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One of the most frustrating sentences for a church leader to hear is, "I didn't know about it"—particularly when the "it" was printed in the bulletin and announced during worship.

That's why churches are exploring additional methods to broadcast information about their events. A bulletin blurb can be accentuated by listings on the church's website, targeted e-mails, messages on social networking sites, text messages, and recorded telephone reminders.

How many of those methods your church uses, and in which combination, will depend on a careful analysis of the congregation's unique makeup. For congregations with an older demographic, the basic question is, "Do we go to electronic broadcasting and move away from printed bulletins?"

"In a lot of cases, it's a great idea," says Michael Buckingham, creative director of Holy Cow Creative, a church consulting firm. "I know of a church in Chicago that went to all [e-mail] pdf files. It's perfect for that congregation, which is mostly people in their 20s and 30s. That may not work for everybody."

The centerpiece of newer technology is the Internet, and the first priority is a church website. Avoid turning that website into a random dumping ground by taking an intentional approach to its design.

"Make the website current, with an up-to-date calendar, and strong event promotion," says Evan McBroom, creative director of Fishhook, a church communications consulting firm. "Create a hierarchy of A-level, B-level and C-level events. Inviting a friend at Christmas should have a higher place than the model-train ministry."

Fishhook encourages its clients to strategically use the top space on homepages to promote A-level events with rotating graphics that can be clicked for more information. Three or four B-level events can then be placed lower on the page.

Many churches are starting to use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to communicate information and build community. Enhance the visual impact by posting pictures on fan pages or group pages. Choose a person to champion sending information and building momentum for a group or ministry through these networks.

Send e-mails with formatted delivery services such as Constant Contact. These enable church personnel to build e-mails into formatted templates and set up different mailing lists for specific groups. The programs allow churches to track who is receiving, opening, and forwarding the e-mails.

"These services cost maybe $10 or $15 a month for a small church and they solve a lot of problems, especially for churches that send out mass e-mails," McBroom says. "You don't want to be a church of 2,500 people still sending out e-mails using Outlook in batches of 100 names at a time. With these services, if there is a quick need to communicate, they allow you to get the message out all at once."

Sending e-mail news updates provides another advantage, according to Nick Nicholaou, president of MBS, Inc., a ministry management consulting firm in California.

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