In our previous blog post, Share your church’s story in your directory, we talked about including your church’s history in your directory. History provides those who read it with a great opportunity to emotionally and spiritually connect with the church.
Another way to connect with members, new and old, is to include a generic Calendar of Events, a list of ministries and services or just important facts about how to connect or get involved in your church. Including these custom-created pages in your directory is another way to reach out and share the exciting news and events your church has to offer.
Include a calendar of events in your church directory.
Your church may have traditions or special events that it holds every year. You may not want to include exact dates of these events (unless you publish a church directory every year), but you can provide an overview of events taking place at your church during the year.
For example, every spring your church may host a rummage sale or a yard sale. Every summer your church’s youth may make a mission trip, or your Children’s Ministry team may put together a vacation Bible school. Every fall, you may have a BBQ dinner or a fundraising dinner, and every Christmas you may have a packing party or bake sale.
You can sort these events by seasons, for example:
Or, you can sort events by month, like below:
Don’t forget to include even the small events if they happen every year, including special Sundays or celebrations.
Include a list of ministries in your church directory.
Even members who have attended your church for years may sometimes forget all that your church has to offer. By including a ministry listing in your directory, you remind members of the services that are available. You also remind even the smallest ministries of how big an impact they have in being an active part of your church community.
You can choose to simply list the ministries or include a small photo and a brief description of what they do or have accomplished over the last year(s). For example, you may want to include the number of blankets the Blanket Ministry has provided to those in hospitals, nursing homes or homeless shelters. You may also want to include ways to get in touch if you wish to join or volunteer. I’m sure this is one thing your choir director will be anxious for you to include!
Include an FAQ sheet or fact sheet in your church directory.
Depending on your church’s size, you may get asked the same questions repeatedly year after year. Creating a simple fact sheet, with information such as all the ways to contact the church office, the best way to request a meal for someone you know, or even something as simple as a list of worship service times. These are all great things to include in your directory.