GOOD SHEPHERD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES/ELDERS MANUAL
CommunicationsRevision Date: August 6, 2013
COMMUNICATIONS
E-NEWS
The church E-News is primarily for event announcements and is to be managed by staff. It is to promote events of our congregation and of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta. It is not to be used to promote events of other churches because we are often unable to have a complete knowledge of what we would be promoting. It is not to be used to give personal information or announcements, such as weddings, wedding anniversaries, or personal celebrations. However, funerals and birth announcements are acceptable. Every attempt should be made to keep the frequency to a reasonable level – usually one per week, although there are times when there will be more than one per week. All information that church members would like to include in the E-News should be sent to .
Deadline for submission of articles will be by noon each Monday.
BULLETIN and INSERTS
The purpose of the bulletin is to provide members and visitors the Order of Worship. Bulletins/inserts are compiled, designed, edited, proofed, and corrected by the church secretary, staff, and volunteers and are printed by Wednesday afternoon for the following Sunday.
The purpose of the bulletin insert is to provide members and visitors information about current happenings at our church, such as: a weekly schedule of meetings and events; prayer concerns; and advertisements of upcoming events.
The deadline for inclusion of information in the weekly insert is noon each Monday. All article submissions will be included for a maximum of three weeks. The church secretary will always make exceptions for critical care needs, a death, or a birth in our church family if the information is brought to her attention prior to the printing deadline on Wednesday.
Information/articles for the bulletin inserts can be sent to .
BROCHURES
The purpose of the brochures is to disseminate information about our ministries and special events both within our church and also our community. Some of the various venues include: special community events (Lilburn Days), church-wide events (Easter Egg hunt, Trunk- or- Treat), a display in the narthex, a display in the CE building, pews, and visitors’ bags.
A member of the Communications Team will be responsible for maintaining the displays in the narthex and CE Building, keeping the displays stocked and up-to-date.
Periodically, and/or as needed, the Communications Team will work with ministry teams to update brochures. The graphic designer will be responsible for making any necessary changes and updates on the brochure templates, will put a water-marked revision date on changed templates, and will send these changed templates to the church secretary.
The church secretary will store templates on the shared drive, in the session folder. Templates can be accessed by clicking on the Communications Team folder, then the “Brochures Template” subfolder.
Requests for printing brochures can be directed to the church secretary at .
WEBSITE
The church’s website is primarily an outreach for those in our community who may be searching for a church home. Some of the information to reach that audience includes: A general description of each of our ministries (not time-sensitive); a brief calendar and advertisements of upcoming events (time-sensitive and will change frequently); pictures and biographies of staff.
Additionally, the website offers information for members, such as: a calendar of all events and meetings being held at the church; on-line member information (forms, policy and procedures, etc.)
The website is managed by a webmaster, a graphics coordinator, and the church secretary. Any information that is to be considered for posting can be sent to .
The church secretary is responsible for contacting the webmaster each week with current events to be posted.
SIGNAGE
Signage includes: the church’s road signs and any banners or yard signs on Killian Hill; property directional signs, both inside and outside the buildings.
The purpose of the road signs, banners and yard signs is to inform passers-by of current or soon-to- be happenings at our church. The purpose of directional signage is to help direct members and visitors to the desired location.
- Road Sign—procedure for posting: Anyone wishing to have an announcement posted on the road sign must fill out a Church Sign Request form. These requests can be found in the mailroom, inside a folder in a mailbox labeled Killian Hill Sign. Once the request is completed, it should be returned to the folder/mailbox for review by the Sign Poster. If approved, the Sign Poster puts up the posting, generally by Monday. The posting has a 10 to 14 day limit. The sermon topic goes on the sign unless another request takes priority. Sometimes one message may be on one side (special event) and the sermon on the other side. The Sign Poster is to check with the pastor if priority or appropriateness of request is needed. Responsibility of Sign Poster: Check the request folder weekly and make postings. A calendar of Sermon Topics as well as the requests is in the folder. The individual letters are located in a slotted box in the church office.
The Sign Poster will pull letters needed to complete the posting and clean and return the letters to the proper slot when taking down a posting.
A sample of the Church Road Sign request form can be found in the appendix of this manual.
- Banners—these are for highlighting and advertising special events (VBS, Christmas Eve Service) Ministry teams must submit a request for a banner to the Communications Team at . If the requested dates for displaying the banner fall within the Gwinnett County guidelines, the graphic designer will work with that team on a design.
The Communications Team shall be responsible for submitting therequired application to Gwinnett County for a special sign use permit. The Communications team shall be responsible for paying all fees associated with the banner (permits andcost of making banner, etc.) These county regulations must be adhered to when displaying a banner:
- Sign cannot be displayed for more than 21 consecutive days
- One banner displayed at any given time, not to exceed a height of 4 feet and 16 square feet.
- One banner is permitted to be displayed once every three months only, not to exceed four per year.
(Go to for temporary sign permit application/directions.)
- Property directional signs: outside—Placement and content are the responsibility of the Communications Team.
- Property directional signs: inside---Identifying/naming of rooms, etc. This is the responsibility of the Communications Team.
- Yard signs/Burma Shave Signs – These do not require approval by the county, but they do need approval by the Communications Team. Submit your design/request to . The fees incurred for these signs are the responsibility of the Communications Team.
ADVERTISING/PUBLICITY The purpose of advertising and publicity is mainly an outreach to inform the community about happenings at our church. Some of the venues for advertising include the Lilburn News and the AJC. Submit requests to . (Examples: Easter events, Trunk-or-Treat, Preschool registration, etc.)
Internal advertising (Bible Studies, Women’s luncheons, Christmas events) Often posted on walls and in bathroom stalls. The monthly calendars that are displayed around the church are produced and posted by the church secretary.
BULLETIN BOARDS
The purpose of the Traditional Bulletin Boards and the Digital Bulletin Boards is to communicate to members and visitors, in a very visually appealing way, event announcements, prayers concerns, etc.
- Traditional Bulletin Board--The Communications Team is to be responsible for removing outdated information on a regular basis. Use of a bulletin board can be requested by a group (such as Military Support), and depending on availability, may be approved by the Communications Team. Otherwise, the Communications Team will be responsible for designing the board(s) on a particular topic.
- Digital Bulletin Boards—The church secretary is responsible for posting announcements and photographs and keeping information current. Requests for inclusion of information (text and photographs) can be sent to the church secretary at .
INCLEMENT WEATHER
When weather conditions exist that may call for the cancellation of Sunday service or other church-wide events, the pastor, in consultation with Building and Property, will take the lead in assessing the conditions. In the pastor’s absence, the moderator of Building and Property will lead the assessment. Other teams may be consulted as appropriate.
Regarding Sunday service, a decision should be made on Saturday evening, or early Sunday morning, depending on the circumstances. The Communications Team will handle the communications which includes the following:
- E-News sent out by the church secretary through Constant Contact, if possible
- Recorded message on main church phone number, if possible
- Message on GSPC web page
- Notification to TV station(s) *
*Requires prior registration (see Appendix for 11Alive)
Regarding week day activities, the Gwinnett County school closure policies will be the guideline. For example, if Gwinnett schools are closed then we will not have Wednesday night supper.
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