Monthly Archives: October 2016

Early on in my church life, I was part of a singles ministry at my church. I loved it! I made friends there, I formed great relationships with people that I still see and talk to regularly 10 years later, and I really learned to become a disciple of Christ. Those years were so impactful on me that I can't help but look back at them as some of (if not) the best years of my life. Most people come out of their early-mid twenties with a hangover. I came out with Jesus

Every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God.

Look around most churches, and after a while you'll see that the 80/20 rule holds true. 20% of the people are doing 80% of the volunteering, and 80% of the giving. So how do we break that?

Every church has information it is trying to communicate. So, you have a bulletin, a website, weekly announcements, facebook, twitter, signs, newsletters, banners, etc… all to get the message across. While these are great tools for communicating with your congregation and making sure they are informed about what is going on in the church and community, do they know where to look?  Jon Rogers reminds us that, “Your church may have stellar events, programs and even great communication strategies, but the best laid plans can get derailed by the simple lack of clearly and concisely communicating how you communicate.”

The church has historically been known as an innovator in the arts, creating visual masterpieces, in addition to literature and the performing arts. However, today it seems the vast majority of innovators in visual arts come from the corporate world, creating stirring and iconic images to promote their messages and products. So why is the modern church a place where visual arts are often neglected, and graphic design, in particular, is severely underutilized?

Worship design may include everything from video, to music, graphics, lighting, etc... How do we go about it in a way that is glorifying to God and creates an environment that encourages genuine praise and reflection?

Assimilation... it sounds like a big scary word, but it's really not that bad!

To assimilate a guest means to include them into the larger whole, or to involve them.

When you think of it like that, assimilation starts to sound like something that all churches want for every guest that comes through the doors.

Even though many churches don't like to think in terms of "Marketing" or "Branding", if your church has a logo, website, sign, or uses a Sunday bulletin, or does anything to promote itself in your community, then you're expressing your "brand" to your community. Simply put, your brand is the image you present to your community. Some churches brand themselves as being family friendly, others brand themselves as being churches for college aged people, or as a church for "seasoned saints". The brand you express is directly influenced by your mission and vision statements.