Discover how to leverage technology in your church

Part one of a two-part series on Incremental Change vs. Transformational Change by Rev. Bill Johnson.

An author I once read (and have now forgotten the name of) shared a story about incremental change. Take a photo. It’s a good photo, and probably one you’ll look back at often, but it’s just a photo. Take a second photo of the same subject moments later. Now, switch back and forth between the two photos. You will see that a few things have changed, and the experience will begin to feel a bit like one of those “Spot the Difference” puzzles you find in the Sunday newspapers. It’s a change, but it’s really just a notch forward. Two pictures aren’t really all that much different than one picture. This is incremental change.

Zombie communications reduce the ability of your information to be communicated in an effective and reliable manner. As the information travels down the pipeline, it becomes less and less effective, reducing your message to nothing more than nonsensical words. They can become an epidemic, traveling across all lines of communications. Zombie communications can destroy the collaboration between various departments within an organization. It’s that serious.

October is not only Pastor Appreciation Month, but it is also conference month! Well, at least for the Kansas and Michigan Districts. Which means, I just sat through a whole bunch of PowerPoint presentations. And, by-and-large they were not pretty. Not trying to criticize, just stating a fact.

Nowadays PowerPoint is easier than ever to use. But, if you grew up in olden times it was quite the tedious program. Because of that I get the sense that many people think that the things they would like to do are cumbersome and time consuming. Well, not anymore. Things are much more streamlined and fairly simple. But, before we dive in, read Katy Munson’s article: How to Use PowerPoint Effectively.

Part one of a two part series on Church Communication Professionals.

In the world of church communications, it is important for us to learn from each other and share what works and what doesn't. With that in mind, I wanted to interview Sheree Howard, an amazing church communicator who is currently serving as the Communications Director and Director of Contemporary Worship at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas, and give us all a chance to learn from her ministry.

I have to confess. For a church season that is focused on anticipation and preparation, I don’t have the best track record when it comes to anticipating or preparing for Advent (and Christmas) communication efforts in the months leading up to it. This often results in a bunch of hurrying and scurrying in a time set aside to for reflection, repentance, and preparation to celebrate Jesus’ first coming and wait expectantly for his return. 

I know, I know. It’s not even Reformation Day and you’re supposed to think about Christmas? But once Thanksgiving and Advent arrive, you’re probably going to be far too busy to spend a lot of time managing quality daily, or even weekly, social media posting. Instead of relegating social media to one more burdensome chore on your long list of holiday tasks, prepare and schedule social media content now so you can make the most of people’s seasonal joy while not burning yourself out.

My mom writes about two emails a month, while my sister writes about a hundred a day. (Their days look very different!) Wherever you fall within this spectrum, it’s important to make sure you and the people representing your church utilize proper email etiquette to imbue your communications with professionalism.

Whether it’s an event registration, contact information update, photo contest entry, guest feedback, or prayer request, you’ll make your life a lot easier if you deploy a form to collect information.

I’m not sure anyone likes passwords.  They’re clumsy, hard to remember and increasingly easy to crack. There are a few things you can do, however, to make your passwords easier to remember and more secure.

There was some big news last month, and it had nothing to do with the US presidential election or the Olympics. Because of this, it largely went unnoticed by major media channels, but it’s something we should all be aware of.