For the last week, I have been tracking my junk mail. In five days I received:

• Four credit card offers (two pre-approved—woo hoo!)
• 20% off at a large retailer (for a limited time only)
• An offer to pay my mortgage off five years early (although I do the paying)
• A fund update from Fidelity (well, guess I won't be paying that mortgage early)
• Three assorted letters from my church (hope the communications department doesn't read this article)
• A Home Depot offer touting no payments for a year (which I hid from my husband because we need to afford our mortgage)
• A "personal" letter from a dentist welcoming me to the neighborhood (I moved in a year ago and floss regularly to avoid dental bills that rival our mortgage)
• And many other pieces much less memorable

I live in a condo building built in the 70's with small mailboxes. If my husband and I don't check our mail every day, it literally overflows to the point where the postman can no longer close our mail slot. Yet despite the constant influx of mail, I receive very few genuine pieces of communication worth my time to read. In fact, I am the master of weeding through my mail on the way from my mailbox back to my front door (about 20 feet) and throwing away nearly everything—still unopened. No piling up on the counter for me!

Sadly, such is the typical American experience.

To begin, recognize reality. Mail, email, e-news, special offers, taglines, hurry now because this ends soon, and can't miss opportunities—it seems communication has become over saturated, watered down, and down right futile. So what hope exists for those of us in ministry with something important to say?

Plenty—when you communicate with purpose. Or you can call it common sense communication. Based on my experience as communications director for our children's ministry, I've learned five key lessons:

1. Over communication is the kiss of death. Eventually—and maybe quickly—people will see your return address and immediately discount whatever is inside.
2. Plain letters are boring—no matter what the letterhead looks like.
3. Only communicate when you have something to say. And blatantly state how and why the information you share is relevant to the audience.
4. Alternate between mailing a communications piece and handing materials out in your ministry—variety is good!
5. How and what you communicate is a critical factor in defining the reputation and culture of your ministry.

Over the last 18 months, our ministry dedicated ourselves to better communication channels with families in order to satisfy three goals:

1. To build a relationship with parents so that they see our ministry as a valuable partner to support their child's spiritual development.
2. To relay relevant, important information that parents will appreciate.
3. To inspire, encourage, and challenge parents.

While we don't have it all figured out and certainly haven't revolutionized the world of communication, our focus seems to have resulted in a stronger partnership with parents—as evidenced by positive comments and less confusion.

What did this communication look like?

Let's take a look. Please keep in mind the three goals and the five new learnings mentioned earlier. While you do, check out the following major parent communications pieces we produced this year—and my "journal entries" for the what and why and how that existed for each.

SPRING 2006- It's a New Day in Promiseland
Our spring piece was created to share upcoming dates and information. This piece served as our first venture into the world of creatively designing our communication. We could have shared this information just as easily in a standard letter—which would have been largely ignored. However, by using a graphic designer and putting creativity into the information, it was not only widely read but highly complimented as well. This piece was mailed home to every family.

[Click here to view It's a New Day in Promiseland]

SUMMER 2006- Promiseland Summer Calendar
Last summer, we tried something new in our programming and curriculum department. We decided not to have a theme for the summer. What? Okay, "no theme" served as our theme. Our summer took on a popsicle box metaphor with the idea that a box of popsicles comes with a variety of fun flavors—and definitely communicates "summer fun." In Promiseland, each weekend had a different theme to keep kids excited and looking forward to something new. Our summer calendar captured all 11 weekend topics in a captivating way through bright colors and quick quips that served as enticing explanation for the weekend. This piece was passed out to all families of kids fours years of age and older. It was also available on literature racks throughout our ministry during the entire summer.

[Click here to view the Promiseland Summer Calendar 2006]

FALL- Promiseland Fall 2006… Let the journey begin
We launched our new ministry year in late August 2006. As the beginning of a new season, we used this piece to give a vision for what parents and Promiseland can do together. The highlight of this piece was unveiling four milestones of the journey kids are on in our ministry. We distributed this piece to all families on weekends and placed it on literature racks from August through November.

[Click here to view Promiseland Fall 2006… Let the journey begin]

WINTER 2006- Christmas Unwrapped
I know favoritism in ministry is a generally frowned upon concept but, I must admit, our Christmas piece has been my favorite so far. I love the cover, the way the piece opened down the center, the way the red bow popped off any rack or table I laid it out on. When this piece came out, it was then that I knew our communication really worked! We distributed this piece to families on weekends and made it available throughout December on literature racks.

[Click here to view Christmas Unwrapped]

SPRING 2007- Promiseland in High Definition
I can't believe how quickly spring came this year. Although Chicago had one of coldest, longest winters I can remember in a long time, spring still seemed to come around fast. Wow, it has been a year since we started our new communication plan. So far, we have had nothing but positive, thankful responses from parents. Everyone seems to love hearing from us now—they even ask for it! Who knew it could be like this?

For our spring piece we choose to use the theme from our 2007 children's ministry conference— High Definition. Along with great information about upcoming events and what kids will learn in Promiseland, we decided to use this piece to reiterate to parents those all-important milestones we unveiled to them in the fall. Since we laid out the vision for the whole year in the fall, this was a perfect opportunity to remind and challenge parents of the journey we are on together. This piece was mailed to all families and was available on literature racks throughout the spring.

[Click here to view Promiseland in High Definition]

SUMMER 2007- SOAKED!
Summer… think hot weather, school's out, pools, water fights, playing with the sprinklers in the back yard… think Promiseland SOAKED! Our theme this summer is entirely water-based, thus the name SOAKED! We are going to use our summer weekends to soak up God's word in Promiseland. This may be one of our most fun communications yet.

[Click here to view SOAKED!]

ALL YEAR LONG – Welcome Kits
To help kids and parents learn how each of ministry's rooms work, we developed a welcome kit that contains room-specific information. Our goal is to share enough helpful information with parents so that they feel knowledgeable and comfortable—because then they can confidently help their children feel comfortable. Under-informed parents lead to anxious kids. So in each welcome kit, parents find information about key leaders (with pictures), check-in/check-out and other safety procedures, bathroom policies, details about how services run, answers to frequently asked questions, and ways to learn more about kids of specific ages. We share welcome kits with all new families, and with parents of children who will graduate into a new room.

[Click here to view Welcome Kit]

So here's my challenge to you: take a close look at your mailbox. Pay attention to your initial reactions when you sort through all the clutter you receive on daily basis. Use your personal experience to influence how you communicate for your ministry. When you communicate well, you will see families develop a new appreciate for your ministry and eager anticipation for upcoming news.

Even if you don't offer to pay off their mortgage early!

Ashley Cornelius serves as the director of group life, volunteerism, and communications for Promiseland, the children's ministry of Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois.

Copyright © 2007 Promiseland.

Words Kids Need to Hear To Help Them Be Who God Made Them to Be by David Staal If you could choose just seven statements to share with children, what would they be? Each chapter in this compelling book focuses on a single statement elementary-age kids need to hear from parents, children's workers, and other close adults. These seven statements are simple to share, yet guaranteed to profoundly impact children. They are: I believe in you. You can count on me. I treasure you. I'm sorry, please forgive me. Because. No. I love you. will educate, equip, and motivate parents and children's ministry teams to carefully choose words that building up kids' hearts, to say them frequently, and to do so in creative ways. What children hear from trusted adults significantly influences their self-image, their current relationships, and future relationships—including that all-important relationship with God.