The Sweet Spot: Creating the Perfect Church Bulletin

Church bulletins are an essential tool for welcoming first-time visitors and members to your church community. Even in the digital age, there is no disputing the church bulletin is an important component in how a church communicates. A study by Thom S. Rainer confirmed that most churches still use some form of a printed bulletin, and most guests expect to be handed something by a greeter when they enter the church.

Also called a worship folder, worship guide, or information guide, these printed pages are likely the one thing visitors and members will take home with them. The professionals at Copiers Plus can help you produce the ideal printed communication for your unique fellowship community. Just like that perfectly-placed tennis serve, they’ll help you to find the ‘sweet spot’ with customized managed print solutions.

Just the Basics

In the era of the 24-hour news cycle and an ever-growing avalanche of social media, we all suffer from information overload. Limiting your church bulletin to the “basics” will help to avoid key frustrations of this medium:

• Complaints about what content is included and excluded
• Content that is old and dated
• Content presented in an unprofessional layout
• Content with grammatical errors

According to an analysis by church management specialist Rich Birch, “The largest churches tended to have the smallest bulletins.” Birch recommends the following “essentials” be included:

• Website and social media information, so guests know where to find you online
• Physical address and phone number, so they know how to come back
• Welcome message, targeted at first-time visitors
• A tear-off card that guests can fill out and drop off for follow-up
• Event calendar that filters out all but the most important events, catering to the majority
• Ample blank space for note-taking, and to let the eyes breathe

That Special Touch

While these standard components are critical, your church’s mission is both universal AND unique; to that end, it’s equally important to deploy language and design that reflects the unique culture and demographics of your congregation. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to shape an overall tone that is loving, welcoming, accepting, and inviting. You may include an Order of Service to guide new-comers, or mission opportunities that highlight your church’s involvement with the community and throughout the world.

No Need to Start from Scratch

Lots of free or low-cost templates for church bulletins are available:

• Bulletin Builder, a free online church bulletin design tool
• Pinterest hosts numerous church bulletin templates
• Concordia Supply: six simple church bulletin templates for use with Microsoft Word
• More than 70 church management packages include features to create bulletins suitable for online distribution or print

Whether or not your church uses bulletins, Copiers Plus can help your church evaluate and innovate communication strategies for visitors and members. Request an appointment with our team to see how your church can benefit from a communication strategy that is clear and relevant.

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