Mary JahnkeTracking your time for even one day can be enlightening—and jaw-dropping. That much time checking emails?! The same goes for common church administration tasks. They seem innocent enough. Quick enough. Until you realize they’ve eaten up four hours...
First Corinthians 15:19 says, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” Because of Christ’s resurrection, we know the opposite is true. As 1 Corinthians continues, “But in fact Christ has been...
Picture this: one of your church members shuffles to the mailbox on her birthday. Maybe she’s feeling a little sad or spread too thin. She finds a card from the insurance guy, a real estate agent, and one that’s really special—from your church! Or...
Mark Twain said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.” The same could be said for your church media. The right image can stop the...
At the beginning of COVID, Faithlife did a video series unlike we’d ever done before. It made a splash in the Church Communication Facebook group, but it didn’t get posted on all the places Faithlife usually shares new things (like this blog, for...
These days, many churches are finding themselves running in-person and live stream services at the same time. With the same singing and sermon, how does it still end up feeling like double the work? It doesn’t have to. You can easily add an...
There are no shortcuts to an effective church capital campaign. (Sorry!) But there are simple ways to avoid common pitfalls so your church is set up for success. Whether your church will be planning a capital campaign soon, you’re gearing up to...
How will they believe if they haven’t heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? These are great questions posed by Scripture. However, we may want to ask one more question in the digital age: How will they find the preacher without a church...
“Reading the Bible isn’t the same as studying the Bible.” I remember learning that as a kid, sitting in the far-left row of Mrs. Bucy’s Sunday school class. Back then, Bible study tools were printed Bibles, bulky concordances (and even bulkier...
“I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.” (The unnaturally aged Bilbo Baggins says this on his eleventy-first birthday in The Fellowship of the Ring.) Can you relate? I’ve felt it, and I’m not even a pastor. So what...
Have you ever reread a line in an email and thought, “Yikes. That’s not how I wanted it to come across”? (Please say it’s not just me . . . ) The same thing can happen with sermons. Preachers know their people-loving, mission-minded intentions for...
I’m all for “hacks” that make life easier. (Right now, there’s a gallon jug plopped next to me so I actually drink enough water—without umpteen trips to the kitchen.) You? Well, here’s one way to make life easier for anyone who takes part in...
A church capital campaign isn’t some cold, flavorless thing done just to get a little more wiggle room in the budget. It’s a labor of love, a “passion project” to enable work that matters for eternity. It’s about serving people. Serving the Lord...
Hi there, elephant in the room. Let’s talk about you . . . “Live streaming church services on Facebook and YouTube is free. So why should we live stream from our church website?” To be honest, before COVID and the corresponding...
Confession: I have a soft spot for paper hymnals. They keep everyone on the same page, show the lyrics and music, and give you a look at what’s next. Plus, flipping pages can be fun. (Maybe that’s just me?) But I can’t tell you the last time I used...
Hi there, leader. We see you. Adjusting through COVID has been rough for everyone, but even more so for you. You’ve got people counting on you and people you want to help, but it’s tough to even get people to talk in small group. You’ve had to...
If there’s one thing almost all churches can agree on right now, it’s that online communication is important. In a survey conducted over the summer, Faithlife found that nearly 80% of churches would not only keep hosting some form of online service...
“How is it almost Christmas?” I ask that almost every year—but especially in this one . . . 2020 . . . the year that has somehow moved by slower than a slug but quicker than a Tesla Model S on the Autobahn—simultaneously. (Motion sickness, much...
Many of us can remember sitting hunched over the kitchen table as a kid, toiling away at a stack of thank-you notes. We wanted to say thank you—but it seemed so hard to come up with an interesting way to express our gratitude. Years later, and that...
When it comes to church communications, “There are a thousand different ways that you can communicate and a thousand different places that you can store communication information.” (This spot-on summary comes from Faithlife’s Kristen Tetteh in the...
The number of atheists in the United States has doubled in the past 10 years (from 2% in 2009 to 4% in 2018–2019). The number of agnostics has nearly doubled, too—it’s now 5%. The world is becoming increasingly skeptical of Christianity. Are we...
Recently, a guest speaker came to our church for a conference, bringing with him stacks of books he’d authored. Even though our church is small, at the end of the three-day event, every book was sold. People were hungry to read about grace, faith...
According to Hallmark, Clergy Appreciation Month (aka Pastor Appreciation Month) started in 1992 “with a mission of uplifting and encouraging pastors, missionaries, and religious workers.” I don’t know about you, but I think it was long overdue...
“This row is saved. Are you?” As COVID-19 lingers, reopening churches are working hard to protect their members. That’s why, if you walked into many churches today, you’d see signs like that—along with hand sanitizer stations, complimentary masks, ...
“Spring forward, fall back.” That little ditty is how I’ve remembered the time change for more years than I’d care to admit. And even though I remember which way the time goes, I always need a reminder for when it’s happening. (This year, it’s...
There’s an epidemic in small group communication. You ask a question, and only the sound of crickets greets you. It’s not just once—it keeps happening. This epidemic isn’t anything new, but it’s gotten worse as small groups moved online, where video...
Did you know that only 33% of church giving happens on Sundays? And that was before COVID-19 rocked 2020 off course. People still want to give. Will you help them do it? Set up online and mobile giving today to: Provide a convenient, paperless...
During the time of COVID-19, one in five people have moved or know someone who has.Are those new people finding your church, even if you’re still meeting online only? God is the ultimate author of healthy church growth, but there’s one kind of...
Church administrator Lei Felmey has been discipling others for nearly 50 years. The past few have introduced new territory—digital discipleship. How does it really work in a church? How do you do digital discipleship in a normal week? Lei shares...
