What every church needs for good communications


I know you're in the thick of sacraments so I'll keep this short:

Whenever I'm working on communications for parishes, there is one thing I always ask for and very few churches have:

Photos.

Particularly, photos of people looking happy doing things at your church.

As much as we love (and do want to showcase!) beautiful church architecture and prayer spaces, I'd wager that 95% of people aren't going to your church because of how it looks.

It's because of how you make them feel.

And one of the best ways to show them how your church will make them feel?

Photos of your people.

Group photos. Action shots. Photos of people attending Mass and praying. Parish events. Families hanging out together.

Most importantly, we want pictures of smiling, happy, prayerful people who look welcoming. Ideally, the type of people you want to see more of at your church (i.e. if you want more young families, show photos of young families being welcome at your church).

Because we want prospective parishioners to look at the picture and think, "Oh, I'd fit in there" or "Oh, I want to be a part of that."

With sacrament season and end of year gatherings season right on its heels, you are going to have tons of opportunities to get these kinds of shots.

So take the pictures.*

Your future communications self will thank you.

For His greater glory,

Emily

*Obviously, always ask permission, especially if there will be children pictured. Your diocese likely has a photo release form you can use if you don't have one already for your parish.


Multi-Parish Pastoring

If you've been around long enough, you know that I love Catholic Leadership Institute's Quintessentials series. Their latest just came out and it's well worth the read if you are part of a multi-parish cluster/combined parish situation.

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