Offering such features as targeted searching, broadcast or targeted e-mails or faxes, desktop printing, bulletin boards, event calendars, online surveys and forms builder, the online directory uses technology to connect the church and its members.” “Linked to the church’s Web site or stand-alone, the online directory is fully customizable and password-protected for security. “Churches are embracing technology,” Holland said. With online directories, churches can immediately and inexpensively contact church members with prayer requests or event announcements. As a protective security measure, these directories are password-protected, so only church members might be able to access the information. ![]() “This results in an artistic presentation that truly reflects the church’s vision and mission,” Holland added.Īnother trend industry experts are seeing more of is online directories, which can be immediately updated with address changes and the like. Church members, who really understand the heart of the church, can use creative graphic skills to design a unique, one-of-a-kind directory that particularly fits a certain church. With the right software, churches can design and prepare the directory on their own computers. “As churches make more widespread use of computers, the directory service must be compatible with these needs,” Brobbel said. Technological advances over the past few years have radically changed the face of traditional church directories. “Members celebrate and commemorate their place in their church home in a pictorial directory.” Members feel a sense of pride, a sense of belonging, a sense of community when they are a part of the directory,” Holland said. “A directory can solidify members to the church. ![]() In a very real sense, directories also are important in helping members of a congregation feel connected to the church. “The goal is to uncover the reason why the church member fell away from the church and help the pastoral staff bring the member back into the family of faith,” Holland said. Written by a pastor and his wife, the program teaches volunteers how to listen with empathy and concern to what those who have become inactive have to say. In fact, Lifetouch offers churches a reactivation program to use in conjunction with putting together the church directory. The directory can help these leaders get to know others in the congregation.Ĭompiling a directory offers churches a unique opportunity to get back in touch with church members who have become inactive. That is especially true for new staff members or those whose work is concentrated in one area-music or the children’s department, for example. “They also are a handy tool for church leaders.” “In growing churches, overprint (extra directories) can be used to help new members assimilate,” he said. “Through the pages of the directory, the visitor can see themselves as a member of the church,” she added.Īccording to Wilf Brobbel, divisional vice president of Church Family Albums, a division of PCA International, many churches decide to print more directories than are immediately needed, for both prospective members and new church members. By telling the story of the church and outlining its values, mission and vision, prospective members can see what the church has to offer. Not only does it serve to record historical information and capture this moment in time, the directory can be used to reach out to the community, to reactivate inactive members and to grow the church.”Īn effective directory can become a professional marketing piece to prospective members, Holland said. “The directory is part of the marketing mix for the church. “Churches are embracing the pictorial directory as a communications, reactivation and outreach tool,” said Lynda Holland, product manager with Lifetouch Church Directories and Portraits. Directories also help chronicle a church’s history and record the ministries and activities taking place within its walls and through its outreach in the community.īut, according to industry experts, a directory has many purposes beyond the obvious. Most growing churches know they need a membership directory to help everyone in the congregation put names and faces together. ![]() This article originally appeared in the April 2005 issue.
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