Church bulletins are a great communication tool.  In this digital age, people still respond to well-designed, professional print pieces.  However, you need to make sure those bulletins are conveying the message your church wants to send.  Your church bulletin makes one of the first impressions on visitors at your church and should be representative of your church culture.

Some churches use large bulletins that are a clearinghouse of information.  For other churches, it is important to them to have sermon notes in the bulletin printed on high quality writing paper.  Other churches like to use a single piece of card stock with a tear-off contact/prayer/visitor card on the bottom.  Still others have done away with bulletins altogether and communicate with their people on social media instead.

Whatever approach you take to church bulletins, let me suggest that you show special care and attention to this vital imaging piece.  Bulletins make an impression.  They instantly communicate if your church is:

  • A new church plant that is modern and contemporary
  • An older church that is established with a rich and dynamic history
  • A church that is serious about the Bible or worship or preaching
  • A church that is determined to reach non-Christian with the message of the gospel
  • AND so on

You can also communicate in your bulletin that you are stuck, sloppy, antiquated or apathetic.  NO CHURCH WANTS TO COMMUNICATE THOSE VALUES!

To communicate the right message, your church should hire the services of a good designer.  Get a designer involved in order to set the direction for all your church literature – especially your bulletin!  A good design agency will often help you get discounts on your printing and can often save you some money in the process.

Many churches, who are not able to have a full-time designer on staff, hire an agency to make custom graphics for every new series and for every event.  These churches have matching bulletin covers, projection slides, posters, banners and so on.  They look intentional, organized and professional.

Does it sound expensive?  Having an in-house designer can be expensive but hiring a design firm is affordable and well worth the cost.  The design agency might cost more per hour that your in-house solution, but they take care of their own office, their own computers, their own software and they work fast.

Then when a design agency (like Ablaze Media) prints 5,000 premium bulletins at a time, our cost is less than a dime each.  At those kind of prices, even a church plant can afford to print a years worth of bulletins.  Even small church fellowships can look as professional as the bigger organizations.

So how often should you change your bulletin?  As often as you want to change the emphasis of your message.  For some pastors, they have a yearly theme they want to reinforce.  Others want to communicate an overall message for each short series.

Consistent communication throughout the course of your series helps to reinforce everything you are teaching in the pulpit so that ultimately God’s people have a handle on the message you are sharing.  When the gospel is presented with clarity, Gods people can then use what they learned in church in their decision-making during the week.

Church bulletins are a means of communication, so don’t let the turn into “white-noise.”  Change them up and use them to their fullest potential!

Ablaze Media Specializes in Custom Church Bulletins and Church Media!

Mark Stafford, the owner, has over 20 years of work inside and alongside church ministries.  We love to help churches make custom bulletins, projection/PowerPoint slides, banners and more.  If you need help with a custom bulletin or with graphics for either a ministry or teaching series, we’d love to help out!

Give us a call at 928-460-3134