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Please stop talking about the weather in the announcements at your church. Seriously.

The reason some church leaders end up talking about the weather is that they are looking for a common point of connection with people in the congregation. If we keep using this verbal crutch, we will train people to tune out. Like any form of communication, the open and close are super important … thinking through how we “take off” and “land” our announcement time is key! To help you avoid this common mistake in announcements, we’ve provided a bunch of ways to connect with your congregation:

• Positive Happenings in Town // Asking people if they noticed something great that happened in your community can be a way to connect with them.
  • “Did you see that they finally finished working on the 101 this weekend? Who’s excited not to sit at that light anymore? (clap) Today I want to talk about a few on-ramps to community right here at our church…”
• Pop Culture Moments // Moments when something in music, media or the arts seems to grab the attention of the broader culture are ideal opportunities to connect with your congregation.
  • “May the force be with you! I know there are two types of people attending our church this morning … those people who saw Star Wars this week … and those people who are lying about not seeing it! Right? Although I don’t think Yoda will be teaching this upcoming class, I know there is a bunch of great wisdom for life…”
• Global Events // This is similar to stuff happening in your town but on a global scale. Be careful not to get political as you kick off your announcements!
  • “Was I the only one who caught the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympics this week? So amazing. Next Sunday our students are taking over the service … I don’t know if any of them will come in costumes like that but we can only hope!”
• Tragedy Prayer // From time to time, something happens that grabs headlines and hearts, which could be a legitimate way to connect with your congregation. Ensure that you are discreet and not attempting to leverage other people’s pain to make a flippant transition in your service. Slow down and connect with people pastorally.
  • “I know many of us feel sad because of the events that took place this week in Paris. In fact, I can say that I felt shaken for much of this week by the bombing in that community. Our hope is that you leave having found hope in Jesus for today’s world. We’re going to take some time to pray for our missionary partners in France today but first I want to share this email from them about the situation on the ground… “
• Calendar Connections // There are predictable times throughout the year when marketers and communicators have people thinking about the same thing … leverage these times to steer people toward where you are headed.
  • “Happy Father’s Day! My dad was an amazing influence on my life. Who else is with me? His sayings from when I was a kid still stick with me today. Stuff like ‘measure twice and cut once’ … I live by so much of his wisdom. It reminds me of the applicable and wise stuff that Dave Ramsey rolls out in his Financial Peace University … this summer we’re hosting a class from him that I’d like you to hear more about … “
• “It’s Fun to Be Us!” Moments // Churches have a pattern and flow to them. Taking time to remind people about what the church has done can be a great way to bring them along and focus on the future.
  • “Hey everybody, who remembers our Easter Egg Hunt from this year? (show pictures) That was an amazing day together! We had 1,000 first-time guests join us … I was so thankful for the hundreds of volunteers that made this a great day! Our next outreach is coming up in three weeks. I don’t want you to miss the opportunity for a frontline view of what God is going to do through this… “

Notice that we didn’t talk about sports or politics in any of those examples? They are two other verbal crutches to avoid because they actually divide your congregation rather than unite it. Often, people assume others share their political convictions and sports interests; however, most people don’t. Stop talking about “your teams” (athletic or political) from onstage at your church.

Other resources to help you with your announcements:

• 6 Tips for Making Your Announcements More Visual
• 8 Reasons People Aren’t Listening to Your Announcements
• Steven Murphy on Effective Video Announcements
• 6 Reasons to (Occasionally) Skip Church Announcements

Looking for more help with your announcements? This FREE 3-part video series is for you.

Are you looking to improve the hosting of your weekend services?

Have you already tried improving this area but aren’t sure what to do next?

Are you ready to take the next steps to increase engagement in your announcements and ultimately your church? I’m releasing a FREE three-part video series designed to help your church with better weekend hosting. The lessons in this series come from my practical experience of hosting hundreds of services in multiple contexts and coaching many other leaders in this area. The three videos are:

• Video #1: 5 Reasons People Aren’t Listening to Your Hosting. Your first video will clearly define for you why people aren’t paying attention to the announcements in your services.
• Video #2: The One Best Practice to Ensure Higher Engagement with Your Announcements. In this video, you will understand what the single most important practice thriving churches change about their announcements to improve engagement.
• Video #3: 3 Church Hosting Myths Debunked. Finally, you will dive into three misunderstood myths about hosting announcements that move people to action.

[Click here to learn more and enroll for FREE today.]

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