Our church was young and growing rapidly, and communication was becoming a big problem. At Creekside Church in Aurora, Colorado, we were struggling to connect with our attendees. Members complained about feeling disoriented. They were frequently unaware of prayer needs and ministry opportunities. And we weren't connecting volunteers with places of service.

We needed better communication.

The idea of a newsletter was raised, but our senior pastor, Jim Piper, was reluctant to implement a traditional newsletter since an earlier attempt had failed. Another idea occurred to him, however. After founding the church, Jim began collecting the e-mail addresses of attenders. Before long, he had a substantial list. Much of our congregation was wired, so why not launch an electronic magazine?

An e-zine! Thus, CreekVision E-zine was born.

Today, the e-zine is working well. It's cheaper to produce than the usual printed versions most churches can afford. It's colorful. And we're in contact with our congregation. ...