From the Zebra Bag   Musings from a follower of Jesus, husband , father and pastor

The challenge of communication has been much on my mind lately. I realize these observations are specific to New Life Christian Fellowship, however I suspect that for every church, the principles are much the same. Recently I heard a couple of comments that really got me thinking. (Both are anecdotal and serve as illustrations not accusations!!) The first went something like this “ Why did I not know about …” the second “ why didn’t —— know about this?” Certainly, as the staff of your church it is our job to make sure that events and programs are publicized as well as possible and in a timely fashion. True as it is that personal invitations are often by far the most effective way of encouraging someone to come to something, I do not think it is reasonable to expect the staff and/or leaders to personally invite everyone individually to events.

As I thought about it this morning, I realized that if we are to make real progress the people to whom we communicate must take some responsibility. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard “Oh I don’t read the bulletin” when reminded that details of an event was published there. I feel sure that the same would be said at times of websites, facebook pages, text messages or any other communication methods used.

So if you come across either, an event you did not know about, or someone who did not hear about something, would you be so kind as to ask yourself;

• Did I read the bulletin?
• Have I visited the website/ face book page recently to check for upcoming events?
• Did I arrive at church early enough to read the announcements projected on the wall before the service starts?
• Have I shared upcoming events with anyone who I think might be interested?

We are well aware that we can improve the ways we share information and please rest assured that we will continue to try and do better. Any suggestions you can make of things that will help will be greatly appreciated. But can I ask that if you want to know about upcoming events, you help us by using the tools we have and please make it your task to encourage those you know to join you in participating in an activity…. Or am I being unreasonable?