Norm L., Author at Church Letters Blog

Church Letter Writing Tip 7

October 8, 2018August 15, 2017 by Norm L.

Each Church Letter Writing Tip builds off an acrostic based on the words “Church Letters”. At the bottom of each tip is a free sample church letter which may be used within your own church communications. This letter may not be posted on any competitive website.

Church Letter Writing Tip 7

Our seventh lesson in “13 Tips For Church Letter Writing Success” will build off the letter “L” in our Church Letters acrostic. (This begins the second word of “letters”)

So far, we have looked at the following: C – Be Clear H – Be Hopeful U – Be Understanding R – Be Responsive C – Be Consistent H – Be Helpful

Today, we will take a look at:

L – Be “Letter-Ready”

Have a good supply of letters available to send at a moments notice. Most letters can be used again with some modification, and while we would like to think we can sit down at every situation and write a “brand new” letter because we believe it will be more personal, the fact is, most church leaders don’t do this.

There is the “ideal” (crafting a new letter from scratch every time), then there is “reality” (modifying letters we have already used, or available through services like https://churchletters.org).

For example, one Sunday we were having a service of recognition for graduates and realized in our rush to prepare other things had forgotten to prepare letters of congratulations. Not to panic. We went to Ministry Letters and modified one of the letters there, and printed out 6 letters, personalized and ready for delivery during the service all within the time span of about 10 minutes. This was being “Letter-Ready”.

The idea for this point though, is to realize that there will be times in ministry that are not anticipated, and while people would “understand” if you don’t have the “time”, the benefits of having a letter or card ready to send will truly enhance your ministry communication efforts.

Church Letter Writing Tip 8

October 8, 2018August 15, 2017 by Norm L.

Church Letter Writing Tip 8

Our eighth lesson in “13 Tips For Church Letter Writing Success” will build off the letter “E” in our Church Letters acrostic.

So far, we have looked at the following:
C – Be Clear
H – Be Hopeful
U – Be Understanding
R – Be Responsive
C – Be Consistent
H – Be Helpful

L – Be “Letter-Ready”

Today, we will take a look at:

E – Be Evangelistic

In communicating to people, always be looking for ways to provide the message of the Gospel of Christ in a relevant and meaningful way.

Jesus often told stories to illustrate a truth, so don’t hesitate to do the same within the context of a letter to further share the greatness of God’s love available to them.

Perhaps you will want to include a tract that deals specifically with the situation they are involved in at the moment. Allow the Holy Spirit to direct you to open doors, then be sure and step through when those doors swing wide.

Of course, the greatest evangelistic tool we can use is the Word of God, and with the ease of using Bible software to find the most appropriate scripture, there really should be no excuse for not placing a scripture passage of encouragement in a letter. His Word accomplishes MUCH more than our words!

Evangelism should be at the heart of all of our communication, and writing letters should be no different.

Church Letter Writing Tip 9

October 8, 2018August 15, 2017 by Norm L.

Church Letter Writing Tip 9

Our ninth lesson in “13 Tips For Church Letter Writing Success” will build off the letter “T” in our Church Letters acrostic.

So far, we have looked at the following: C – Be Clear H – Be Hopeful U – Be Understanding R – Be Responsive C – Be Consistent H – Be Helpful

L – Be “Letter-Ready” E – Be Evangelistic

Today, we will take a look at:

T – Be Tactful

While it is important to know the need, it is even more important to respond to the need in a way the person will feel you are being truthful and sympathetic with concern for their feelings. Even in the case of discipline (when a face to face meeting may be more appropriate), the person will sense that you are loving them.

Love and a desire to restore and provide hope should be at the basis of all we do, and when it is tactfulness will be developed as a result of that love. Proverbs 25:11 “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”

There is a world of difference between being “tacky” versus being “tactful”! Tactfulness shares the truth in love, yet the person on the receiving end will “hear” your love whether they are written or spoken.

Having tactfulness does not always mean that everything will go smoothly either, but at least we are at least doing our best to share the love of God in word and deed.

Church Letter Writing Tip 10

October 8, 2018August 15, 2017 by Norm L.

Church Letter Writing Tip 10

Our tenth lesson in “13 Tips For Church Letter Writing Success” will again build off the letter “T” in our Church Letters acrostic.

So far, we have looked at the following:

C – Be Clear

H – Be Hopeful

U – Be Understanding

R – Be Responsive

C – Be Consistent

H – Be Helpful

L – Be “Letter-Ready”

E – Be Evangelistic

T – Be Tactful

Today, we will take a look at:

T – Be Timely

This is similar to a previous point on being “Letter-Ready”.

Being timely is knowing when to send a letter or e-mail and then sending it off with a prayer for God’s anointing and blessing to be upon the reader as they open it.

In the “Send Out Cards” system, the founder of the system Kody Bateman encourages people to send cards when they are “prompted” within themselves to do this. Well, as Christians, we know that this “prompting” is often the Holy Spirit speaking to us to reach out and minister in some way.

This could be through the sending of a letter, or card, or performing a “random act of kindness” to bless someone in need. Some great ideas for this can be found at www.servantevangelism.com.

If you say you are going to send the person a note, or follow up with a phone call, or show up at a certain time, then be a keeper of your word. James 5:13 – “Above all, my brothers, do not swear–not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.”

While ministry leaders are busy, and rightly so, there can be nothing so discouraging for a person to sit and wait for an expected phone call that was promised in service on Sunday!

None of us will ever have the perfect memory, yet we don’t want to develop a character trait of forgetfulness that in turn will be seen as a non-caring attitude.

Use reminder tools such as Outlook, or PDA’s, or just an old fashioned notebook! (Just don’t forget to check your notebook!)

Church Letter Writing Tip 11

October 8, 2018August 15, 2017 by Norm L.

Church Letter Writing Tip 11

Our eleventh lesson in “13 Tips For Church Letter Writing Success” will build off the letter “E” in our Church Letters acrostic.

So far, we have looked at the following:
C – Be Clear
H – Be Hopeful
U – Be Understanding
R – Be Responsive
C – Be Consistent
H – Be Helpful

L – Be “Letter-Ready”
E – Be Evangelistic
T – Be Tactful
T – Be Timely

Today, we will take a look at:

E – Be Energetic

If you are conveying an important message, whether in spoken or written form, it is important to be as energetic about it as possible without being “fake”.

How does this happen? Asking God to communicate the importance of the opportunity to you, then sharing in a way that will make the person feel like you are not just “doing your job”.

Eccles. 9:10a – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” If what you are doing with your hand is typing or writing, or even make a great point in a sermon, be energetic in your approach.

Use an exclamation point or two in your letter! This one little character adds “character”, and helps you to illustrate in a greater way the message you are attempting to deliver.

Even the “quote” “unquote” can be used to great effectiveness, yet this can be also be overused to the point where someone wonders if you really “mean” what you are “saying”. I “hope” you “get” the “point”!

Anyway, don’t hesitate to add your own personal flair and energy to a letter whether it is a pre-written letter, or one you have written from scratch.

Church Letter Writing Tip 12

October 8, 2018August 15, 2017 by Norm L.

Church Letter Writing Tip 12

Our twelfth lesson in “13 Tips For Church Letter Writing Success” will build off the letter “R” in our Church Letters
acrostic.

So far, we have looked at the following:
C – Be Clear
H – Be Hopeful
U – Be Understanding
R – Be Responsive
C – Be Consistent
H – Be Helpful

L – Be “Letter-Ready”
E – Be Evangelistic
T – Be Tactful
T – Be Timely
E – Be Energetic

Today, we will take a look at:

R – Be Right

People do not want to be viewed as just “people”, they want to be seen and known as “individuals” and certainly do not want to feel like a number when they are part of a church body.

This is a great challenge for every leader, and that is to

communicate on a personal level with those in your congregation.

A most unpleasant scenario would be to write a letter to “John” when the man’s name is actually “Steve”, or most likely you have received letters such as: Dear (First Name).

While most churches now utilize Mail Merge operations today and most people know it, there is still something about receiving a letter like this that makes it highly offensive especially within the church body.

Personally, I’ve made this mistake in writing these e-mails, and while I recognize that most of the hundreds of people receiving e-mails realize these are not written one by one, it still is something that shouldn’t happen! So if it has happened to you, thanks for your forgiveness.

One thing that I need to point out here is when you are using the resources of churchletters.net or churchcards.net to be sure to change some of the information that appears in each letter. For instance, your church name may, or may not be, “First Christian Church” as you see in all the letters. This is our “generic” church name, so be SURE to edit that when sending letters. Also, not many of you are named Pastor John Doe, so again, be SURE to edit the letters you send for accuracy instead of just copying and pasting.

Church Letter Writing Tip 13

October 8, 2018August 15, 2017 by Norm L.

Church Letter Writing Tip 13

Our thirteenth and final lesson in “13 Tips For Church Letter Writing Success” will build off the letter “S” in our Church
Letters acrostic.

So far, we have looked at the following:
C – Be Clear
H – Be Hopeful
U – Be Understanding
R – Be Responsive
C – Be Consistent
H – Be Helpful

L – Be “Letter-Ready”
E – Be Evangelistic
T – Be Tactful
T – Be Timely
E – Be Energetic
R – Be Right

Today, we will take a look at:

S – Be Scriptural

In writing Church Letters it is always of great benefit to share a particular passage of scripture that may be applicable to their situation at the time. In a very difficult circumstance, you can share that “God works all things together for good…”, or “weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning”.

Simply be aware of the situation, and mindful of any scriptures that will provide hope or healing, and encouragement.

Take a few moments to listen for the prompting of the Holy Spirit as you determine what scripture to place in the letter. As Ministry leaders, we must STILL believe God speaks to our hearts today as we assist others in the journey to heaven.