“5D Theory” represents the five key reasons (starting with D) why people often visit a church for the first time: Divorce, Death, Displacement, Disaster, and Development. These guests are likely seeking comfort, community, and spiritual guidance during a significant...
Mark MacDonald
5 Leadership Communication Challenges (How to Overcome Them)
Effective communication is the foundation of successful church leadership. However, many pastors face challenges in this area that can hinder their ability to lead and connect with their congregation (and community). Here are some common communication challenges with...
5 Communication Skills Every Church Leader Must Practice
Effective communication is essential for church leaders and pastors to inspire, guide, and connect with their congregation. Mastering these skills not only strengthens relationships but also enhances the church's brand, mission, and outreach. Here are five...
How to Stretch Your Church Communication Budget (4 Tips)
Unless you have unlimited church resources, you’ll need to stretch your church communication budget to get as much done for a small amount of expenditure. Certainly, at times during the year, you’ll have to stretch every communication dollar. There’s so much to do,...
3 Things You Didn’t Know a Church Website Could Do
There are many beneficial ways to use your church website if it’s built properly: event calendar, staff information, church and ministry information, and collecting offerings. But here are 3 things you didn’t know a church website could do for your ministry: Collect...
Burnout Self-Care for the Church Communicator (Easter & Beyond)
At Easter, or during any overwhelming church season, a church communicator (or Pastor) needs to be mindful of burnout self-care. Here are some self-care strategies so you can protect yourself from burnout: Prepare with Adequate Expectations: Church communicators often...
Hold on to First-time Guests (7 Retention Tips)
Welcoming first-time guests to your church, and encouraging them to return, involves thoughtful planning and intentional actions. Here are seven practical steps to help ensure that first-time guests become long-term members of your church community: 1. Warm and...
Tools and Methods for Managing Your Church’s Social Media
Managing your church's social media properly will help connect with your congregation and community. There are many social media tools to help you with this monumental task. This isn’t an exhaustive list but it will help you get started (search for more “social media...
Finding a Niche as a Church Leader and Local Church
A key leadership aspect that can greatly impact a ministry is finding a niche - a discovered thought area where you can flourish and become an expert. This focus is more effective than it is to know “a little something” about everything. People pursue experts. Every...
Communicating to Make Your Church a 7-day Destination
As a ministry leader, your church facility is more than just a place of worship on Sundays. It should be a vibrant hub that serves the community seven days a week. Transforming your church into a 7-day a week destination is not only a great vision but also a mission...
Church Management Systems: What a Church Must Communicate
Using a church management system (ChMS) can greatly enhance communication within a church community. But remember, it’s a two-way system that requires your members and you to engage with it. Here are some tips to effectively use a ChMS for communication in your church...
4 Ways to Uplift Others and Uplift Yourself Too (Self-care Tips)
Leaving on vacation recently, I boarded a flight with my wife, and heard the safety announcements. I travel a lot so honestly, I rarely listen to the flight attendants with their memorized warnings. Seriously, do we need to be told how to buckle a seatbelt? ...
7 Essential Rules for an Effective Church Greeters Ministry
The church greeters ministry is essential for every church. Why? Because your congregation needs to feel a welcoming community. A church greeter ministry spreads hospitable people throughout the entire church as part of an effective first impressions ministry. Think...
Preaching to Personas (why you can’t preach to everyone)
Jesus, in His earthly ministry, couldn’t preach to everyone; so, He practiced preaching to personas. He knew His local audience! And then, what He said reached a greater audience. Can you preach to everyone? No. You need to know your local audience, get their...
Six Steps To A Great Church Video
Quality videos always start with a great story (that needs to be discovered or written), and go from there.
Keeping Church Volunteer Morale High (5 Tips)
It can be challenging to manage the morale of church volunteers. There are many reasons why volunteers may experience low morale; from burnout, to stress, to interpersonal conflicts. However, a church's success often relies on volunteer engagement, and it's impossible...
Stop! Church Social Media Content Requires Branding
Do you wonder if you’re wasting time on your church social media content? You could be if you’re creating random posts about various themes and events. There’s a better way. It’s called branding: Identifying what makes the content your church’s, and controlling it so...
Leading a Ministry Online: 5 Communication Tips
When leading a ministry online, there are many differences than leading an in-person ministry. Don’t be fooled like many Pastors who, during COVID especially, decided it’s as simple as putting a video on your website. All while running church, as usual, in the...
3 Church Fundraising Ideas to Overcome Attention Challenges
Effective church fundraising ideas are required to capture people’s attention and have them willingly open their wallets in generosity. But there are many organizations requesting donations on a regular basis, and all those fundraising requests combine with other...
4 Communication Essentials: Be Ready for 2023
Getting your church communication essentials accomplished before the end of 2022 is critical. Why? Effective communication rises and falls on how well you know your audience. So, what are the communication essentials for your church? Establishing a foundation to know...
11 Clues: Your Church Website Sucks (FIX Them)
Your church website may be your biggest outreach tool; are you using it to the fullest capacity?