How to Format a Church Newsletter
Church newsletters are among the most useful forms of communication between a church and its congregation, advises Yvon Prehn, founder of Effective Church Communications. Newsletters carry all kinds of information about church activities, including details about future church services and the activities of church groups and members. Formatting your church’s newsletter in an attractive and appealing way will help readers engage with the information. Forward planning is key, since you’ll probably have to source material for the newsletter from a number of different people in the congregation.
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Instructions
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Look at examples of other church newsletters and make a note of any features you think work well. This will help give you ideas for your own newsletter.
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Use a publishing program to make the newsletter look as professional as possible.
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Create an eye-catching cover, or a header for the top of the page if your newsletter won’t have a separate cover. You could include images that represent the church, such as a photograph or drawing of the building or a reproduction of the symbol of your church’s denomination.
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Keep similar news items together to help readers follow the information. You could devote specific sections to, for example, a letter from the minister, recent and upcoming events or people to pray for. If possible, keep these sections in the same place for each newsletter so readers know where to find the information.
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Use a font size of at least 10 to make text easier to read. Serif fonts – those with lines extending from the top and bottom of each letter – are easier for readers than non-Serif fonts.
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Include some photographs if you can as these will help hold readers’ interest. For example, you could include a photograph taken at a recent church event alongside a report of what happened. Most people enjoy seeing their image in print, but if you’re including photographs of people, make sure you have their permission to use the images. However, avoid the temptation to use a lot of clip art illustrations unless they have a precise relevance to the text. These can be distracting for the reader.
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Ask for comments and suggestions from readers to help improve future issues. Members of the congregation might like to see particular features included, or offer to contribute material about a church activity they’re involved with for the next issue.
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References
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