One of the topics that frequents our staff meeting is how best to communicate something to the church. We throw out a lot of ideas and most of them are bad.  

Maybe we should announce more on Sunday morning. (As long as we still get to lunch on time.) Maybe we should send out a weekly mailing. (Have you seen the price of postage?) Maybe we should start a TikTok channel. (Is anyone on staff under 20?)

Bad ideas aside, one of the tools that has served us well over the years is our online Newsletter. It provides a place to collect information and announce events. And the more we use the Newsletter, the more we see opportunities for improvement.  

With that in mind, there are some of the changes coming to our Newsletter.  

The purpose of the newsletter is twofold. First, it provides information about services, programs, and events. This is where we update people on what’s happening and provide opportunities to connect. Second, it provides personal communication for the church community. These are things like birthday lists, important life events, special thanks, and prayer lists.  

In today’s digital landscape, these two purposes can be at odds with each other. The first is something we want to spread as wide as possible to engage as many people as possible. The second is something we want to keep intimate, to provide a protected space for personal information.  

To accomplish that, we’re splitting our newsletter into two parts.  

The first, our regular THFBC Newsletter, is moving to a monthly basis. It will contain information on upcoming events, thoughts from our staff, highlights from our Ministry Teams, a place to submit prayer requests, and a link to our calendar. That’s the Newsletter you are currently reading. Look for it around the first of the month. The monthly newsletter will also be available on our website.  

The second, our Weekly Update, will continue to arrive every Wednesday. It typically contains event details, schedule changes, stewardship information, prayer requests, upcoming birthdays, and personal messages for the church family. Look for it every Wednesday.  

One thing to note, if you would like to share a personal message or thanks or encouragement with the congregation, please submit it to the office by Monday. We need time to review and incorporate these into the Weekly Update.  

We’re hopeful this change will focus the information we provide and better meet your interests and needs.