In many circles, the church bulletin or worship folder is perceived to be old school, the tool of staid and traditional churches. Leaders with such a perspective are missing an incredible opportunity to put something in the hands of guests that, at least anecdotally, increases the chances they will return.
It is for that reason that I see the church bulletin to be first for guests. While church members can benefit from it, the most effective use comes from those who are new to your church. I thus note nine essentials for church bulletin with the guest in mind.
- Worship times. Many bulletins are retained for future use. It is thus imperative for the worship times to be prominent in them.
- Physical address of church. You want to encourage the guest to return, so include the physical address of the church for their GPS.
- Website and social media links. This is a primary means of communication for our culture. Your church must be speaking that language, and guests need to know where to find you online.
- Email, and telephone contact. Make certain there is an email and telephone contact so the guest can get more information on the church. Also, make certain someone responds quickly to any inquiries.
- Prayer request contact. I encourage all churches to have some type of prayer line, either email or telephone. Many guests to your church will communicate with you through a prayer line before any other means. Make certain those contacts are in the bulletin, and make certain you have someone responding promptly to them.
- Sermon notes. I have been surprised at the number of guests who are eager to take notes during the sermon. They expect to have a place to take notes.
- Major events. Never clutter a bulletin with a multitude of events and regularly scheduled activities. Most of the time, the event should be an event for everyone, and should be considered of major value to the congregation.
- Vision or mission statement. This (hopefully) succinct statement will communicate to the guests what really matters at your church.
- Order of service. Some churches have gotten away from putting the order of service in the bulletin. I think that’s a mistake from a guest-friendly perspective. Guests may not have a clue what’s taking place in the worship services. Make certain they have a clue.
One item that may seem like an obvious omission is a guest registration card. We have found that these cards are more effective if they are placed as loose cards in the bulletin, rather than perforated cards the guest must tear off.
Again, let me emphasize that the bulletin is a primary tool to connect with guests. If you have abandoned this practice because it does not have a cool factor, please reconsider. It’s making a huge difference in churches that are using it intentionally to reach out to guests.
Let me hear your thoughts.
I’m curious if any churches are including a pen when they hand out the bulletin and, if so, if that has proven to be a worthwhile use of funds. I’m one that likes to take notes during the sermon and it’s frustrating to not have those made available if needed.
Jeff –
More churches provide a pen in the chair or pew rack. If there is no rack, some place a pen on the chair.
We started using greetings almost 3 years ago. They are at the door within 15 minutes of Sunday School and worship services. They greet all that come in and hand out the bulletin. They also hand out a visitors card that has a pen with our church name and address on it. I have heard nothing but good things about the using of greeters. The pen serves 3 purposes. 1) They can fill out the visitor’s card. 2) It has our address on it. 3) They will use the pen so it serves as extra advertising for our church.
Pens are quite inexpensive and well worth the money.
Yes! Pens are great because when a lady throws it in her purse, it will get “out there” and someone will pick it up and then the name of your church is “out there.” Encourage your people to take the pens, use them when they sign a Credit Card receipt, and leave it wherever they use it.
A funny thing happened at a church I used to work at. The pastor got all these pens and put them in the pews. Then he was so frustrated that the pens kept getting taken “these things aren’t free!” he even had a “pen amnesty” day where folks were supposed to bring their pens back. I appreciate his frugality, but he didn’t understand the point of the pens, advertising.
Along with the bulletin, we provide the visitors with a card that explains some aspects of our service, i.e., we sing Happy Birthday to our members and/or guests and instead of singing their name, we sing God Bless You. Also, the words to the Lord’s Prayer and the Doxology are included on the card. We also list general church information on the card, as well as the bulletin.
Thank you, Lynn.
#7 should include a brief description of the event.
And EVERYTHING needs to be checked for errors in spelling, dates, times, etc.
Excellent adds, Jim. Thanks.
People with hearing disabilities find it very helpful I can attest first hand. My mother is deaf and when I did take her to church was a good way to follow along.
Message main points and scripture is helpful to relay to those with
Hearing disabilities. Even big Baptist church’s do not have a means for deaf people to follow sermon. A close captioning ( section ) could resolve that issue easily as well. There are many deaf people
Who do not sign as they were taught to lip read so as to assilulate into the real hearing world.
God Bless, charlie
We nailed 8 of 10 @ newspring! Our worship guide is for the 1st time attender: outline & or place for notes depending on sermon series, place to ask for prayer or indicate salvation and/ or ask for more info, address to main website and sometimes info on next series or a Story related to current series. All regular in-house announcements are via pre-reel video before service or made orally just before our tithe time.
Oh, we give out pens with the worship guides! Both are handed, with a smile, to each attendee by volunteers at each auditorium entrance.
Our worship guides are identical for all 19 campuses, so there is no physical address on it just the website, which has all the addresses & worship times listed, as well as tons of info on children’s and youth programming and Bible and other small group studies.
Our Next Steps area are just outside each auditorium & make it really easy to get one on one info re baptism, groups, studies, or Care, which is nearby for new believers, those needing to confess sin and prayer needs. Folks are guided to these areas at the end of EVERY service.
Over the last 15 yrs, we’ve seen over 52,000 folks give their lives to Jesus ! Pretty amazing place to be!
I think all suggestions are great. The only one I have a slight disagreement with is the order of service, just because my first hand experience in the church that do have it is that many look to the paper to give them direction when God has already given them a leader to give them direction (of course that us if the leader is worth a darn at giving direction).
But everything else is spot on.
Are you talking about the rubrics?
A very timely article. I’ve been thinking about all the “stuff” we put in people’s hands on Sunday morning and something has got to go! Who needs a service folder (my term for “bulletin” – a bulletin is something issued by a news agency), crammed full of hand-outs and inserts? I’m working toward a 1-page weekly “take home” insert that has everything anyone – members and guests alike – need to know. I’ve been here for 2 years and people are starting to get used to my propensity for change, so they shouldn’t push back too hard on this!
Regarding the guest registration card, we place them in the pocket of the chair. Is it more helpful to have it in the bulletin? I don’t want to sound cheap but when we put it in the bulletin any of the litter not used or simply thrown away with their bulletin. By placing it in the pocket of the chair only those who really want to use it take one. Should I move it to the bulletin?
A good rule to remember is to never ask guests to do something the members are not. Whether in the seat or the bulletin (less maintenance) Also, do not have different color cards for guests and members.
Good word, Alex.
I recommend you put them loose in the bulletin. You could probably get a volunteer to retrieve the unused cards after the services.
Does anyone have a template that they could share?
Thank you. The worship order is vital to the guest especially if the guest is new to your church practices. The odds are also good that no one has talked to them so without the Order they are completely lost. Members as well as guests love lesson notes. Some play games to see if they can fill in the blanks before the preacher gets it. This is a great way to engage and reinforce the lesson. When one writes down something it has a much greater chance of being remembered. The outlines can also be used as a jumping off point for small groups.
Absolutely agree! In some cases it may be the only thing they take away from your church so create it w/excellence.
We include the complete Bible passage for the sermon in the bulletin specifically for visitors. Although there are Bibles available in the chair-backs, many “unchurched” visitors may be unfamiliar with the Bible/or unable to locate a text. We don’t want them to miss out on reading the Word or being able to follow along during the sermon.
I am our church secretary, and I recently overhauled our bulletin. We now have a special page right as you open the bulletin with alot of information a visitor would need, including a “What to expect today” section that explains each aspect of the service, and contact info for the church/leaders. I also include a section in the bulletin entitled “what does it mean to be a Christian?” with a simple plan of salvation. Our bulletin is now more “visitor focused” but still has all of the announcements that regular attendees need. This “blend” has worked for us.
#9 – order of worship/service is essential for visitors. We have been visiting churches for over a year in our search, and yes, we are visiting different denominations. Churches have different traditions even within the same denomination, and when we visit a church without an order of service, it’s hard for us to know what to expect. Afterwards, we want to reflect on the service, and a printed bulletin is helpful for us.
Including the scripture reference for the sermon is also helpful. I loved the comments about information and outlines, esp. for those who may have hearing deficits.
But pastors and worship leaders should also have the freedom to make last minute changes if God’s spirit directs them, but just clearly announce it so that everyone knows what is going on.
I had a member just this past Sunday tell me he could use an outline or a fill-in-the-blank worksheet or something during the sermon to help him stay focused. I then saw this blog post the very next day! Our bulletin holds up to this list pretty well (I’ve been the pastor one year, not my doing) in every respect except for having a printed outline or even a place to take notes.
I wrote out my first fill-in-the-blank outline yesterday and it will be in Sunday’s bulletin. It’s something I had thought about before but “never got around to.”
These are all good and essentials for the bulletin or worship folder, but from the perspective of being both a church planter in the Arizona and from working in more traditional churches in Texas I would like to add one item and modify one item.
#7. Be sure the Major Events you publish are not lopsided with one particular group. This is easy to do depending on who is submitting information to the office. Make sure the events are not all about just Senior Adult events, or just Youth Events, etc. Try to mention events which communicate that your church has a broad range of ministries for the whole family. Also, try to make sure the bulletin as a whole is well organized so that people can easily find events for their specific age group or social group.
#10. (adding this one) Be sure to have a brief message in there just for guests. e. g. First Time Guests…Thanks for worshiping with us today… Please fill out a Connection Card … We have excellent nursery and preschool for your children… Please stop by the Welcome Center after the service to pick up a special gift…. etc. Whatever you want the first or second time guest to know that might not be mentioned during the welcome, or they might miss if they come in late.
I was thinking to myself recently, about the qualities for which a true church follows. I think that friendly bulletins are important for churches, because a negative or a bulletin without mass appeal can cause adverse effects for the general assembly’s attendance. My family finds churches to be extremely important to the community so I appreciate you taking the time to put this information out there!