Media Outreach

In my lifetime, I have been a member of 6 different churches.  Growing up, I attended a bible church that had about 250 people. When I hit high school, my family moved to an 800 members Baptist church with a thriving youth program. In college, I attended the largest church in Nacogdoches, TX (look it up, Axe ‘em Jacks!) that ran 1200. Upon returning to Austin, I joined a 4000 member church, and then decided to help some church planting friends at their church. I now attend a church that runs in the 80-100 mark.

What does all this bloviating have to do with anything? Well, one thing I remember is the bulletin. Sometimes, when I am struck with a particularly profound thought during a service, I scribble it on a part of my bulletin. I’m not the kind of guy to write in my bible. It just doesn’t feel right to me, but I keep scraps of bulletins from the churches I attended stuffed through the pages of my bible. I recently pulled a visitor card from my brother’s church I visited in May of 2005, immediately after I graduated from college, where the youth pastor preached about the Chronicles of Narnia (A Boy and His Horse). It was one of my favorite messages, but I digress…

With the internet and church websites being much more user friendly, content management systems making sites easier to update, blogs and twitter feeds making information instantly accessible, what is the role of the church bulletin? Does it need to exist? I’ve heard a number of churches recently doing away with their bulletins all together. Event information is on the projection screens, check the website, follow us on Twitter…. We don’t need a tri-fold weekly printed overview passed out weekly… Or do we? Is the bulletin dead?

Photo By: Viernest