If there’s one thing church communicators love to hate, it’s the church bulletin. Some have tried to kill it, but the rest of us just make do. We decided to talk to some church communicators and see how the bulletin is working (or not) for them.
Today we talk with Darren Lee, the communications director for River Valley Church in Minnesota.
What do you love about your bulletin?
Well, not much since we got rid of it.
Since we’re a multi-site church (nine campuses) a weekly printed bulletin doesn’t work for us. We focus on video announcements, social, web, mobile app, and email to distribute that info.
What do you love about not having a bulletin?
Simple communication via social media and digital sources.
How do people get the typical information that’s in a bulletin?
Pretty much anything you need to know will be on the screen.
What do you give to guests?
We do not hand out things at the door as you walk in. We do, from time to time, have promo cards on the seats or handed out as you leave. We’ve done printed event cards with a few months of upcoming save-the-dates from time to time, but not an ongoing bulletin.
We do have a “Welcome Home” gift for our guests and a “Now What?” journal and Bible for those who decide to follow Jesus.
Tell us about the process of killing your bulletin. What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
I didn’t have to kill it, it was gone when I came on a few years ago. However, we had a monthly event card that was a basic list of upcoming events we got rid of a couple years back. Honestly, it wasn’t difficult. Once you provide better communication channels, the old ones are easy to retire since they are so sparsely used.
More:
Need more help with bulletins?
- Free tips: Grab 40 Church Bulletin Tips to get a host of help for your bulletin.
- Kill it: Learn more about how to kill your bulletin.
- Pro resources: Our Courageous Storytellers membership site spent a whole month focused on bulletins, including examples, templates, how to go digital, expert advice, and more. Join Courageous Storytellers today to get access.
