All posts tagged communications

MinistryCOM… DIY Church Communications

by Tim Schraeder on 08/28/2009 in MinistryCOM, Notes with No comments

I attended MinistryCOM for the first time four years ago. At the time I was a young buck who was still figuring out all of this church communication stuff. It was an absolutely phenomenal experience for me on many levels. I think the biggest take-away was realizing that I wasn’t alone.

I think all too often most people who do communications for churches are on their own. Be it a lack of staffing, resources, or volunteers, the majority of us are doing our jobs on our own… by ourselves.

And what MinistryCOM did for me is show me I’m not alone and what I do really matters.

So, it’s pretty crazy that in two weeks I’ll be attending MinistryCOM not as a delegate, but as a presenter.

I’ll be making my conference debut at MinistryCOM doing a breakout session called DIY (Do-it-Yourself) Church Communications.

The title DIY (do-it-yourself) is said a bit tongue in cheek, but the reality is that many of us do communications by ourselves. With a limited budget and resources, it’s oftentimes difficult to know how to successfully build a communications process and strategy to fit the needs of a growing church when you’re literally working on your own.

Whether you are new to church communications or if you’ve been doing it for years, this workshop will help to equip and encourage you to take what you are observing and learning from other churches and give you tools on how to apply it to your context.

You’ll also get an inside peek at the “renovation” Park Community Church has undergone over the past two years as Tim has taken their communications from 1.0 to 2.0.

To be honest, I’m a bit nervous but very excited. I certainly don’t feel like an expert (only if learning from your mistakes counts!), but am humbled to be able to share a bit about things I’ve learned… both working in a smaller church in a small town and a large church in the heart of downtown Chicago. I think after seven years of doing this gig I’d have a few things to share!

If you’re coming to MinistryCOM, I’d love some input about things you’d like to hear about, questions you may have, or anything else. Your input would be invaluable!

If you aren’t coming, why not?! It’s not too late to register… you should definitely check it out.

If you are more of a pro, been at this for awhile and want to take the conversation to another level, beyond bulletins, fonts and all that kind of stuff,  definitely check out Cultivate, which is being hosted at Park in October.

The Monthly Bulletin… 1 Year Later

by Tim Schraeder on 08/04/2009 in Church Communications, Examples, Park, Principles with 5 Comments

I had no idea what kind of firestorm I was starting when I posted my blog about Park’s switch from a weekly bulletin to a monthly a year ago. It’s been fun to hear from so many different churches that have made the switch or are considering taking the plunge.

I thought I’d share a few logistics and lessons learned over the past year as we’ve transitioned from a weekly bulletin a monthly…

Logistics…

  • Content is collected throughout the month and due by the 15th of each month.
  • We sort through the content… condense, edit, cut, and send a proof around to our staff.
  • Heads to the printer the Wednesday before the last Sunday of the month.
  • Handed out to everyone on the last Sunday of each month for the upcoming month.
  • Ushers have in hand the first Sunday of the month for anyone who missed it the week before.
  • Available at Guest Services every week and available for download on our website.
  • Mentioned every week during announcements.

Lessons Learned

  1. Timeliness is next to godliness.
    One of the great benefits and challenges that moving to a monthly program has provided is that it’s caused all of the ministries at our church to be more organized and to plan ahead. Content for @Park is due on the 15 of every month, so that has definitely helped what tended to be a last-minute culture in our church. Holding to a firm deadline has been essential. There’s always going to be people that will want to squeeze something in at the last minute. One of the hard words I’ve had to learn to say this year is the word, “No!.”
  2. Prioritization and Empowerment.
    In any given month we have over 150 small groups that meet, tons of events throughout the week, ongoing events, bi-weekly events, monthly gatherings… you name it. The switch from a weekly to a monthly has helped us focus on what’s essential for us to communicate. We don’t put everything in the monthly bulletin. Only what’s key and vital to our different ministries is in there. Sure, there were some battles initially, but it has helped us clarify what’s important and empowered ministry leaders to think of new, creative ways to communicate to their individual audiences.  It’s been good for them to see their announcements don’t have to be in the bulletin or announced from the stage for them o be successful.
  3. Keep it short and sweet.
    Although we have a lot of space to fill, we don’t want to bog it down with text. Part of what this has done has caused us to communicate with “less clutter and less noise” and to state the facts and stick to what’s vital. We say what we need to say very concisely and don’t use fluffy language or long descriptions. Keep it short and sweet.

    Example… an ad for Child Dedication…

    Before:     Baby Dedication is an opportunity for parents to give thanks to God for their children as well as ask for His blessing over their child’s life. At Park we believe the church plays an essential role in the spiritual upbringing of children, together with their parents. We would love to welcome your child into a setting that promises to care, love and share our Christian faith. To have your child dedicated, please register online. (74 words)

    After:     Child Dedication is an opportunity for parents to publicly commit to raising their children in a Christ-centered home. If you would like to have your child dedicated, register online by August 1. (32 words)

  4. Lean in to social media.
    “So without a weekly communication vehicle, how do you communicate things that pop up throughout the month? Two words: social media.We’re Twittering and Facebooking away and our people have followed suit. Social media has enabled us to communicate throughout the week and in 140 characters or less what’s going on throughout the week. And it’s worked.

  5. Savings… to the church budget and the environment.
    One of the biggest benefits of the switch has been the savings to our church budget and to the environment.I think every church felt the hit of our nation’s recession be it through budget cutbacks or stay layoffs. Transitioning to printing once a month has significantly cut the cost of print and has actually encouraged less print across the board. We printed about a 1/3 of what we printed the year before, both in bulletins but also in brochures, handouts, etc.

    And, the savings to the environment has been huge.

    I contacted our printing company and we estimate that we’ve saved over … are you ready for this?  Over 1 ton of paper. That’s a lot of paper, a lot of trees (24 to be exact!), and a lot of money we’ve saved.

Final Thought…

It might be a stretch for some, but for our crowd the move has been a win, and the last year has proven it. We’ve learned you don’t have to print something weekly for people to get your message, and we have learned the value of planning ahead and empowerment.

@Park has morphed over the past year… here’s an example from July 2008 and July 2009. We collected a lot of feedback from people and changed the format to meet the needs of our ministries, as well as to make it easier to read. We live in the age of change, so we’ve followed suit… without changing the message.

Your Turn….

So, how about you? Have you made the switch to a monthly program? If so, share your thoughts and link to an example. Haven’t made the switch? Still thinking about it? Post your questions! Would love to hear from you.

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