IDEAS THAT WORK - Christianity Today

BULLETIN COVERS THAT AID WORSHIP

“Many churches display their building on their worship folders,” I heard another pastor comment in a course on church management, “but the church is so much more than a building.”

His comment unearthed my buried dissatisfaction with most church bulletins: They don’t lead people to worship.

My own church had been purchasing mass-produced bulletin covers that seldom pertained to either the particular Sunday’s theme or the needs of the people. I began dreaming of relevant, worship-inspiring bulletin covers.

To the drawing board

Immediately the practical concerns hit. Even if I could dream up a new format for our worship folders, how would I get the idea produced?

“Talk to Ike Austin,” a friend advised. “He’s a print genius.”

Over breakfast each week for the next three months, Ike—a photographer, artist, and designer—and I brainstormed ideas. We talked of depicting musical themes or reproducing religious drawings, but finally settled on using Scripture in a fresh way. We wanted to visually express the foundation of our convictions.

The first theme we tackled was God and what we wanted people to know about him. Our search for a key verse led us to Psalm 103:8, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness.”

I compiled the various scriptural names for God and listed them in Anglicized form with their meanings. For example: Logos, the Word; Adonai, Lord.

Ike’s design emphasized our key verse in bold print, with these names of God lightly screened and repeated in the background. This cover became the pattern for our subsequent work.

Up to full speed

On our second folder, we wanted to state something about the people at Oak Hill Church.

My former associate targeted 1 Peter 2:9 (“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people. … “) as the key verse. Ike suggested displaying the names of everyone at Oak Hill Church in the screened background. Not Abraham or Moses or the pastor, but Mike, Kim, Rachelle, Ryan, and 346 others—all special people belonging to God.

We were amazed at how meaningful this idea became to our congregation. Frequently children would circle their names and proudly show the folder to their grandparents and friends.

The third bulletin focused on how people serve the Lord in their jobs. We decided to list scores of vocations in the cover’s background. As we compiled our list, church member Ken Pieh recommended the shortcut of looking at the back of an IRS tax form. The cover’s background eventually included the words accountant, blacksmith, forester, plasterer, chauffeur, hotel clerk, historian, pilot and dozens of other occupations, with the bold-faced admonition: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Our next theme, fellowship, led us to use John 13:35 as the key text, with other verses containing Christ’s words on love repeated in the background.

When we needed a folder for our missions conference, I obtained permission to print the text of “Christ for the World We Sing.” This key text was surrounded by the names of countries from A to Z.

I was thrilled when one of our members, Blair Carlson, asked for permission to use that design concept to promote the Billy Graham “Mission: Sheffield” crusade in England. Every city, township, and county in that area of England was listed in the background of the handbook’s cover. The same pattern will be enlisted for the handbook of Graham’s upcoming Paris crusade.

Can it work elsewhere?

I realize how privileged I am to have a person like Ike in the congregation, a virtual designer-in-residence who works without charge. Yet I believe every church holds someone whose artistic and visual skills are greater than we might suspect. Many times these hidden artisans would be thrilled to serve the church with their talents.

At Oak Hill we followed one simple pattern for all the covers in our series. And we built slowly, producing just five covers the first year, and two more this year.

The cost is feasible. When we printed a year’s supply of the first five bulletins (in red ink on tan bond paper), we discovered the expense was actually less than buying folders from a commercial bulletin company.

Benefits

We originally copied the weekly order of service and other information on the inside of each cover. After two weeks I realized we were making a big mistake.

“What are we doing printing on these bulletins?” I asked my surprised secretary.

We decided to make the covers worship folders, with the information inserted on separate sheets. We’ve reaped several benefits from this approach.

Since the worship folders themselves are not printed on, extras can be used in subsequent weeks, reinforcing the teaching of the folder and saving money. The open space on the inside allows people to jot prayer requests, note sermon content, or indicate needs. I encourage people to seize the creative ideas that come to them in church, and write their thoughts to act upon later. I want our people to use the folders.

This year we added two covers to the series. One of the new covers is built upon the “cloud of witnesses” mentioned in Hebrews 12:1. The cover’s background lists heroes of faith from biblical times to the present, from Abel, Enoch, and Noah to missionary Dale Bjork and the Swedish Baptist leaders that form Oak Hill’s roots. This cover sparked one of our members to write biographical sketches of people in the church—”the great people of Oak Hill,” she said, “that some might never hear about.”

The covers often serve as catalysts in this way. Different covers have generated ideas for future sermons.

At Oak Hill, even the commonplace church bulletin now serves our goal to communicate God’s message. We believe that if we do it artistically, visually, and creatively, people will remember what they see. W. Karl Smith is pastor of Oak Hill Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Florence Johnson is director of New Paragraph, a writing service in St. Paul, Minnesota.

MORE IDEAS

Good Shepherds

The group for single men in Skyline Wesleyan Church, Lemon Grove, California, was looking for a way to help the single moms in the congregation.

The men formed a team called “Good Shepherds” and designated one Saturday each month as “Good Shepherd Day.” On this day, single parents bring their children (registered ahead) to the church by 9:00. Each child brings a sack lunch and one dollar for a snack. The Good Shepherds then take the children for an outing, like a hike, a trip to the beach, or a visit to a park or zoo, returning to the church around 4 P.M.

The program gives single parents a much-needed day off, and provides the children with positive male role models.

“But the men benefit the most,” says Singles Pastor Chuck Shores. “They gain an experience they wouldn’t otherwise enjoy.

“The genius of the program is its simplicity,” Shores adds. “There are no materials to print and no leaders to train. Lay people run it, and one person can easily handle recruiting the Shepherds and deciding what to do.”

A few restrictions keep the program on an even keel. Good Shepherd Day is restricted to children who don’t need diapers, and the Good Shepherds always travel together for the protection of the children.

“The program hasn’t changed at all since it began six years ago,” Shores notes. “It simply took off and has flown smoothly since.”

Good People for Hire

Many churches draw from a deacon’s fund or other source to aid unemployed church members. But when people are out of work for an extended period, those funds dry up quickly. The problem for many churches becomes how to help people strapped by long-term unemployment.

Pastor Arthur C. Jacobson of Central Baptist Church of Joy in Spokane, Washington, devised an ingenious solution for four unemployed men in his congregation. Drawing from his prior experience in advertising, Jacobson wrote a newspaper advertisement detailing the men’s experience and abilities. Another member of the congregation designed and typeset the ad, which ran in Spokane’s major newspapers. The cost of the ad, approximately $150, was paid for by the church’s diaconate fund.

The ad endorsed the men’s hardworking and faithful character. A portion read, “We have a few good men who need employment, and we at Central Baptist Church of Joy highly recommend them.” Prospective employers could contact the men directly or through the church office.

Though the ad ran just one day, it a led to a full-time job in the computer department of a bank for one man, several temporary construction-related jobs for another, and job leads for a third.

The ad also yielded an unusual fringe benefit: One couple visited the church because they had noticed the ad and wanted to see a church that would support its members in this way.

“We’ve always used the diaconate fund to help people help themselves,” Jacobson notes. “So we felt it was one of the best ways to spend that money. Helping our people obtain employment is definitely the Lord’s work.”

Sermons by Request

How can pastors be sure they’re preaching sermons people really want to hear?

Ask the people.

Wooddale Church, located in suburban Minneapolis, followed up on Pastor Leith Anderson’s idea to conduct a telephone, advertising, and mail campaign to ask people in the community what sermons they would like to hear. The church titled the campaign “Sermons the Twin Cities Want to Hear.”

Advertisements placed in metro and suburban newspapers explained the campaign. Leading off with the line “You can choose the sermons that the Twin Cities wants to hear,” the ads invited readers to “tell us what sermon to preach” by mailing suggestions to “Sermons,” care of the church address, or calling the church office. Church volunteers also made some two hundred phone calls to numbers selected randomly from the metro telephone directory. Respondents were asked what sermon they would most like to hear, if any.

The results proved fascinating. One campaign yielded these topics: “How to React to Unkindness,” “Anything but Money,” “Will God Let Nuclear War Destroy the World?” “Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?” “How to Be a Positive Person,” and “Raise Your P.Q. (Parenting Quotient).”

Once research was completed and sermon topics selected, the church began another ad campaign announcing, “Here are the topics you chose.” Each ad carried the theme statement, “We Are Listening—You Make the Difference!” and listed the topics Pastor Anderson would address during the six-week series. The church also mailed each phone respondent the results of the survey, which acted as an informal invitation to hear the sermons.

The church’s aim, according to Associate Pastor Doug Fagerstrom, was twofold. First, the church gained a clear picture of the community’s needs and concerns. The random selection of phone participants helped ensure responses from unchurched people.

Second, the campaign offered convincing evidence to the community that Wooddale Church is sensitive to people’s real needs. “You communicate that you’re a church that’s listening,” Fagerstrom says.

As one note scribbled on a weekly registration card during the series confirmed: “Saw your ad and came. Thanks for the great sermon. It’s working!”

—Reported by Terry White

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