http://www.ekklesia360.com/

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1

INTERNAL REQUEST FORMS .................................................................. 2

PROJECT MANAGEMENT ....................................................................... 4

CONTENT CALENDAR ............................................................................. 6

MEETING NOTES ...................................................................................... 9

TEMPLATED EMAILS .............................................................................. 11

GRAPHIC TEMPLATES + TOOLS ......................................................... 13

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT.......................................................... 15

NEXT STEPS ............................................................................................. 18

7 Tools to Use Every Day

1. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

EVERY SUMMER IS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME STORY: People are gone on vacation, programs take a break, and communications slow down.

That is until two weeks before fall, when every program is knocking down our door

trying to make sure they get their materials and promotions out before they start up

again. So the end of summer for us becomes a marathon sprint to get everything set

for the fall. This time period can be overwhelming. Much like the weeks leading up to

Christmas and Easter––there is so much that needs to be done, and the list seems to

grow by the minute. You start to think, “Wow, yesterday I had nothing to do, and today,

I have to climb Mount Everest. But the saving grace is the fact that we have a plan. That

we can work ahead enough to make sure too much bottlenecking doesn’t happen. That

doesn’t make the stress go away, necessarily. But it helps. And if I’m honest, it can be

somewhat exciting, and certainly rewarding, on the other side of it all.

CAN YOU RELATE TO THIS? You may feel like you have too many tasks to manage, and not enough time or resources to help you do it all. In addition to the stress this causes, you’re not able to focus as clearly and ambitiously on furthering the mission and ministry of your church. Some responsibilities may even fall through the cracks––simply because they were pushed into the shadows by higher priority tasks. Or

something that has a higher “urgency” level.

UNFORTUNATELY:There’s no magic, cure-all solution to this problem. You won’t find a perfectly packaged product or software that will simplify and organize your entire role as a church communicator. Because your unique church has unique needs, you’ll need to rely on good old-fashioned trial and error to find the process that best matches

your skills and ministry.

FORTUNATELY: You don’t have to walk this path alone. These 7 tools will help you survive (and thrive) as you work to optimize your efficiency and communication methods. Let’s dive deeper into their details, benefits, and some practical tips for application.

CODY VERMILLION, communications manager

at Rancho Bernardo

Community Presbyterian

Church

1. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

2. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

1. INTERNAL REQUEST FORMS

Most of these problems could be solved by refining the process for internal requests. Instead of having someone stop you in the hallway and give you a napkin with a date scribbled on it, you need to collect all of the information in one place, at one time. In exchange, you can explain your skills, workload, and timeline to the person requesting the communications. You need to set the standard for how internal communications requests operate, and stick to your guns. This will help you develop a professional, consistent method for understanding and promoting things within your church.

Creating and implementing an internal request form for communications within your church is a topic for longer development elsewhere, but essentially, the process has two steps:

First, make a list of what you need to know when you develop a promotion package for an event or announcement. Information like date, time, venue, theme, and purpose of the event are basic starting points––but your church may need even more depending on the type of communication.

Second, consider how different form tools work and how you like to see information. You’ll need to choose a format that makes this form accessible and easy to fill out. We recommend you start by considering these three options:

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Your goal as a church communicator is to develop

the brand of the church and communicate between

the leadership and the community. Essentially, you’re

the steam that powers this ministry machine. But

executing on that communication is often bogged

down by collecting event information, having to track

down involved members, and organizing lots of data:

all before you can even start the creative process

of designing and writing the promotional materials

needed to make the event a success.

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3. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

No matter which form tool you choose, your form should use required fields to ensure you get all of the information you need when it is submitted. Phil Bowdle, of Church Marketing Sucks, also discusses the details of implementing an internal request form here on his blog.

“I personally set up Google Forms, a

Google Script for auto replies, and a

dashboard using Google Sheets.”

AJ FENLASON, professional services manager at Ekklesia 360

SEE IT IN ACTION For inspiration, see how other churches have found success. While you may not

need all of the same fields, you can learn a great deal from watching those who have

used internal request forms before:

FRANCINE SCHROYER, creative team director at Sagebrush Community Church

USING

The media request form exists to start the creative team

process by eliminating up-front pitfalls. The form puts in

digital record what your ministry team need is. It dispels

illusive, intangible ideas by forcing a team to state the project

specifications, the date a project is needed, and it carries a

management signature of approval that indicates this project

is a worthwhile investment of time, energy, and budget

money for the team. After management approval, the media

request form goes to the creative team art director where it is

reviewed, approved, and assigned to an artist for completion.

4. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

This online workload display does a few things for you:

• It’s great for time management. Set task start/end dates, time estimates, log time, and analyze your efficiency.

• The layout keeps your notes and files in one place.

• It allows others to see how much is on your plate. This can help determine which projects you can or cannot take on by showing your capacity.

• The church leadership can better determine when demand requires hiring more staff members.

These 4 tools have many of the same features listed above. While they operate in very similar ways, you can use their free trials or demos to better understand how their specific user experience can match your needs and skills:

2. PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Being “in-the-know” about all these projects is one of your best assets––which makes you a project manager. And your superhero sidekick, project management tools, display where you are in the process on all the projects that have been assigned to you. This tool is also helpful for your entire staff, because you can all have access (and contribute) to the tasks or projects within the software.

Even though churches may have similar needs, no two

church communicators are alike. You might handle

social media, blogging, and event promotion. Or you

might also take on design work and video production.

Heck, you might do all of this and keep the books or

handle scheduling for your staff! To keep up with your

workload, you’ll need to be a master of organization

and prioritization.

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5. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

SEE IT IN ACTION

SAMANTHA DECKER, director of communications at

Quail Springs Baptist Church

Implementing a project management tool [Basecamp] kept us

organized, on-task, and connected. Having a single place to

keep relevant files, messages, feedback and to-do items was

invaluable. We strive for consistency, clarity, and creativity in all

that we do, and having a project management tool helped to

keep us focused, aware, and moving forward with our unified

mission in mind. This process has proved to be a great help in

teaching us how we can all move forward in the same direction.

USING

Many churches have embraced time management software

with open arms. Keeping organized is a key part of

operating a thriving, successful, faithful community.

7 Tools to Use Every Day

6. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

3. CONTENT CALENDAR

A content calendar will help you (and the rest of your pastoral team) make this happen! It allows you to plan weeks in advance (so you can remember all the holidays and special events a church participates in), track and assign progress and tasks, and you can see all the different channels and messages in one place.

These 4 tools can be used to create and update your content calendar. They vary in complexity and features, but are all simple to navigate:

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Content is a key part of engaging people in your

church. Blogging creates a space for your church to

grow and be inspired. If blog content is how your

church leaders communicate with members (and

we encourage you to do so), then you’ll want that

message to be clear, interesting, and actionable. The

best way to ensure quality in your content is to plan

ahead of time. Don’t plan for a vague topic with no

real next steps. Instead, lay out your content strategy

in a way that is easy to follow and furthers the church’s

mission. Every post should guide your readers in their

faith journeys and encourage them to consciously

keep learning and growing.

7. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

There’s no one perfect way to use a content calendar. Depending on how often you blog and the number of people involved in the process, some of the above tools may work better than others. But no matter what, don’t get hung up on the minute details of the tool right away. This process can start simple, and it will grow and evolve as you practice and learn

the right content rhythm for your church. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Don’t hesitate to move forward because you’re afraid it won’t work perfectly! These best practices can help you pursue an organized, ambitious content calendar at any stage of your familiarity with the process:

BEST PRACTICES

Choose your frequency and posting days/times based on the time your website visitors are the most active.

Organize your calendar by priority, and be sure to keep the upcoming tasks as visible as possible.

Label each post by topic, and keep an eye on maintaining a balance each month. The majority of posts should be topics related to your current campaigns, goals, or events.

Have an “ideas” space for brainstorming and remembering possible future topics.

Plan the next steps for each blog post as you plan the whole month. Is there a specific event you want readers to sign up for? Or another place they should go to learn more?

Don’t get hung up on titles while planning. Focus on the idea and the value of the post for now.

7. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

8. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

ANDREW BARNES, director of communications at Providence Baptist Church

Andrew’s content calendar for Providence Baptist Church

I have a promotional calendar and a social media calendar as

a spreadsheet on Google Drive. Content for the promotional

calendar is usually 3-4 months out, whereas the social media

calendar is roughly two weeks out. For me, it’s helpful to see if

there’s a date with too many things to promote. Tackling an issue

like that months in advance is much easier than realizing it one

or two weeks out. I’m also able to share the calendar with our

primary pastor team so that they have an idea of what’s coming

up. I’m able to give my communications team church-wide

projects much sooner, which means we can do more and do it

better. I don’t have to stress about trying to remember when

we’re going to promote something. Just remembering that I

need to promote something is invaluable.

SEE IT IN ACTION

9. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

4. MEETING NOTES

Unlimited storage, 60MB upload/month, shareable, searchable, strong third-party integrations, Mac- and Windows-compatible, tagging capable, limited handwriting-to-text feature, archiving capability.

5MB file size limit, assignment limit of 25 delegations, ability to add tasks via email, shareable, searchable, Mac- and Windows-compatible, tagging capable, allows push reminders, no archiving capability.

7GB of free storage, shareable, weak third-party integrations, Mac- and Windows-compatible, tagging capable, extensive handwriting-to-text feature.

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As the hub of your church’s internal and external communications, you’ll be a part of many meetings. Creating a

structured way to store meeting notes is essential to preserving and referring back to the ideas and decisions made in

those big conversations. This is especially important when you’re making plans a few months in advance––such as for

fundraising campaigns, or big services like Easter and Christmas. The more people you have in these meetings (and the

more action items that the conversation produces), the more important having detailed, sharable notes is.

While project management tools are powerful in connecting your many projects and tasks, a simple note-taking tool might be better for your meetings. Then you can add any action items into your chosen project management tool. These 3 note-taking programs have different features to compare:

POSSIBLE TOOLS:

10. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

Running a productive, efficient meeting takes precision and focus. Your main goal when

leaving the room, as a church, is to know that the exciting ideas

you just created can be put into action in a dependable way.

These best practices can help ensure you do so:

BEST PRACTICES

Keep everyone on task. Follow an agenda to keep attendants on-task and on-time.

Designate one diligent note-taker to collect one set of the ideas and action items presented.

Don’t assume everyone had the same impressions of the ideas brought up. Assign one person to follow-up with all actionable tasks from the meeting.

Taking notes is not a reason to look for a place to blame each other or get annoyed. Take the time to be proactive and find out about any miscommunication right away, before it’s had the chance to grow up and cause trouble.

Input notes and assigned tasks in your church’s project management software in a timely manner, and alert attendees when it is complete.

10. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

Based on which pricing level you choose and how each company updates its software, some of these capabilities may vary. Depending on how many features you’d like your note-taking tool to have, you could also opt for an even simpler shareable document––like Google Doc or Simplenote.

11. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

5. TEMPLATED EMAILS

These 3 commonly used email tools allow you to create templates:

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As a communicator in touch with the congregation, much of your work

involves processing similar requests from different people. Instead of

retyping or creating your messages from scratch each time, templated

emails serve as standard copy that you can easily personalize and

customize for each individual. Not only will this save you time typing,

but more importantly, it will make sure your responses are consistent.

You won’t have to worry about confusing facts or exchanging 3 more

emails if someone forgets to include the correct date.

BEST PRACTICES TO FOLLOW WHEN CREATING TEMPLATES:

Thank them for reaching out.

Direct them to the next step.

Include a data placeholder for when you will be able to respond to/fulfill the request.

OR point them to the more appropriate contact (if it’s not you).

7 Tools to Use Every Day

12. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

You receive an email requesting that you help promote registration for a children’s event.

This is a request that will happen frequently––so it’s a good thing you have your templated email on-hand. You can respond with consistency: thank them for reaching out, direct them to the internal request form, and let them know how quickly you can respond to their request with next steps.

You receive a question asking if a small group can host an event in the recreation center.

While the event host has great intentions as they request to reserve a space, you’re not the go-to person to handle this. Turn to your templated email for redirecting requests, and respond with the consistent practices: thank them for reaching out, direct them to the contact who can help them, and include correct contact information and full name.

TEMPLATED EMAILS ARE ALSO USEFUL WHEN RESPONDING TO INTERNAL REQUEST FORMS.

Can you see how templated emails are so helpful for keeping your message consistent, while also saving

you time? By a simple change of date or insertion of a proper contact, you’ll be able to respond with the

correct information quickly. You can be personal (by adding a friendly greeting) without re-writing the same

email every time.

This is a process that will happen frequently, and you’ll want to have a prepared thank-you or follow-up email at the ready.

IMAGINE HOW YOU COULD USE A TEMPLATED EMAIL IN THE FOLLOWING SITUATIONS:

13. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

6. GRAPHIC TEMPLATES + TOOLS

7 Tools to Use Every Day

CREATE TEMPLATES FOR THESE COMMON CHURCH COMMUNICATION MATERIALS:

LETTERHEAD

GRANT REQUESTS AND PROPOSALS

SOCIAL MEDIA ICONS/PROFILE IMAGES

PRESENTATION SLIDES

BULLETINS

POST CARDS

BLOG POST GRAPHICS

Once you’ve discovered the flexibility and power of

templated emails, transfer this tool into your design tasks.

Graphic templates are a great way for you to keep a

consistent look and feel for your communications. If you

find yourself spending a large amount of your work time

on creating the basic elements of a piece of promotional

material, such as the color scheme or the logo placement,

this is the tool for you. You can ensure that every

promotion has the same logo size, colors, and placement.

This will help your church brand appear more professional

and organized in documents like letterhead and event

registrations––while also saving you time in design work.

Even for the more time-consuming pieces of communications, graphic templates can save you time in sizing. Photoshop can also speed up your process by setting up documents to the right size for Twitter, Facebook, and your website. Think of graphic templates as a living “style guide” that you can use to save time and create a uniform look.

14. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

Some social media companies have released helpful templates because they know how helpful and valuable templates can be to busy communicators. For example, Sprout Social’s “Always Up-to-Date Social Media Image Sizes” spreadsheet is a wonderful place to see what sizes you may need for different graphic elements of your church’s presence on social media platforms.

Not every church communicator is heavily involved in graphic design decisions––but some are responsible for all branded pieces that are published by the church. No matter what your involvement in the process is, you can still find value in graphic design tools. From basic photo editing to complex, detailed graphics, these tools are great for designers at any experience level:

BEGINNER ADVANCED

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online design templatesphoto editor

vector art and illustration software

page design and layout tool

photo editor

annotator

photo editor

learning community

15. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

7. SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

You can also use hashtags to connect daily with your church. Some churches, for instance, allow members to sign up for morning bible verses via email or text––which can be scheduled well in advance using social media management tools.

These three tools are a good place to start looking as you begin to optimize the way you manage your social media accounts:

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Your congregation isn’t like a business or corporation. Your

church has stronger bonds, shares vulnerable emotions,

and encourages personal connections in a way most secular

businesses and their customers don’t. In addition to Sunday

services, your church needs to reach into the daily lives of your

congregation. And your communications need to back that up.

Part of your job is to help further a member’s faith walk every

day, not just while they are within the walls of your church. Even

if your blog and church website are working well and serving

your community, you can also use social media to be an even

more consistent and dependable voice in the life of your church.

Much like your content calendar, social media management tools can help you to plan valuable messages and posts ahead of time. By planning most of your social media a week or two in advance, you can prepare for events and blog posts that are scheduled to come out. You won’t have to worry about missing an important announcement or rushing to post something after your office hours. This is especially helpful for communicators who tend to over-work and sometimes let their tasks spill into their personal lives. Scheduling strings of social media posts goes hand-in-hand with your current campaigns and sermon series. If your software allows you to tag posts in social media campaigns, you can circle back later to see what the engagement rates and effectiveness of these posts are.

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16. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

Scheduling posts in advance isn’t the only perk of using a social media management tool. These churches have also found followers and increased engagement through the consistent use of hashtags:

CenterPoint Church in Chillicothe, Ohio, uses this hashtag as an overall community tag. But this church also uses more specific hashtags for sermon series, such as

SEE IT IN ACTION

CPFAITHANDFILM

CPCHURCH

17. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

SEE IT IN ACTION

Port City Community Church:

This church uses hashtags as a next step for

members after they view a video message or online

sermon. By prompting viewers to use the hashtag

#FuseCamp2015 immediately after viewing the

related message, the church creates a valuable,

engaging conversation about the content.

7 Tools to Use Every Day

FUSECAMP2015

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18. 7 Tools to Use Every Day

NEXT STEPSChurch isn’t just about Sunday. As much as we all love

gathering together for community and inspiration, your

role as a communicator is called upon every day. If you

feel that you have too many tasks to manage (or just not

enough time and resources to help you do it all), we’d

love to give you some support.

There is no simple, one-trick solution to efficiently managing and optimizing all your tasks. But with tools like internal request forms, a content calendar, and templates, you can save valuable time as you start projects. Management tools, like project management software, note-taking apps, and social media schedulers will make staying organized during projects second nature.

Let all these tools work together to allow you to more efficiently and passionately further the

mission of your church and communications. These 7 tools are the key to your ability to survive––and

thrive!––as the message and brand leader for your church.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

GRAPHIC TEMPLATES + TOOLS

TEMPLATED EMAILS

MEETING NOTES

CONTENT CALENDAR

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

INTERNAL REQUEST FORMS

19. 7 Tools to Use Every Day