• FEATURE: Creative print media grabs attention for missions at The First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, CA (see below).
• TOOL PACKAGE: Gather new ideas from this collection of sample brochures.
• GREAT IDEAS: These creative suggestions will inspire fresh ways of using print media to communicate missions.

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CAPTURING THEIR IMAGINATION

Jenni Key, director of communications at The First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, CA, shares how they intentionally use every means to present missions to all age groups.

One of the highest compliments I've ever received came from a friend who said, "You put faces on the missionaries for me." What an honor—and what a great goal—to serve our local church by putting faces not only on the missionaries but also on those yet unreached, for whom Christ died.

How do we do that? We tell their stories, we show pictures, we give specific prayer requests, we encourage giving. We keep these people and the stories of God at work in front of the rest of the congregation in every possible way.

Featuring a Year-Long Theme
We are big believers in themes at our church. Each year, our Missions Month has a theme around which all our print material revolves. We design a logo or graphic treatment so there will be a sense of recognition and consistency in every piece, whether it's the cover of the worship folder, a prayer card, a listing of missionaries, or a dessert invitation.

We construct theme banners which line the worship center walkway, and our missions newsletters and printed pieces feature that theme all year long. This year it is "Christ in You, the Hope of Glory," and our bi-monthly missions newspaper will reflect that theme until Missions Month next February when a new theme is unveiled.

Surprise Locations
While our missions newspaper (WorldView) is a great vehicle for missions-related stories, people expect them there. What is not so expected is a letter from a missionary or a story about a missionary's trip to Iraq appearing in our general church newsletter, so we try to do a lot of that. People might not expect to see something related to missions on the back cover of the weekly worship folder, so we grab that space periodically.

Our missions program has its own website—not such a luxury in these days of everyone having one (www.fefcmissions.com). We try not to lose an opportunity to send people there, because then they linger, wander around, learn more about what our people are doing, and get involved. So notices in print media about missionary desserts, or a play by Wycliffe’s dinner theater, or the report from our high-school Thailand team, all will include our website address and a note that additional information is available there.

By All Means
As we approach a missions event, we want to be sure to exhaust every chance for promotion: with the entire congregation on a Sunday morning, in the church newsletter, in our WorldView newspaper, as announcements in adult fellowships, and through projects for our children. Kids often receive their own prayer cards or informational flyers (with the same theme and graphic treatment) because they are our best ambassadors to their parents!

The added bonus is that we have captured the children's imagination and encouraged them to think of a missionary career—picturing themselves flying the jungle plane our church is helping to buy, or digging a well somewhere across the globe, or translating Scripture in a hut. As they hear and read about these missionaries, short-term teams, and projects, they are becoming World Christians.

So "think theme." Be creative. Trust the Lord to provide those with specific skills like graphic design or the ability to write a great missionary story. And employ every promotional avenue available. Putting faces on missionaries—and those Christ came to save—is a challenge worth meeting.

Jenni can be reached at jenni.key@evfreefullerton.com.

SAMPLE MISSIONS PROMOTIONAL BROCHURES

This month's tool package features samples of attractive, informative brochures introducing churches' missions programs and challenging readers to get involved. Download one or all of these pieces at www.dualreach.org/missions/resources/mc-t6-5.shtml and use them as a springboard to create your own global outreach literature.

COMMUNICATE MISSIONS VISION

Great Ideas offers a collection of practical suggestions to consider as you use print media to share with your congregation the excitement of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Jump start some fresh approaches by downloading these ideas at www.dualreach.org/missions/bm~doc/GI-6-5.pdf.