What? No Church Newsletter?
by Jorge Acevedo, Pastor, Grace Church, Cape Coral, Florida

It was a simple decision, one that didn't take much time to make. As a staff, we looked at our monthly church newsletter and decided that the effort and the time did not warrant continuing its publication. Too much work for too little a return, we determined. So we quit doing it. And boy, did some folks get mad!!

It really caught me by surprise! Our church was exploding with growth. We had more people coming to worship than we had members. My logic was, "If you want to know what's happening at Grace Church, then come to worship, read the bulletin, and listen to the announcements. Or at least go to our web site and check it out." The greatest concern that people raised was for those elderly people in our church who could not come to church because of health issues. These are the people we often call our "shut-ins." How were they going to know about what was happening in their church?

Our shut-ins were getting good care. Our Stephen Ministers (laypeople training in care-giving ministries) were taking Communion and large-print Upper Room devotionals to these precious saints. Our PAWS ministry (Pets Are Working Saints) members and their pets were visiting our shut-ins monthly. After the issue of the shut-ins not getting the newsletter was raised, several of us put our heads together and decided to "up the ante" on our shut-in care in two ways. First, we would add to the weekly worship folder many of the announcements we would have had in the newsletter. This meant adding an insert, which would include thank-you notes, announcements of upcoming events, and so on. This let the entire worshiping congregation in on any information that people might want or need. Second, we decided to buy tape players for shut-ins who did not have them. The Stephen Ministers now deliver a month's worth of cassette tapes of the weekly message and the worship bulletin. Our shut-ins are getting better care than ever before!

It's been a year since we quit mailing a newsletter, and I haven't heard a single word of complaint or regret. In the end, everybody won!

Posted 12-6-01