Happy new year!
For many, on a personal level, a new year means quitting a bad a habit, starting a good habit, making new goals, being more intentional about everyday tasks, and getting priorities straight. What about on a large-scale level for your church—specifically for priorities and communication?
Ben Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
Although I’m one who loves a well thought out plan, I have a lot of growing to do when it comes to having a solid grasp on this. So, I’ve been reading, listening to podcasts, and trying to soak up any wisdom I can from those who do this sort of thing well. One recurring theme I’ve encountered is that of planning rhythms.
For pastors, Advent and Lent can feel more like survival times than planning times. Midweek services, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Holy Week, Easter. . . . It can be overwhelming. Since we’re in the middle of Advent right now, you might be feeling especially crunched for time. While you’re thinking about Advent and time management, I wanted to suggest some ideas you can implement when you plan for future seasons of Advent and Lent.
My first experience with church communications was around the year 2000. I was fifteen years old, I had learned web design as a hobby, and my church was looking to launch their first website.
The Board of PR Communications invited me and another high schooler to work with them to build their website. These adults were not very tech savvy, but they understood communications and strategy, and I learned from them that a church website is far more than just HTML.
I was to write a blog on practicing good stewardship in marketing/advertising when I realized something. The best thing an organization can do to practice good stewardship in advertising is to have a well thought out public relations plan. So, I’m going to skip the advertising and head directly to public relations!
Does this ever happen to you?
You walk into your office and the first thing someone asks is “What’s on your schedule for today?”. Or, as you drive into work, you’re wondering what is waiting for you to do.
As communicators, we have certain “to-do’s” every day/week/month. And what about the youth director who finds himself in need of communicating a bible study meeting to his group and asks you for your help in distributing the communication? Plus, you know there’s times when that urgent communication needs to go out ASAP.
A manager is presenting the latest project to department workers.
An email is prepared for clientele.A CEO prepares a speech for the stockholder meeting.
A newspaper editor prepares the editorial column.
A teacher prepares class lessons.
A pastor prepares a sermon.
What is common to all of these methods of communications? The starting point.
With the Advent season underway and Christmas right around the corner, your church is likely a very busy place!
Amidst all the hustle, don’t forget about the importance of attracting visitors to those amazing services you are planning. Local visitors might be without a church home—they might even been actively searching for one—so their attendance represents a huge opportunity!
As you prepare to share the story of God’s plan for salvation through Jesus Christ, take a little time to prepare your church communications to encourage attendance.
The meaning of the word “content” has evolved over the last few years. It used to mean something that was contained, like the contents of a jar, or the chapters of a book. Now, content has the broader definition of being “a substance of significance.”
In the digital world, content is not only words (like this blog), but also images and videos. In fact, even something as abstract as an idea can be considered content.
The value of content is not defined by its container, but rather by its quality. True content can have many different containers, and the implementation and purpose of the content can change with each container.
