Do you remember attending church and only having a paper bulletin and an announcement from the pulpit as your main avenue of finding out what was going on? That wasn't all that long ago, but my how times have changed.

Churches, along with the rest of the world, have been inundated with many avenues of communication. We still have paper bulletins and pulpit announcements, but we also now have all forms of social media to choose from: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn — just to name a few.

Then there are websites, smartphones and tablets along with apps to use on or with all of those. Church buildings can now be equipped with kiosks, monitors, drop-down screens and many other technical items to seemingly make communicating easier. And on top of all of that, we still have the option of using printed materials to get the message out.

It can be an overwhelming experience to try and weed through exactly what is best for your church. How do you choose? What is the best way? What works? What doesn't? Is there time to manage it all?

In fact, there are so many questions and things to consider that you might feel like it's better to just stick with a printed bulletin and pulpit announcements than to attempt something new.

I have felt frustrated in the past and have asked all of those questions at one time or another. I'm here to tell you that there is hope. Creating a communication plan and finding out what the needs of the church are is a great place to start. You have to know what is needed before you can move forward.

A website is a logical place to start, but that in and of itself can be a task that many don't feel they are up to. There is a certain amount of expertise needed to design a well-functioning website.

Find a Web designer who is familiar with church websites (there are many) and make it a goal to get one up and running. A website is well worth the financial investment and can make communicating so much easier.

If you'd rather start with something less costly, then how about a Facebook page? Create a page and use it to communicate what the church is all about. Share stories, pictures, announcements and encouraging words. Make it great. When you've mastered that, then begin a new journey with something else.

The worst thing you can do is to do many things poorly. It doesn't make any sense to take on a Facebook account, Twitter account and website along with your normal methods of communication only to find that you are spread so thin that you only have a little bit of time to devote to each one.

It's better to do one thing and to make that one thing amazing. The congregation members will appreciate the simplicity of a clear and accurate message opposed to inconsistent, sporadic and half-hearted attempts at spreading the word.

You don't have to do it all. Take one thing and give it all you've got. Remember, though, that stepping out and trying something new doesn't hurt either.

Be brave. It's a big world full of many amazing avenues of communication — even for churches.