Communication

Social media is both a blessing and a curse. If you've spoken with anyone recently about Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, I'm sure you've...

As we soak in the sunshine and enjoy summer, we can’t lose sight of what is just around the corner--fall and the various events that come along with that season. From kids heading back to school to gearing up for the holidays, fall is the on-ramp to the busiest time of year for churches. To ensure successful events that don’t wear out your staff and volunteers, here are seven tips to make planning events a bit easier:

What does a healthy Small Church look like? It looks like a healthy big church – in all the ways that matter, anyway. No, a healthy Small Church is not just a miniaturized version of a healthy big church. Pastors who try to do that are usually concentrating on the externals. And it never works out well when we do that.

Without rocking your world too much I'd like to state the obvious... Volunteers are the lifeblood of your church. While we all would acknowledge that fact. It's easy to forget about in the day to day of ministry. They dutifully arrive every week, with a smile on their face (real or painted on) and serve. Because it's the right thing to do.

In the old days, churches used to buy time on a local TV or radio stations to extend their reach electronically but today, that's happening more often through the Internet with live streaming services. TV, radio, and Internet services cost money and for many churches, the cost prevents them from broadcasting their service. Facebook Live now makes this more accessible to a large potential audience of viewers. In many cases, users can do so for free or for a fraction of the cost of the expensive Internet church streaming services springing up all over the place.

From smoke signals to social media, communication tools sure have changed a lot over the years. It can be tough to try and keep up when technology has forced so many changes, at such a rapid pace. At the end of the day, getting your message across to your audience still remains a challenge, however, we have more tools at our fingertips as church communicators than ever before.

Some days, scrolling through your Facebook feed can feel more like a 'choose your own adventure book' than a chance to catch up with friends. Think about the last time you stumbled on a weird 'Sponsored Post,' and asked, "Why am I seeing this?" Quickly you realize the amount of money wasted on Facebook ads is amazing.

If you aren't already familiar with TED Talks, you'll want to pause and take some time to delve into this incredible resource. TED Talks are to non-believers as sermons are to Christians. The popularity of online education via video and podcasts haven't seen their full potential of growth yet as people continue to seek entertainment, education, and thought-provoking stimuli in the form of short video lectures, usually given at various TED Talks around the world.