Church Communications

My name's Jerod Clark and I'm the new guide for the Church and Web network.  There’s something I know to be true: everything communicates something.  So why not be intentional about what you’re saying?   

Google has lifted the ban on churches meaning you can now connect your church to great tools Google has to offer.  Here are some reasons why you might consider moving your church to Google.

In the church world, there are lots of things we do for the sake of communicating with first-time visitors.  We add snazzy “I’m New Here” buttons to our website.  We create slick brochures as part of a welcome packet.  Now there’s one more thing to add to the list: Facebook Timeline.

For many, spring is a time of motivation.  The changing of the seasons get people excited to do new things or clean up old stuff.  So why not give a little seasonal makeover to your church’s website?  Here are three things you could do to spruce up your website to make it more effective.

Creating website wireframes is the step we skip far too often when designing a new website. It’s easy to get excited about picking colors, style and a fancy new look, but it can be hard to get passionate about a bunch of empty black and white boxes on a sheet of paper. But wireframing may be the most important step ...

Church Juice, a project of Back to God Ministries, is giving away two $2,000 grants to churches that have great vision for effectively using communications tools to reach their congregations and surrounding communities. We know communications can be the thankless job in a church.  So we want to stand up and say “You’re doing an awesome job! Now, here’s some cash for your next great idea.” 

We often talk about the importance of a website acting as your church’s front door.  It’s a way to make a good first impression about who you are and what you believe.  Yet often times our websites are full of barriers that keep people from fully being a part of our congregations.

One of the biggest changes Facebook has made in recent memory is the switch to Timeline.  With that came the ability to upload a cover photo that displays across the top of your Facebook Page.  This large, central picture is sure to make a strong first impression to your Facebook friends.  Yet, some churches aren’t utilizing that space the best they can.

We may be doing everything right in terms of good communication, great Sunday worship and connecting people with the community, yet personal preference may keep someone from making a first (or return) visit to your church. It’s the classic relationship line, “It’s not you, it’s me.” So if we know that people’s preferences play a role in determining where they go to church, there are a few things I think we should always keep in mind ...

Pictures tell stories in a way words alone cannot. Pictures on websites are important and I think they’ll become even more predominant in the future. As I paged through websites, there were a few things I noticed about the images churches decide to use. And there are a few common themes...

There is an art to creating a social media page.  You have header images to make, background pictures to add and content to create before you can even start sharing.  Here's a free guide to help you figure out the sizing of all those different images so you can get the most out of your various social media sites.

Are you familiar with the concept of responsive web design? If not, then it may be time to learn a little bit about it. Responsive web design is a new way of building websites that eliminates the need to think about a separate mobile version of your website for each of a variety of platforms.  Instead, you spend time designing one site that works on any platform: desktops, tablets or smartphones.