Church Communications Pro | Church Marketing | Church Web Design » Sermon Series

Product Review: Mars Hill Church iPhone App

James Dalman — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:28:41 +0000

Mars Hill Church launched their iPhone / iPod touch app on August 11th, 2009 and I’ve been extremely impressed with their application which includes their blog, music from a variety of their bands, the ability to find one of their many locations, give online, and of course, their excellent sermon series. The reason I really dig it is that I no longer have to worry about downloading their podcasts into iTunes and then onto my iPod – I can get the latest right there from my phone. The only thing I’d like to see incorporated into the future is a Bible app but then I guess that’s what YouVersion from LifeChurch.tv is for, which is another great app for the iPhone! Check both of them out.

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Current LifeChurch.tv Series

James Dalman — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:16:32 +0000

Tonight we visited the LifeChurch.tv OKC Campus and had the privilege of seeing Christine Cain from Hillsong Church speak on the current series “Stop Acting Like a Christian: Be One.” Christine was amazing in her message and really laid out some great points. I couldn’t do any justice giving you the cliff notes so why not check it out at LifeChurch.tv? I don’t think they have the message uploaded yet, but you won’t regret waiting for it.

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Is Using Movie Clips in Sermon Messages Bad?

James Dalman — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:57:31 +0000

Church Marketing Sucks has an interesting article called Keeping Preaching Pure and it discusses John Piper’s stance on the use of movie clips or non-speaking materials in sermon messages. I have to say that Piper’s point is very interesting. Click on over to the post for the dialogue and throw in your two cents.

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Celebrate Freedom: Memorial Day Worship Slides

James Dalman — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:56:06 +0000

Memorial Day is just around the corner (May 26th) so why not get ahead of the game with worship presentation graphics? Becky Martin has released this new theme called Celebrate Freedom through Church Communications Pro and I am offering it for a special price of $20.00 for our CCP readers.

Here are the details:

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Celebrate Freedom | $20.00 for Church Communications Pro readers!

The following download includes:

Title slide with title
Title slide without title
3 Message point/Scripture slides with title
3 Message point/Scripture slides without title
Style sheet with suggested fonts and colors (note: fonts not included)

Each of the above is provided as a JPEG file in 16:9 Aspect Ratio.

PLUS for this series, the following items are also available:

4:3 Aspect Ratio slides
11”x8.5” image suitable for bulletin/program cover
6”x4” image or larger (with bleed) for postcard or invitation cards
Image for CD labels
Layered psd file

Please Note: This image is entirely vector, so any size file can be supplied (billboard, anyone?)
To purchase any of these additional items, please contact Becky at mail(at)cottagedesign(dot) com. Design and Copyright by Cottage Design 2008.

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Worship and Sermon Graphic: The Beauty of Mothers

James Dalman — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:45:20 +0000

This is the first of many worship graphics and sermon branding products coming to Church Communications Pro. This worship background series was designed by my great friend Becky Martin and is titled “The Beauty of Mothers” specifically for Mother’s Day on May 11th. The sermon slide details are listed below and keep an eye out for more series that will be coming soon!

THE BEAUTY OF MOTHERS | EXCLUSIVE CCP PRICE ONLY $20.00 USD:

This download includes the following:

Title slide with title
Title slide without title
3 Message point/Scripture slides with title
3 Message point/Scripture slides without title
Song slide
Style sheet with suggested fonts and colors (note: fonts not included)

Each of the above is provided as a JPEG file in 16:9 Aspect Ratio (1280×760).

For this worship graphic series, the following items also are available:

4:3 Aspect Ratio slides
5.5”x8.5” image suitable for bulletin/program cover
6”x4” image or larger (with bleed) for postcard or invitation cards
Image for CD labels
Layered psd file

To purchase any of these additional items, please contact Becky at mail(at)cottagedesign.com.
Design and Copyright by Cottage Design 2008

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Tony Morgan’s 10 Ways to Sink a Sermon Series

Cory Miller — Fri, 04 May 2007 19:16:10 +0000

Check out Tony Morgan’s article in Outreach Magazine on 10 Ways to Sink a Sermon Series.

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Batterson’s 5 Keys to Creativity and 7 Steps to Sermon Branding

Cory Miller — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:54:09 +0000

Theater Church’s Mark Batterson just posted 5 keys to creativity ..

1. Keep Learning
2. Exegete Culture
3. Brand Sermons
4. Disrupt Routines
5. Keep Experimenting

Read the full post here.

Also, here’s his 7 steps to sermon branding:

1, Come up with a series title
2. Create a series logo
3. Design a series evite and invite
4. Brainstorm Big Ideas
5. Shoot a Series Trailer
6. Design a microsite
7. Add Sermon Props

Read the full post on sermon branding here.

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Should You or Shouldn’t You? Church Sex Sermon Series

James Dalman — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 18:45:02 +0000

Last night I was watching CNN’s Copper Anderson 360 and the latest series on “What is a Christian: Sex and Salvation” In part of the segment it highlighted a church that did a spin on Granger Community Church’s My Lame Sex Life Series and how this delicate topic is raising a lot of controversy.

I wrote a post on Is Church Marketing Going Too Far a few months ago and know that a few other blogs have discussed it as well. It is also truly amazing as I research church branding that so many churches have jumped on the bandwagon lately to offer some type of sex-related series that is sure to cause a stir.

Is this endeavor truly good for the church?

Church leaders and staff are trying to find ways to increase attendance and get noticed. Church Communication Directors and their teams (or creative types serving in churches) are called upon to generate interest about their church through a variety of media and topics. Combine these two together and you can get some really creative and outstanding stuff! I think it is great to address issues that have been neglected or shunned by many churches and I also love churches who are innovative and break the mold.

However, I am concerned that some churches quest to be the latest buzz words of “relevant, missional and authentic” will cross the line between what is beneficial and what is not for the Gospel.

So should or shouldn’t your church use these sensitive or controversial themes for marketing?

My opinion is that if the purpose is strictly for increasing church attendance or to be the coolest church on the block – then I say absolutely not! My reasons are that they will have to always push the envelope to stay relevant and this can lead a church over the line. It can also bring up issues such as the “bait and switch” technique which non-Christians despise or the argument if attractional ministry methods really build disciples or bring consumers.

If a church is sincere about educating others about what the Bible says about a particular subject and is striving to use such topics for edifying the church, then this is a great reason to use these themes. But I do think that if you are talking about sex and it’s really a hot topic in your church community – you won’t need to throw it shamelessly on a billboard to promote it – people will be talking about it and spreading it by word of mouth anyways.

My advice is to really pray about the purpose of your marketing and communication efforts to see if it brings God glory or is just another gimmick to get people in the door.

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Easter Sermon Resources Based on The Nativity Story Movie

Cory Miller — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:05:15 +0000

I’ve posted previously about The Nativity Story movie, but if you’re looking for sermon ideas for Easter, you oughta check out the movie’s rockin’ resource site.

Check out the sermon outlines and their “year-round resource guide.”

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Chasing Lions and Sermon Series Branding 101

Cory Miller — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 16:42:40 +0000

National’s Mark Batterson is one of the best I’ve seen or heard of in the area of “sermon branding.”

Check out his Chasing the Lions themed site where he provides downloadable videos and graphics — all of which is based on his recent book.
See also: How to Brand your Next Sermon Series

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