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5 ways to help volunteers stay committed in the New Year
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityYour church likely depended heavily on a larger volunteer team over the Christmas season. Hopefully, volunteers had a great experience and have had a chance to recoup after all the activity. Here are five ways to help them reflect on the impact their service had and continue to stay committed to serving throughout the New Year.
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Making your church website more effective
Carol Brown Religious CommunityRecently, I sat down with Scott Dixon, a church website design expert who has worked exclusively with thousands of churches and their websites since 2005. I wanted to learn more about why church websites are so important and how churches can improve them to reach both members and prospects.
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4 questions to consider before hiring a communications person
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityIt used to be so easy. You simply needed someone to produce the bulletin and maybe change the church sign. Now, you need someone who can coordinate and communicate all your ministries, messages and events. Maybe even create video sermon bumpers, posts on social media and church memes, plus assemble and layout the bulletin and update the church sign. This list doesn't even mention the posters, banners and outreach materials.
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5 easy ways to prepare your church for 2017
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityAs we close out this year, you're likely still busy with preparations for Christmas services. While realizing that time is a precious commodity, there are a few simple things you can do now to prepare for the New Year.
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The problem with talking to everyone
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityThis article is for people interested in doing effective church communications. If you aren't interested, you won't like this article, and you should stop reading. It sounds strange, right? But most people don't have the time to read something that isn't interesting. So you're doing them a favor. As a church communicator, you need to stop trying to get everyone's attention and trying to communicate to everyone. It won't work.
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5 surefire ways to repel volunteers
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityConvincing people to give their time and energy away for free isn't always an easy task. Once you do have them on the team, though, you definitely want to avoid actions that push them away. Here are five things I've seen repel volunteers, along with a few simple ways to retain volunteers and help them grow as members of their local church.
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Multitasking mistakes in ministry
Kaitlyn Grooms Religious CommunityYou're in an important meeting but you're trying to get the budget email sent out before noon. You're rereading the last sentence you typed when you hear the pastor say your name. "Sorry, what was that?" The meeting came second to the email.
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Your church needs a communication thread
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityMost people love consistency and flee chaos. A busy church tends to have so many messages and activities that even church staff aren't fully aware of the busy calendar. People in the congregation hear the occasional announcement, but even those who regularly attend can't possibly know everything about the church.
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Give yourself a present this Christmas
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityChristmas is both a wonderful and a stressful time of year for church staff members. You've got Christmas services to plan, decorations to hang, volunteers to recruit (and train), candles and other supplies to order, Facebook ads to create, etc. The list goes on — it might rival Santa's in length!
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How social media can help your church brand
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunitySocial media is a communication tool that will make or break your church brand. Our marketing-cluttered world is demonstrated on social media. Simply open the global Twitter feed, and you'll see millions of people saying something. In real time, your feed churns so quickly you can't keep up, and little breaks through.
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