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Recently, I spent an entire Sunday receiving comments such as:
- “I hate that I missed the conference! If only I had known.”
- “Why didn’t anyone tell me about the conference?”
- “Did anybody even announce we could sign up?”
- “Wow, that would have been a treat to attend; sorry I didn’t hear about it in time.”
As a church leader, have you ever experienced the frustration caused by ineffective communication? You are not alone. We feel the disappointment even more keenly when we have expended a great deal of energy on sharing information with outcomes like those listed above. So, how can we ensure effective communication in small churches?
Let’s start by reviewing a real-life scenario to help identify some of the main reasons for miscommunication.
We began promoting the dates and registration information for a conference the last week in December. We promoted, announced, and placed information in the bulletin and the church newsletter for six weeks before the conference. In the end, two people attended- myself as the women’s ministry leader and one other woman. I noticed an emerging pattern as I spoke with those who regretted the missed opportunity.
Women who are regular attendees of our morning worship service had no recollection of seeing the information in our pre-service announcement slides. None remembered hearing the information shared from the pulpit. Only one remembered seeing the announcement in our church newsletter or bulletin. I wondered, What else could I have done to share the information?
As I began to review our chosen methods of communication (verbal and written), I noticed that we share a tremendous amount of information every week. This prompted me to wonder if our congregation was suffering from information overload. Could we, as the leadership, be inundating our members with so much that they could no longer process the information? Or even worse, were they tuning us out because we sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher in the Peanuts cartoon?
A quick review of the slides we share each Sunday morning before the worship service yielded a count of 20 colorful slides played on a loop. Every slide was bursting with information. There was information from multiple small groups, from the children’s ministry, women’s ministry, men’s ministry, and even announcements for an upcoming community event.
Our bulletin had a dedicated space for the order of service on the inner page, but covering every other surface were small boxes of information on a myriad of topics and events. Purposefully viewing the bulletin as if for the first time, I began to understand how overwhelmed one might feel when perusing it.
Unfortunately, the church’s social media was not much better. The posts were 100% announcement or promotional posts in the last month. We had missed the opportunity to encourage, uplift, or teach. Instead, we were using social media to continue the barrage of “announcements.”
Our communication was ineffective for two main reasons:
- We had tried to share all the information for every announcement
- We were not considering our audience
6 Best Tips For Effective Communication In Small Churches
Does any of this look familiar to you? If so, here are six tips that help build effective communication for small churches.
1. Unity In The Messaging
As church leaders, create a communication strategy and stick to it. For example, you might decide that every announcement will have the same call to action. Instead of the women’s ministry asking for participants to “Call Sue to sign up,” and the men’s ministry asking everyone to “Text John,” and then the children’s ministry requests parents “Sign up on the clipboard outside of the Sunday School room,” choose one method of response for every announcement. When you have the same call to action for every announcement, the completion rate will increase because you made the process simple.
2. Centralized Information
A centralized information area works well with a unified call to action. For example, you might create one information kiosk in the lobby. Every ministry or group would place announcements and sign-up sheets in the kiosk. Think about how this streamlines the task of a parent with children in multiple age groups. If every ministry or group places announcements in a centralized location, then parents don’t have to fear missing an announcement for the nursery while picking up their third grader from Sunday School.
They can also check on the date for their adult small group gathering next week and sign up to bring macaroni and cheese to the next potluck meal for the church. Or, if you have the resources, you might also offer an online centralized hub. One website indexed with tabs for each ministry means members have only one URL address to access, no matter which activity, Bible Study, or small group’s information they are searching for!
3. Share Targeted Information
Be concise, whether making a verbal announcement, creating a slide, or adding a written promotion to the bulletin or church newsletter. Share only the necessary facts along with the agreed-upon call to action.
For example: “The Children’s Ministry is hosting an Easter Egg Hunt on April 19th. See our kiosk for full details and sign-up sheet.” Keeping the information short and sweet removes much of the “clutter” from the bulletin and church newsletter, making them easier to read. When announcing from the pulpit, say less! It is tempting to think that the more information we share, the higher the response rate. However, people tend to tune out after about 60 seconds- be succinct! Give the basic facts, make your call to action, and refer them to the centralized information space you created.
4. Survey Your Members
Ask your members how they like to receive information. Create a short 4 to 5-question survey to ascertain how members prefer to receive information. I suggest a limit of 5 questions because you want to avoid decision fatigue. Research indicates that longer surveys have a lower completion rate, so limit the number of questions to a maximum of five for best results.
If your church has an automated phone messaging system, you may have members who prefer a phone call. Our congregation has some older members who have trouble hearing and understanding the automated message. We offer an email contact with the same information to accommodate their needs.
Ask your congregation what avenues of communication work best and tailor your announcements to fit their preferred communication style. Consider having one question on the survey that allows the members to rank the various methods your church routinely uses to communicate, from most preferred to least preferred. This will be helpful information as you implement tip #5.
5. Utilize A Variety Of Methods
People have different learning styles. Some are auditory learners, others need written information, and others are tactile learners (those who learn by doing). We all process information differently, whether studying for a test or committing a grocery list to memory. We also retain information (such as announcements) gathered throughout our day differently. If you chose to include a question on your member survey asking individuals to rank their preferred methods of receiving information, you now have a road map to help you create announcements that stick!
Another fun fact about adult learning is that multiple exposures to the same information are often needed. This means that one exposure (reading an announcement in the bulletin, for example) may not be sufficient for retaining the information. Use the ranking of communication formats and create a unified message to share in multiple ways. For example, send an automated phone message, an email, and include the same announcement in the church newsletter. A vital tip to remember is that all three formats must have exact wording. The more we receive the same message, the easier it is for us to remember. Also, receiving the same call to action in multiple formats improves the probability of follow-through.
6. Know Your Audience
Mentally review the last three events you announced for one specific ministry or small group. Who responded to the announcement? I suspect that the same people responded to all three. While making strides in communicating with a core group of people is positive, it is only part of our objective. If we desire to engage the disengaged, we will need to expand our methods of communication. Be a detective. Intentionally seek the input of those who have not answered the call to action in the past. By learning the preferred method of communication for others, you can tailor your efforts to create announcements or other information that clearly communicates with the target audience.
Knowing your audience is especially important if you wish to reach members of your community who are not members of your congregation. Do you live in a community with a low literacy rate? Then, create reels with pictures and audio for your social media posts rather than in a written format. Does your community have groups who speak different languages? Ask God to provide resources to help you produce the information in the heart language of those you wish to reach.
Build A Foundation Of Communication
As leaders of small churches, we may sometimes struggle to communicate effectively with our congregation. The six tips we discussed can be the starting point for you as you consider how you have previously communicated with church members and regular attendees. Each tip builds on the previous idea for ease when creating a step-by-step process for effective communication. As you implement one idea consistently, you can take the next step. Be intentional in building a solid foundation rather than implementing all six by next Sunday! Effective communication is a skill, and you will see improvement with practice.
Read More:
A Guide To The 4 Best Texting Apps For Small Churches
8 Important Elements Every Church Website Should Have
A Guide To Create And Design Church Bulletins In Canva
Carla Adams is a wife, a nurse, and a women’s ministry leader. As an author and a speaker, she seeks to encourage women to use their God-given tools, talents, and gifts to serve Him and others.
