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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.

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