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 but also continue communicating to their church communities through email, social media, website updates, etc.1
But in the noise of everyday life, clear and consistent communication isn’t always easy.
Can it be?
Take a tour with me through three easy ways to connect church leadership and members.
1. A church communications home + ‘command center’
Do your church communications have a place to live? One place that tends to the needs of your members and your staff?
Build that place with a (free) Faithlife group.
- Faithlife groups are your cure for countless log ins, group texts, message threads, emails, etc.
- Using Faithlife groups and subgroups, you have the power to create an online community for your congregation plus a central managing hub for your staff and small group leaders.
Need to post an urgent prayer request?
Share readings for tomorrow’s sermon or a digital bulletin your members can see throughout the week?
Do that (and much more) in your Faithlife group that’s as private as you’d like it to be.
You can add a group for your church, your small group, your worship team, your A/V team, your nursery volunteers, you name it.
2. A (better) book club
Traditional book clubs get people reading. Good ones get people talking and thinking.
Your church can do the same . . . but better.
Here’s how to one-up traditional book clubs. Two-up them, actually (if that were a thing):
- You can read the Bible or spiritually enriching books hand-selected by leadership.
- You can go beyond just reading books at the same time to chatting about them to sharing your comments and questions in your Faithlife group as you read.
How about beginning a church-wide reading plan in January? It’s the perfect way to get 2021 started on the right foot. Here are a few of Logos’ 60+ free Bible reading plans to choose from:
- For a quick win to boost your church’s reading-plan confidence—the 5 Days on Spiritual Growth plan.
- To see how the Bible tells a cohesive story—the 55-Day Connect the Testaments plan. (It’s three daily readings from the OT, NT, and biblical poetry.)
- To focus on one part of Scripture at a time—the Luke 1 Month plan.
- To read the entire Bible together—the 5 Day Bible Reading Program or M’Cheyne Reading Plan (reading the Old Testament once and the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs twice)
3. An attention-grabber
Every time your church announces an event, shares a prayer request, or posts about the results of an outreach, you’re creating an invitation for people to take part. With all the other messages people get every day, that’s a lot of invitations.
It’s not that your church doesn’t care about what’s going on. There’s just so much going on.
Give them a chance to catch up with an attention-grabbing catch-all: a church newsletter. If that sounds old-school, you haven’t seen what you can do with newsletters now.
Long gone are the days when you needed to print out a newsletter, fold it (twice), stuff it in an envelope, stick on a stamp, and ferry it to the post office. Now you can create a professional-looking newsletter in minutes, then share it in your Faithlife group and/or by email so no one misses it, even if they haven’t joined your group yet.
And here’s a big bonus: you can use your newsletters not only to keep members current but also to welcome guests.
With these three methods, leaders can keep in touch throughout the week in a meaningful way, without sending 1,000 emails or playing phone tag.
Start your group today, and see how your church community grows closer together this year.
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Your church group is free, and you can do so much inside of it. And since Faithlife offers the world’s first integrated ministry platform, you can also use your group to connect to online giving, your church website, and more.
Get all of this tech designed for churches—and more—with one simple subscription to Faithlife Equip. No more double-work to update your church calendar and website or send emails. Faithlife Equip takes the hassle out of church communications. Can we show you how it works? Schedule a personalized demo with one of our church tech experts to see how Equip can save you time without sacrificing quality.
The post 3 Easy Ways to Connect Church Leaders & Members in 2021 appeared first on Faithlife Blog.
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