Hey, it’s Brady,

The average church delivers 7+ announcements every service.

The result? Announcements become someone reading information off a piece of paper.

And they get ignored (obviously).

Here’s what I’ve come learn…

Before you can write better announcements, you need fewer announcements to write.

Building Block #1 in my church communications rulebook solves this: Assign Levels to Every Ministry. Level 1, 2, 3, or 4.

Here’s each level defined…

LEVEL 1 - CHURCHWIDE

Events that affect 80% or more of your congregation. Plus bridge events designed to reach new people. Easter. Christmas. VBS. A major service time change.

LEVEL 2 - CORE NEXT STEPS

The critical opportunities every person ideally engages in at some point.

Volunteering. Giving. Baptism. Small groups. Your intro class. First-time visitor connection. Not one-time events. Ongoing rhythms. The backbone of discipleship.

LEVEL 3 - NEXT GENERATION

Kids. Youth. Young adults.

Why their own level? Research from the Fuller Institute’s Growing Young project found that churches who make young people feel at home grow across all generations - not just among young people.

Next gen is a multiplier.

LEVEL 4 - INDIVIDUAL MINISTRIES

Men’s. Women’s. Missions. Prayer. The Running Club Small Group. The Couples Date Night. The Food Bank Fundraiser.

These matter. But they can’t take precedent over the levels above them.

Priorities must exist. When you treat a Level 4 like a Level 1, chaos reigns.

In our promotions playbooks, only Levels 1, 2 and 3 get regular stage announcements. Making our weekly service goal of 3 announcements or fewer easily achievable.

Fewer announcements. Better announcements. Less chaos.

But what about Level 4 events!? Don’t worry. We have plans for them as well…

Levels are Building Block #1 in our church comms rulebook. There are 6 more.

The full system - all 7 building blocks - is on YouTube right now. Watch it here.

30% of practicing Christians say AI is as trustworthy as a pastor for spiritual advice - closer to 40% among younger generations. And many are already using it for prayer and spiritual growth. The big question is: What your church should do about it?

Get our suggestions here.

Thanks as always for your time, attention, and trust. Talk to you next Thursday. - Brady Shearer