It’s just another church staff meeting—a weekly time to connect, pray, and talk about what’s happening in our respective ministries. There are a few minutes left, and the pastor asks, “So, what’s in the announcements for Sunday?”

What follows is a long list of events and dates to be printed in the bulletin and announced from the front during worship, just so the church knows what’s going on.

Over the years, I’ve had the joy of serving churches as a communications and marketing consultant, and before that, I served as a worship and communications pastor. In that time, I’ve noticed that this scenario reflects how many churches approach their announcements: simply as a list of events and sign-ups to communicate, with people urged to attend.

I also hear the same frustration from pastors again and again: their people say they don’t know what’s going on, and they aren’t showing up to events.

But what if our announcements could be more than a collection of information? What if they could purposefully advance something greater? What if the single driving force of our announcements was to point people toward the mission of the church?

What Paul’s Epistles Teach Us About Church Announcements

Much can be said about how effective the Apostle Paul was as a church communicator. In his epistles, we find an abundance of instruction on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. His use of the innovations of his day, like Roman roads and the Greek language, is a case study in using the tools at hand to communicate the Gospel.

But beyond all that, my point is simply this: Paul was intentional about using his communication with the church to further its mission. Even when he was making what we might call an “announcement,” it was always wrapped in mission and in instruction about who we are called to be as disciples of Jesus.

For example, in 2 Corinthians 8–9, Paul announces a collection for the church in Jerusalem. But he doesn’t just say, “Now is the time for our offering.” Instead, he uses the moment to invite people to give by helping them understand what God is doing in their hearts when they do, teaching them about the nature of generosity and how the church is meant to function when it comes to finances.

I think Paul understood something about people that we sometimes forget: people respond better to meaning than to information.

Mission as the Focal Point

So, back to our staff meeting. What’s wrong with using announcement time to inform the church about what’s going on? Nothing at all. We should tell people what’s happening in the church and provide easy on-ramps for them to be part of it.

What I’m suggesting is that we become more intentional about how we announce these things, infusing our announcements with the mission of the church and how people can engage with it.

Here’s an example of what this could look like. Let’s say the church wants to announce that small groups are starting up and encourage people to sign up. Here’s that announcement written two ways: informational and missional.

Informational
Small groups are starting back up! Groups meet throughout the week in homes around town. Sign-ups are open now through the end of the month. Visit the welcome table or check the app to find a group that works for you.

Missional
At our church, we believe following Jesus was never meant to be done alone. That’s why the next step we invite everyone to take after Sunday is joining a small group: a handful of people who will pray for you, open Scripture with you, and notice when you’re missing.
New groups start next month. If you’ve been attending for a while and wondering how to go deeper, this is it. Find a group in the app or at the welcome table, and we’ll help you take the first step.

Do you see the difference? It’s easier to simply provide information than to thoughtfully connect that information to where we’re going as a church. But the effort will bear fruit as your community moves intentionally toward its mission.

Give It a Try

Moving in this direction may sound easy, but it’s not. Before you can create announcements that move people toward your mission, you need to have clearly defined that mission and how you want your church to pursue it. That’s no small conversation.

But once your leadership has done that work, it becomes much easier to build the habit of creating announcements that encourage people to move toward Jesus.

Josh
The Church Comms Guy

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