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The Ministry of CommunicationThe Ministry of Communication

Your Presenter:Ellie Wharton1/13-14, 2007

Part I

Light Bearers

to the

World

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Spreading the lightSpreading the light

Ellen G. White, in her book, The Publishing Ministry, calls the act of publishing “a sacred work.” The communications that are shared are “to prepare a people to meet God.”

At the end of this seminar you will be well prepared to assume the duties of this life-changing ministry.

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IntroductionIntroductionPart I – Light bearers to the world This session is an open discussion format where

we will discuss five spiritual responsibilities of the Communications Department

Part II – Your church at work In this session you will learn how, what and when

to submit material to the Conference office and Union publications, how to build a relationship with the local media in your town, methods that will keep your church informed

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Your Five Spiritual Responsibilities Your Five Spiritual Responsibilities

Serve as God’s divinely appointed instrumentsDemonstrate Christian Principles

Witness for TruthAdd shelf life to the spoken wordFollow Divine not worldly policy

How well are you equipped to handle these responsibilities?

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Serve as God’s DivinelyServe as God’s Divinely Appointed Instruments Appointed Instruments

You have been chosen to “accomplish the work essential to be done in this part of the world to prepare a people to stand…” in the last day. The Publishing Ministry, pg. 42

You may have been elected by your congregation, but you have been

appointed by God.

What will be your plan to get people to cooperate with you?

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Demonstrate Christian Principles Demonstrate Christian Principles

“All that is done in every line is to bear the impress of heaven, to show forth the

excellence of the character of God…” The Publishing Ministry, Pg. 41

Every word you present before the world must be accurate, informative, inspirational and fresh.

What must you do to prepare your communications?

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Witness for TruthWitness for Truth“Every institution that bears the name of Seventh-day Adventist is to be to the world as was Joseph in Egypt and as were Daniel

and his fellows in Babylon.”The Publishing Ministry, Pg. 42

Your communications must be distinct within your local communities from that of other

denominations

How can you develop your skills to accomplish this?

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Add Shelf Life to the Spoken WordAdd Shelf Life to the Spoken Word“Very much more can be accomplished by

the living preacher with the circulation of papers and tracts than by the preaching of

the word alone…”The Publishing Ministry, Pg. 44

Most people have an attention span of 20 minutes while a magazine or newsletter will remain on a table top for months and can be

referred to at anytime.

What measures can you take to capitalize on this opportunity?

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Follow Divine not Worldly Policy Follow Divine not Worldly Policy

“Those who trust to their own wisdom will plan to carry out their special ideas. This will bring results

unfavorable to the advancement of God’s cause.” The Publishing Ministry, Pg. 53

Every word that is written, every photo that is taken, every article that is submitted must be done prayerfully and with the exclusive desire to bring honor to God’s work.

Think of some situations where person’s actions can cause unfavorable results? How can they be avoided?

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Your Five Earthly ResponsibilitiesYour Five Earthly Responsibilities•Review, initiate and oversee all modes of communication, both internal and external, employed by the Church •Inform the Church and the public of the activities and services provided by the Church•Except for the weekly bulletin, be responsible for the editing, printing, broadcasting, and distribution, by traditional and electronic means, of all periodic communications emanating from the Church•Coordinate and provide assistance as needed for ALL news releases emanating from the Church•Disseminate information on the Church's objectives and programs to the congregation and community

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In Summary…In Summary…

Communicate God’s love as the center of the universe…

12And the people will beat a path to your door.

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Stay tuned for Part IIStay tuned for Part II

Your Church At WorkThe “How to’s” of

EffectiveCommunications

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The Ministry of CommunicationsThe Ministry of Communications

Part II

Your Church at Work

The “How to’s” of Effective Communications

Special thanks to Olson Perry, former Editor of the Southern Tidings for his assistance in preparing this part of the seminar

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As the Communications Officer you can be As the Communications Officer you can be either a blessing or a curse for the churcheither a blessing or a curse for the church.

You must be prepared to: Work closely with the pastor Be on the church board Meet with each department regularly Be visible with your local media and community Meet deadlines Exhibit creativity in the areas of journalism,

photography, videography, internet and publishing programs

…and still hold down a regular job, maintain a family, take time for yourself, and get some rest…

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In addition, you must…In addition, you must… Review, initiate and oversee all modes of communication,

both internal and external, employed by the Church Inform the Church and the public of the activities

and services provided by the Church

Except for the weekly bulletin, be responsible for the editing, printing, broadcasting, and distribution, by traditional and electronic means, of all periodic communications emanating from the Church

Coordinate and provide assistance as needed for ALL news

releases emanating from the Church Disseminate information on the Church's objectives and

programs to the congregation and community

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Media RepresentationMedia Representation You must have a relationship with representatives

from all pertinent media to include metro newspapers as well as grassroots papers and magazines, TV stations, radio stations (AM especially). This includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses

Your contact info must be on the rolodex of each print Editor, and News Assignment editors for TV and radio for their easy reference

Stories must demonstrate what your church is doing for the community, i.e., health fairs, food drive, community garden, health mobile

Stories must use the 5 “W’s” – who, what, when, where, why

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Church NewsletterChurch Newsletter Should be published monthly –

we want news, not history Should be mailed or delivered to

each member’s home, nursing homes Preferably should be 4 page, color Should cover baptisms, baby christenings,

special days, birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, stuff your congregations will want to read about

Big event stories can be submitted to local newspapers and even Southern Tidings but will require a different version

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Develop a websiteDevelop a websiteWork with an IT person within your church to

create a website that can help win soulsRegister online with iadventist.com, search

engines so your site can be foundPublish your URL in your church bulletin and in

all articles, on church letterhead, marquee outside of the church and on pastor’s biz cards

Maintain website monthly – keep it fresh so people will want to come back often

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Website (cont.)Website (cont.)Website should become an extension

of your newsletterNAD gives awards each month for best

websitesGood site to visit for ideas –

www.hansonplace.org GREAT site to visit –

www.madisonmission.org

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PR Ministry of the churchPR Ministry of the church Work with pastor and all department heads

to access info about meetings, special days Publish the church calendar Be a member of the church board so that

you will know first-hand when decisions are made

Help department heads in promoting special events

Protect the image of the church (make sure pictures are hanging straight, lights are workable, holes in parking lot are reported, spots on carpet are reported, frayed carpet is noted and made a repair priority, bathrooms are presentable, etc.

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PR Ministry (cont.)PR Ministry (cont.)Take plenty of photos of all eventsCreate a scrapbookVideotape services, especially when

there are guest speakersCollect names of visitors and send

cardsTreat the church as you would treat your

own home – make it a place you would be proud to invite a friend to

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Understanding the Southern UnionUnderstanding the Southern Union

Five White Conferences Carolina GA/Cumberland Gulf States Florida Kentucky/ Tennessee

Three Black Conferences South Atlantic South Central South Eastern

Each Conference is given two pages in each edition of Southern Tidings magazine

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Rules for SubmissionRules for SubmissionNEVER send articles directly to ST –

you must always go through Michael Harpe, Communications Director, SCC

Deadlines must be met (10th of each month into the Conference Office) if you intend for your article to be considered.

Be precise in your writing style – space is limited

All copy must be submitted in Word or Word Perfect

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Rules for Submission (cont.)Rules for Submission (cont.)Use the 5 “W’s” (professional rules of

journalism)Avoid using titles such as Pastor, Elder,

Deacon, Sister/Brother before a nameTitles come after the name – i.e. Michael

Harpe, Elder; or Clarence Hodges, PhDDon’t use the word “church” to identify a

location. If it is used, it should be in lower case

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More on submissionsMore on submissions Refer to The Blue Book of Grammar and

Punctuation or go to www.grammarbook.com Spell check – PLEASE!!! Buy a good camera. Pictures should always

be interesting – move in close to your subject, use proper lighting and FOCUS. Don’t place Black people up against a white wall for background

Use action shots with actual people doing activities – not the pastor or elder cheesing

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Just a few more thoughtsJust a few more thoughts Avoid group monotony – focus on one

or two people rather than a whole group Submit photos via email in jpeg format

using 300 dpi resolution or higher. Double check all facts - # of people, full

names, places, dates, right type of degree for people named or shown in a photo

Keep in mind that your article could end up in the Adventist Review and go worldwide

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Involve your young peopleInvolve your young peopleThey have energyThey are creativeThey are fast learnersThey want to be heardThis could help launch a career

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An important callingAn important callingYou are the keeper of the church’s historyYou are an outreach minister to those who

may not be able to make it to churchYour work will outlast any preachingYou are in a perfect position to win souls

Always remember – this is a ministry