center

You don't have to be big in size to be big in impact. This smaller-size newsletter packs a lot into its pages: articles, church service schedules, birthdays and other special events, plus a number of excellent resources for people attending the church to get a program to listen to the Bible as well as online devotions.

To download a PDF of the whole newsletter, click here or on the image of the newsletter.

The Eastminster Light
Eastminster Presbyterian Church

I really like the logo of the church in the name of this newsletter and it is another example of using an image intrinsic to the identity of the church (the light) to tie in with the name of the newsletter.

This newsletter does a really good thing in these days of multi-channel communications where the editor uses a printed piece to talk about the website and other forms of digital interaction. Each channel of communication has its own strengths and audiences and our communication is most powerful when we use all we can.

To download a PDF of the newsletter, click here or on the image of the newsletter.

Saints & Sojourners
All Saints Lutheran Church

Every church has a tone, a style, a personality that says "this is this unique Church." That tone and personality should be the same when someone comes into the church and when they read the newsletter from the church.

The gentle, thoughtful tone of this newsletter is different from some of the ones on this page (all wonderful in their own way) and it's a great illustration of why we should always be ourselves when we create our communications. Read through the different newsletters and envision in your mind's eye the folks who created them—and you will most likely be nearly correct.

You don't want surprises when people see your website or read your newsletter and then come to your church—that's not nice. Not every person seeking God is under twenty and in need of being entertained by lively graphics. Quiet and thoughtful is the still voice that draws many. Be who you are in print and online and allow the Lord to draw to you the people perfectly suited to worship with your church family.

To download a PDF of the newsletter, click here or on the image of the newsletter.

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