Hey, it’s Brady,

Here’s a real announcement from a church in Michigan. I've highlighted in red the parts of the promo that are just info & logistics.

"Baptism Sunday is coming up on Sunday, July 19th. If you'd like to be baptized that day, there are two easy ways to sign up. You can stop by the Next Steps area in the lobby and one of our team members will walk you through the process. Make sure you're signed up by Wednesday, July 15th so we can get you a t-shirt and have everything ready to go."

That's right. 100% info & logistics. No inspiration. Zero mentions of why baptism matters. Let's fix this.

But how?

One of this church's values is 'Take Steps.' So let's weave that value into the invitation we're making.

Let’s take a look at my announcement rewrite.

This time, I've highlighted in gold the parts of the announcement anchored to the church's value of 'Take Steps.'

"Baptism Sunday is coming up July 19th. Faith is not one giant dramatic leap. Faith is a series of committed steps. A first Sunday, joining a group, serving for the first time. Each one matters. And baptism is one of those steps. For a lot of people in our church, it's one of the most meaningful next steps they'll take this year - the public, outward declaration that they're following Jesus."

This is the difference between INFORMATION and INSPIRATION.

Communications isn't a department in church. It's what every ministry runs on.

The language you use becomes the culture you build.

The average church service crams in 7 announcements and points people to 8.7 different destinations, and the more we say, the less they hear.

Today, we'll install Building Block #2: a six-part policy that decides what your church says from stage, where every promo points, and how to move people from awareness to action.

Get our policy here.

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