Developing an Outreach Newsletter for Your Neighboring Community

I. Introduction

What is an outreach newsletter?

An outreach newsletter is a newsletter for people who aren't looking for a church -- at least, not yet. Sent out by a congregation like yours two to four times a year, an outreach newsletter provides unchurched people with helpful, upbeat articles that offer guidance and support for daily life. It also includes a short, invitational message from the pastor, basic information about your congregation, and perhaps information about activities and programs of interest to unchurched people in the community.

Its purposes are:

• to provide a service to unchurched people;
• to begin a relationship between your congregation and community members; and
• to provide a regular, non-threatening invitation to visit your congregation.

What an outreach newsletter is not!

An outreach newsletter is not like the newsletter your congregation sends to members. While that newsletter focuses on the activities of the congregation and its members, an outreach newsletter's focus is on people outside the congregation. Every article in an outreach newsletter is written with unchurched people in mind. Rather than the activities and needs of the church, its articles relate to the needs and desires of individuals and families without church homes.

An outreach newsletter is not a magical evangelism tool that will fill your congregation's pews every Sunday. While it does provide an invitation, its main purposes are to assist and support unchurched people in their daily lives and to establish a relationship between your congregation and the surrounding community. People in the community will begin to know you by what they read in your outreach newsletter.

II. Planning the newsletter

Step One: Know your purpose

Before deciding to publish an outreach newsletter, it's helpful for your committee or task force to look carefully at your purpose. What is it that you're hoping to accomplish?

The task of community outreach falls into three kinds of activities, according to Gary M. Wollersheim in his resource, Preparing Lay Callers for Community Outreach. These activities are:

• Preparing the soil: increasing the congregation's visibility within the community and preparing congregation members to receive visitors;
• Planting the seed: making initial calls on community members;
• Nurturing the sprout: following up with regular contact in order to deepen relationships and trust, provide information, and make appropraite invitations.

An outreach newsletter falls into the catagory of preparing the soil. It builds awareness of your congregation among members of your community. To be truly effective, however, it should be part of an overall plan for community outreach that combines all of the activities listed above. For help, refer to Making Christ Known: A Guide to Evangelism for Congregations (see resource list).

Step Two: Know your audience

To help your task force plan the contents of your newsletter, it will be helpful to know something about the people who'll be receiving it. It's time for a little research.

Get copies of demographic information about your community, available through the ELCA's home page on the World Wide Web or by calling the ELCA's Department for Research and Evaluation (see resource list).

Either source can provide a statistical report on the makeup of your community related to population, family size, race, age, education, occupation, marital status, and type and value of housing units.

Step Three: Decide on a publishing schedule

There are four key times of year when unchurched people are most open to responding to an invitation to visit a church: Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day and back-to-school time. Your newsletter team may want to plan its publication schedule around these key seasons.

Other key times might be prior to congregational events that tend to attract visitors, such as Vacation Bible School, special choir concerts, fellowship or youth activities.

Remember the old adage that quality is better than quantity. Start with a goal of producing two newsletters per year.

Step Four: Decide what material to include

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind as you think about content for your newsletter:

Items should be practical and useful. Articles that tell people how to do something, give them tips and insights into issues that concern them, or provide resources to help them with daily tasks are those readers will read and appreciate most.

Items should support and encourage readers in their daily lives. By focusing on readers rather than the congregation, you'll produce a newsletter that speaks to unchurched people and communicates that you care about them.

Items should accent the positive. Include fun items like recipes, activity ideas and humor. This will leave readers with a good feeling, increasing the likelihood that they'll want to read your next issue.

Include items with a spiritual focus. Each issue should include one or two items relating to faith. Be careful to distinguish faith from the church. Readers may not be ready to visit your church, but they may be ready to let God into their lives.

Keep congregational information to a minimum. No more than 25 percent of each issue should be about your congregation. Include your location and worship times, and perhaps information about one event or program of interest to unchurched people.

For article ideas, start with the knowledge and skills of your own congregation members. Develop a list of topic ideas based on members' vocations and interests. Here are a few examples:

• Teacher: how to encourage good study habits, number games to play at home, encouraging children to read for pleasure;
• Auto mechanic: checklist for car care, typical car problems and how to detect them;
• Older members: how to be a supportive grandparent, how to cope with loss, finding zest in life after 50.

A staff person from a nearby Lutheran social ministry organization might address topics such as how to improve communication in the family, dealing with the empty nest syndrome, or keeping marriages strong and healthy.

Lutheran outdoor ministries personnel could address topics such as games that emphasize cooperation and problem solving, creative outdoor activities, or ten alternatives to television.

Lutheran colleges, universities and seminaries may also be good sources for articles. A chaplain or dean of students could write about how to be a long-distance parent or how to support your college student's faith.

Other sources for articles and other material include local business people, restaurant owners, bookstore or video store managers.

You may also want to scan magazines, newspapers and books for material. Be sure to get copyright permission before using items from any of these sources.

Each issue of your newsletter should have an article written by your pastor. The pastor's column should have a spiritual focus and should relate to readers' daily lives. It is also an opportunity to extend a gentle but direct invitation to visit your congregation.

• Possible topics for this column include why and how to pray, how to teach an important value to children, the benefits of attending church, how to choose a church, or what the Bible says about a topic of interest such as respecting your parents, coping with death and loss, or how to find peace in a chaotic world.

Be sure to include basic information about your congregation, such as the congregation's address, phone number, web-page site and worship times, along with a simple map. List also a phone number where a live voice will answer at times when the church office is closed and the answering machine is on for messages. Other key information may include Sunday school and Bible study times and information about special or seasonal events of interest to newcomers.

Because most visitors like to be noticed but don't want to stand out, you may wish to provide some idea of what they should expect when they visit. Will it be clear which door they should enter? Is dress formal or casual? Are there classes for adults as well as children during the education hour? Are children welcome in worship? Is child care available?

Before making article assignments, it will be important to know how much space your writers will have. This is the time to look at a format for your newsletter.

III. Creating the newsletter

Your first decision in designing the newsletter involves its format: size, type of paper, how the newsletter will fold, and how the words will be oriented on the paper.

• Tabloid style: A tabloid style newsletter is like a newspaper, with large pages, usually 11-by-17 inches, printed on newsprint.
• 11-by-17 booklet style: This format is created by laying two 8 1/2-by-11 inch pages next to each other on an 11-by-17 inch piece of paper, then folding the paper down the middle.
• 8 1/2-by-14 booklet style: This format is similar to 11-by-17 booklet style. Two 8 1/2-by-7 pages are laid next to each other on an 8 1/2-by-14 piece of paper, and folded down the middle.
• 8 1/2-by-11 booklet style: While suitable for bulletins, this format's small pages make it difficult to scan for information. It is also difficult to create readable columns on its small pages.
• 8 1/2-by-14 letter style: This style leaves room for plenty of material plus graphics and white space, and is easy to scan. Be sure to use columns.
• 8 1/2 by 11 letter style: Just like 8 1/2-by-14 letter style, only smaller. Make pages large enough to create readable columns and include graphics and white space.

Keep in mind these elements of good design when laying out your newsletter:

• Column width: three- to four-inch columns make for easy reading.
• Typography: Choose a simple font in 10- or 11-point size. Use bold and italic type sparingly, and avoid all caps entirely, as these styles are difficult to read.
• Justification: Left justified type is the easiest to read.
• Balance, focus: Create a central focus on each page. Size and place elements so that readers know where to begin.
• White space: Readers' eyes need places to rest. Leave ample margins -- the larger the page, the larger the margins. The same rule applies to space between columns.
• Graphics: Select graphics that are simple and clear, and that match the content and personality of your newsletter.
• Boxes: Sidebars and other short articles may be set off in boxes. Limit boxes to one per page.
• Bullets: Bullets guide readers through an article. Encouraging writers to use lists and bullets will result in articles that are more useful and easy to read.

More information on newsletter layout and design may be found in How Shall They Hear? (see resource list).

The first thing readers see when they look at your newsletter is the banner: the title of the newsletter. The title you choose and the way you present it visually will give readers a strong first impression of your newsletter.

Choose a title that is invitational and upbeat, but don't shy away from your Christian identity. Look for words that communicate the Gospel in simple images such as those Jesus used: Good News, seed, fishing, harvesting grain.

Some possible newsletter titles include: The Good Word, Good News for [your town], Good News You Can Use, Good Seed, Seeds of Hope, Seeds of New Life, The Big Net.

Try playing off your congregation's name if it will communicate to outsiders. A congregation called Hope Lutheran might use "Hope for [your town]" or "Hope for Today." Holy Cross or Cross of Christ might use "Crosswords" or "Crosstown News."

Also appropriate would be a title communicating a link to your audience or community, such as "Family Times," "Around the Neighborhood," "[Your Town] Messenger."

If you choose to include a graphic as part of your banner, select something that is bold, simple and invitational. The title itself may suggest a graphic element. Your congregation's logo is another possibility.

Your congregation's name also should appear somewhere in your banner -- usually much smaller than the title -- to let readers know from where the newsletter is coming.

Step Six: Write and edit the newsletter

Ask writers, including the pastor, to follow these two simple guidelines:

1. Make it accessible

Leave out theological and churchy terms, jargon and any word that only church members would understand (such as, narthex, vestibule or intinction).

2. Use a friendly, conversational tone. Think about how you'd talk to a new neighbor.

Be sure to take time to edit and proofread your newsletter. Involve four people, each assigned a specific task: one to watch for "insider" language, another to read for spelling and grammar, a third to make sure all the articles make sense, and a visually oriented person to look over the layout.

IV. Printing, Distribution, Evaluation

Step Seven: Print the Newsletter

Now you're ready to create a final copy of the newsletter! If you've used desktop publishing, be sure to print your final copy on a laser printer or inkjet printer. If your congregation doesn't have one, talk to a local printing company about printing it for you from a diskette. The cleaner and crisper the original, the cleaner your printed copies will be.

If your congregation's photocopier or mimeograph machine doesn't make clear copies, you may want to consider having the newsletter printed at a commercial printing company. The cost per copy may be comparable or even cheaper than what you can do in-house, and the finished product will be crisp and professional looking.

Step Eight: Distribute the Newsletter

If your congregation is targeting a well-defined area without too many households, you may wish to consider having members hand deliver your newsletter.

The most important benefit of hand delivery is personal contact. Unchurched people who receive a newsletter this way immediately have a personal connection with your congregation.

This method also gets members involved in evangelism. Delivering newsletters is a non-threatening way for members to reach out.

If you choose to mail your newsletter, there are several perfectly legal ways to obtain the names and addresses of people who live around your church:

1. Direct mail companies

You can find direct mail companies in the yellow pages of your telephone book under "Mailing Lists" or "Mailing Services." These companies will give you the names and addresses of people in a particular zip code for a cost of $40 to $50 per 1,000 names.

They can select recipients according to a certain profile, such as household makeup (families with children, singles).

2. Realtors/title companies

Realtors and title companies can provide names and addresses of people around your church. While this information is free, it may not be as accurate as the lists available from mailing services.

3. Other sources

Your city or town may have a Welcome Wagon or other newcomer organization that will provide names and addresses of new members of the community. The local Chamber of Commerce also may provide newcomer information.

To aid in keeping your mailing list up to date, include an "address correction requested" notice below your congregation's return address. You'll pay the cost of a first class postage for each address correction you receive.

Step Nine: Evaluate

Measuring the results of your newsletter may be difficult. Its purpose is to build awareness, and awareness is hard to measure.

Try asking visitors and new members how they first heard about your congregation. This question could be added to new member information forms, or asked when the pastor or lay visitors make follow-up calls.

You may get additional informal feedback once your newsletter becomes recognized in the community. Members may get comments from their neighbors; community members may mention the newsletter to your pastor.

Consider asking one or two new members to evaluate each issue of the newsletter. Ask for general comments along with a short checklist of items you want to receive particular attention, such as graphics, usefulness of content, writing free of "insider" language. 

V. Resources:

1. How Shall They Hear? A Handbook for Religion Communicators, is a complete guide to congregational communication, including sections on direct mail, desktop publishing, layout and design, art and graphics. To order, call Augsburg Fortress Publishers at 800/328-4648. code 34-611007-3420, $12.95.

2. The NEWSLETTER Newsletter is a monthly resource that includes reproducible clip art, relevant content material, informative articles on newsletter writing, design and production, easy-to-do art tips and more. It is geared to in-house church newsletters, but has lots of material that would be usable for outreach newsletters as well. To order, send $39.95 (12 issues) to Communication Resources, 4150 Belden Village St. 4th Fl., Canton, OH 44799-6115; 800/992-2144.

3. Demographic information is available through:

a) the ELCA's home page (http://WWW.ELCA.ORG); you'll need to know your congregation's zip code, its five-digit identification number, and the number and letter that identify your synod. Synod and congregation identification numbers may be found in the ELCA Yearbook or by calling your synod office or the ELCA Resource Information Service (800/638-3522).

b) the ELCA Department for Research and Evaluation (800/638-3522, ext. 2990).

4. Preparing Lay Callers for Community Outreach by Gary Wollersheim is a 32-page book that addresses issues of "preparing the soil," preparing the congregation and community for outreach. This preparation is as important before sending an outreach newsletter as before making outreach calls. Available (code 15-9101) for $6.25 plus postage and handling from Augsburg Fortress at 800/328-4648.

5. Making Christ Known: A Guide to Evangelism For Congregations, is a 64-page guide focused on comprehensive congregational evangelism. To order, call 800/328-4648, code 23-2334.

6. Marketing for Congregations: Choosing to Serve People More Effectively by Norman Shawchuck et al, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1992.

7. Direct Mail Ministry: Evangelism, Stewardship, Caregiving Walter Mueller, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1989.

8. Marketing the Church, George Barna, Nav Press, Colorado Springs, 1989.

9. Church Marketing: Breaking Ground for the Harvest, George Barna, Regal Books, Ventura, California, 1992.

10. Promotion Strategies for the Local Church, Wayne Kiser, Broadman Press, Nashville, 1992.

11. "Good News from Nazareth: The newsletter with legs" is an article from Voices of Congregational Life (Autumn 1996) about how one congregation produces an outreach newsletter. To order a single copy call: 800/638-3522, ext. 2597.

12. Two congregations that have produced outreach newsletters are Cross of Hope Lutheran Church, Box 756, Ramsey, MN 55303, and Nazareth Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 68, Chatfield, OH 44825. To receive a copy of either newsletter, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope.



Writer: Marcia Erickson Bates, Editor: Marta Poling-Goldenne, Designer: Augsburg Fortress Publishers/Chicago
Copyright ©1997 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 8765 W. Higgins Road, Chicago, IL 60631. (800) 638-3522. Produced by the Education and Evangelism team of the Division for Congregational Ministries. Permission is granted for congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to reproduce this resource for local use.