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"There's no faster and more effective way to communicate information than through a brochure," says Linda Irwin of Hope Presbyterian Church in Cordova, Tennessee.

Hope Presbyterian found brochures especially helpful during the dramatic expansion of the 3,500-member church. "We have tables set up to highlight each ministry, and people stand at each table to give information about the ministry," Irwin says. "But we also have brochures there, and we find people are more likely to pick up a brochure than to ask questions of the people at the tables."

You may not be growing as fast as Hope Presbyterian, but brochures can still be helpful to your church. They can serve as a vital communication link to your regular attenders and as a helpful guide to visitors or potential members.

Brochures come in a variety of sizes and formats. You can do something as simple as an 8-by-11-inch trifold brochure with black ink on plain paper, or get as elaborate as a folder with various-sized color sheets of paper creatively fit together. It's just a matter of determining what the church wants to do, what it can afford to do, and what it has the ability to do.

Writing a brochure doesn't have to be complicated. Just keep these points in mind:

• Stay focused. Are you offering information to members or encouraging visitors to make your church their spiritual home? Clarify the message you want to present and know your intended audience. Then stay on track; refuse to follow rabbit-trail issues or you'll confuse the reader and dilute your message.

In a general brochure that you'll give to visitors, you should include a brief history of your church along with its vision statement. Give denominational or statement-of-faith information, biographies of the church staff, and any other information you deem important. Don't forget the church's contact numbers (phone, fax) plus e-mail, Web, and mailing addresses.

You can design a brochure that features just about any aspect of your church's ministry, from Sunday school and adult choir to children's programs and single adults' Bible study. Kansas City Baptist Temple in Kansas City, Missouri, has a strong missions program, so it prints brochures giving people the details of its annual missions conference. It also produces brochures that introduce people to the missionaries that the church supports.

In addition to its regular ministry brochures, Hope Presbyterian Church prints a special brochure that it offers to people during Easter and Christmas. The brochure has a seasonal wrap, or cover, that includes a beautiful full-color photo. The wrap can be re moved to reveal a second cover of this handy reference guide to church programs.

• Keep the copy simple. Be colorful but direct in writing a brochure. Eliminate pompous or unnecessary words. Use strong, active verbs. Most of the sentences you write should be fairly short to keep the reader moving through the piece.

• Be enthusiastic. A toned-down promotional feel is okay for a brochure. People want to know why they should invest their time and effort in a program. The trick is to skip the hype while sincerely conveying that your church and its programs are exciting and fulfilling. In clude testimonies from people who enjoy the program.

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