(Some Guy is back with another guest post! I loved his Christmas one and think you’ll dig this one just as much. Point 1 was my favorite part. Enjoy!)
Improving your church directory – by Some Guy.
I don’t know how you folks at large churches keep track of each other, but we here at small churches like to use the church directory. The church directory is used more often than the phone book at our house. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I used the actual yellow pages, which are still dropped near our mailbox a few times a year. I try to make sure they stay stacked neatly next to the mailbox, but the raccoons like to knock them over.
I have noticed changes of the church directory throughout the years. It started out with just names, addresses, and phone numbers. The next one added email addresses. The current one was a big deal because it added photographs of each family. And they were in color!
But we haven’t updated our church directory in a few years. Those photos are due to be updated because it’s getting hard to recognize some of the kids. And there are some new families who aren’t in the directory. Before anyone starts updating the church directory, you need to consider how you could improve it. Every church directory has to be better than the one before. You can’t just add the new people to the same old directory format.
I don’t know if my church will actually use these, but here are some new features to improve the next church directory:
1. Back-of-the-head photos
The pictorial directory is nice, but it really helps just the pastor since he’s the only one who sees people’s faces during church. Everyone else sees the backs of heads. So the new church directory should have pictures of the fronts and backs of heads.
2. Seating chart
The other problem is that people sit in the same spots every week, so the back-of-the-head photo works only for the people in front of them. The church directory should be updated so that it lists their information, gives the front and back photos, and shows where they sit in the sanctuary (“left side, 4th pew from the front, near center aisle” or, if your church is fancy, “section B3, seat 12”)
3. Paperless Option
All my bills and statements are going paperless, why not the church directory? If only there were an internet service that let you store your information and let you link with other people in the church and then you could see their information, in perhaps a social networky kind of way…
Yeah, someone should create that. I’m thinking that might get pretty popular. We could call it some catchy name (I’m still working on that – all the obvious names are taken). And we’d have to make up some trendy term for the process of linking with fellow church-goers…maybe we’d “membership” them.
(I know “membership” isn’t really a trendy term right now, but we could make it trendy. Then once it caught on, we could make a movie, maybe a church-ville game, who knows?)
I’m sure there are a bunch of ways to improve the church directory. Any other suggestions? Or what does your church do if it doesn’t publish a directory?
(For more great stuff from Some Guy, make sure you check out his blog www.someblogsite.com)
