Announcements.
Why do we do them? I guess, primarily, it’s to let people know what’s on, and why they should be interested, connected, and committed to everything that’s happening ‘in-house.’
They have often been the scourge of church life – especially the service time. They have often taken up more time than worship and prayer together, and nearly as much time as the message as well.
Added to this dilemma, they appeal only to insiders with insider language, knowledge of persons and personalities, places and structures, For the person who is a visitor – and this is amplified ten fold (OK – that’s just a guess) when you are online, announcements have the potential to “out” you, and so you turn your ear off, let your mind wander or catch up with social media whilst their on. If you are online, you go and get a second breakfast or another coffee, and you may not ever return. Guilty!
So does that mean you never do announcements? No. Announcements can be a unique opportunity to speak into the vision and life of the church and be inclusive of guests as well as informative for the insiders.
Problem is, that rarely happens. So what’s the way forward for announcements? Here’s a few tips.
- Minimise them. The studies I’ve read say that once you go over 2 announcements, you can’t remember them. That means that you don’t announce more than 2, or the third will not only be missed, but it will diminish the capacity to remember the other two.
- Avoid double announcements. You know – the kind where it’s said by one person on a screen video, then the host of the service comes out and feels like they have to add something or go through it all again.
- Make every announcement relevant to everyone. Don’t just announce events for ladies or men – that cuts out either one. Be aware of content about people and places that a visitor – especially online – know nothing about. That devalues them. Here’s how to check out your announcement items.
- Read through each announcement as if you are hearing it for the first time and you are a visitor. It’s not completely fool proof, but it helps.
- Check your language – eradicate ‘Christianese’ and any reference to inside people, places, jokes and time frames (eg. “during evening service”)
- Ensure it speaks to the vision and values of your organisation.
- Keep it short and to the point.
- Include a story that may help to shed light on what you are doing.
- Use handouts for details like time and costs, or even a QR code that people can get on straight away.
- If people have issues sticking with the time allotted – which in my experience they do – record your announcement and play the video. These days, that’s simple. That way you can control and be right on point about everything.
That’s at least a start. “But our church has so much going on and everyone needs to be in the know about everything” I hear you say. If that is true, try some of these ideas.
- Announce on social media.
- Send a text reminder about things – don’t overuse this, or people will understandably get upset.
- Use an advocate(s)… someone who speaks for the ministry you wish to promote and they can speak with people one on one. You will probably get more by-in. It’s more relational.
- Have a stall outside, in the foyer, or somewhere which displays your ministry, and change these around often.
- Have a weekly focus on a different aspect of ministry each week and change them around.
- Have a ministry expo every 6-12 months and display and talk one on one to people. Make it an annual or biennial event.
- Use video as much as possible as people will remember things they see rather than what they hear. The vast majority of brain power is used for the visual, so make use of that.
You can also put a running slide show depicting the various things people need to do, before and after the service – this is especially helpful for online services as people are waiting for church to start. You may choose to run this during the offering time as well, or during a greeting time for those who eyes might wander to the screen.
There are always times when you will need to announce very important issues which are for the church herself. I call these pastoral issues, and have tended to make them completely separate from event type announcements. They may include someone’s who’s passed away, someone who is very sick or suffering in some way, some event in our nation (and we’ve had plenty of those lately) – something that people online will gravitate towards; or even a joyous event like a birth, a baptism, or someone who celebrates a significant birthday. I would keep these separate and brief, and would often connect these events with a time of prayer. What it says to people who are not a part of your community, and to “not-yet-Christians” as well, is that we care for each, we care about our nation, and we celebrate God’s goodness together.
So… why not run an eye over your announcements and see how you might be able to do them better so that more people engage & connect and don’t “change the channel” when your in full flight, because they may never return.