Discover how to leverage technology in your church

In 2015, I rewrote and mapped our church website. I learned a lot throughout the process, so I wanted to share what I found most helpful.

Before I begin, what exactly do I mean when I say website mapping? According to this webinar from the LCMS Michigan District, “Sitemaps are one of the key ways people interact with your website. They help organize and structure your content in meaningful ways. Without an effective sitemap the people who visit your church website will be lost and confused.” Essentially, a sitemap is the logical, organized layout of your website content.

When working with other people, you will inevitably run into those who are different from you—different in terms of work style, work ethic, and personality.

We are all unique, but those differences make us who we are. How we work, how we collaborate, and how we interact with others is often determined by our personality.

There are many reasons why a church needs to consider partnering with a church communicator, whether by hiring a full- or part-time staff member, working with a contractor, or utilizing a volunteer.

Today, I will focus on what I consider the top three reasons why your church needs a communications professional.

Have you ever heard the saying “Junk In, Junk Out”? If this saying applies to anything, it applies to data and databases.

Output from congregational databases can include membership numbers, small group members, contacts and mailing lists, financial reports, and people outside your church whom you have touched in some way. How you collect and store your data will have a direct impact on the information you draw from your database.

“Ok, Google . . . How do I effectively engage volunteers in social media ministry?”

1.3 million results.

“Hmm. Ok, Google . . . Can I please talk to a real person that has already been down this road?”

If you’re diving into a new role in church communications, you’re already well-versed in the power of Google. But you may have also noticed that Google doesn’t always get context right. It also doesn’t provide validated concepts—you don’t know what information is coming from gurus or real-world practitioners.

If you’re reading this, I probably don’t have to tell you that communication is vital, especially for your church staff and ministry teams.

That’s why you’re here—you care about your message and how you share it. One of the greatest influences on how a congregation’s message is shared comes from how the church staff or ministry team communicates with one another.

If I don’t write down that I have to do something, I will immediately forget it. No joke. Whether it’s homework assignments, work duties, or personal chores, if it doesn’t get written down, it doesn’t get done.

I have, as some people call it, an unhealthy obsession with Microsoft Excel. I get excited about anything that allows me to be more efficient. With Excel, I keep finding new and better ways to do just that.

While much of Excel revolves around numbers (all right, most of Excel revolves around numbers), there are some pretty fantastic formulas and functions that allow you to quickly manipulate text. So even if you are more focused on Bible studies and mail merges than income statements, Excel can help you.

Sending out announcements, updates, and newsletters via email can be nothing short of frustrating with typical email host (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo!, etc.). It’s difficult to quickly send information to large groups of people because these hosts aren’t built to do that; sites like Gmail place restrictions on how many people can be sent an email at one time and don’t allow a lot of customization as far as design goes.

While it is possible to successfully utilize these email platforms, other options for mass emailing exist. Read on to discover helpful sites and programs that make mass emailing easy:

Let’s be real—creating newsletters is a pain. Especially if you’re creating your document in Microsoft Word, where formatting can be a real issue.

Whether you make newsletters for print or email, it’s a struggle to keep your announcements down to a page or two. But if your newsletters are much longer than that, readers lose interest and resort to skimming or throwing away the paper completely. Here are some tips to keep your newsletters short and informative: