A Church Voice

Issue #14: Welcomes & Games

June 10, 2001 - Trinity Sunday

http://www.AChurchVoice.com/
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From Barbara’s Keyboard

The fireflies have arrived, but the kids will have to stay up really late to see them. Hmmm. Well, at least *I* get to see them! I'll have to figure out how to show my sons this early-summer twilight magic.

Remember, if there is a particular issue of A Church Voice that you wish you had, you can now get a copy by email autoresponder. To get Issue #1, send an email to acv1@sendfree.com. For Issue #2, acv2@sendfree.com. And so on. To decide which issues you'd like, take a look at the archive list below.

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I had fun putting together ideas for games & puzzles for church Web sites, and I ended up with a bit more than I intended. I've also been thinking about welcomes, newcomers, and how we say things; you'll see that in the feature article and what I chose for the newsletter tip. Enjoy!

blessings,
Barbara Laufersweiler
cveditor@laufers.com

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C O N T E N T S

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Churches that do not have a rapidly changing membership can fall into habits that are not welcoming to visitors and new members. In fact, any church can become exclusive in how its activities are presented, and not be aware of it.

In your congregation, do people habitually make a distinction between newcomers and those who have been in the parish for a while? If so, you might consider whether this distinction is always necessary. It's rather nice for a new person or family to be welcomed and included as a regular part of the parish as much as possible from the very first visit, rather than hearing that new people don't know every bit of how "things work around here."

The attitude and assumptions behind the words in a newsletter article can be welcoming or off-putting. An example is a phrase often found in church newsletters: "For those of you who are new, our church bazaar is held in the fellowship hall..." Another phrase that's often based on the same assumptions: "If you weren't here last time, ..."

Perhaps not just people new to the church but everyone could use the reminder of where, when, why, or how an activity occurs. Instead of spending a few words to draw a line between new and everyone else, drop that introductory phrase -- "For those of you who are new" -- and simply tell everyone about the event. Report and promote to all who are interested.

The act of including someone while trying to explain and help them get their bearings is very welcoming. Often the simple awareness of wording that separates the readers into groups will help a writer or editor see how to rephrase and open up an explanation to everyone reading it. Take a look at the content of your church newsletter. Perhaps there's something that really ought to be rewritten to include new and not-so-new alike. A quiet sort of welcoming.

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Games are an excellent idea for a kids, youth, or Christian education area of a Web site. Maybe for everyone! I want to add this to my church's Web site, turning to the Web for free customizable games that we can adapt to Christian "stuff."

In addition to Web-based games that are played online at the church Web site or elsewhere, a Web site could offer links to game and puzzle creation sites, or link to appropriate games that are available for download -- to be played offline.

+ Online play +

Jigzone is a fun jigsaw puzzle site; upload pictures and graphics to make your own puzzles to be played online at your site. http://www.jigzone.com/

Use Javascript games -- to be played online -- on your Web site. Some are customizable in various ways. Here are a few Javascript sites to get you started.
http://www.javascripts.com/
http://www.infohiway.com/javascript/indexf.htm

+ Online creation +

DiscoverSchool.com offers an online Puzzlemaker so you can create and print customized puzzles. Use your own word lists to make word search, crossword and math puzzles, or build your own maze. http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/

+ Offline play +

PassTheShareware lists software games. Christian Concentration, Know Your Bible 2001, and Bible Memorize and Bible Word Search are on this page: http://www.passtheshareware.com/c-g_educational.htm

Galt Technology has a directory of links to all sorts of downloadable games. Word games, puzzles, and much, much more. http://www.galttech.com/puzzle.shtml

+ More resources +

A recent issue of Web Evangelism Bulletin had this link to lots of game sources: http://kinderstart.com/artsandentertainment/onlinegames/index.html

WEB has a bunch of good ideas here: http://www.gospelcom.net/guide/web-evangelism1.html#games

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A d s

Looking for a way to connect with your teens? Let Parents & Teens help you! Parents & Teens is a twice-monthly newsletter geared for parents of teenagers. Visit our website to subscribe: http://www.parentsandteens.com/

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http://www.christians-in-business.com

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"Your Church Newsletter: Ideas for evangelism," a great article from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Communications Ministries, offers tips such as the following, more concisely than I can ever manage!

+ Include persons on the mailing list who attend other events at the church -- preschool, youth group, aerobics, etc.

+ Lift up people, ministries -- celebrate! Be more than an announcement sheet. Share what good things have happened, along with promoting upcoming events.

+ Avoid church jargon. Explain age groups, purpose of group, ability level needed to participate, etc. If you use acronyms, explain them. List a contact person with phone number.

Read the whole article at http://www.disciples.org/offcomm/newevang.htm

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Wow! A wonderfully comprehensive review of template-based church Web site providers was just released as a special issue of the excellent Web Evangelism Bulletin.

The full review is available by autoresponder by sending a blank email to: web-evangelism-get.35@lists.gospelcom.net

It will be available online shortly at http://www.web-evangelism.com/church.html

If you're thinking about this option, get this report! Tony Whittaker gives his considered view of the pros and cons, both of template-based church sites in general and of each provider he found. Excellent.

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Christian Computer Art offers some great free samples of their clip art and Web art.

CrossDaily provides access to their small, well-organized clip art collection after you sign up for membership -- free.

The ChurchArtPro (CD or disk) and ChurchArtOnline subscription services are always highly rated as clip art sources.

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A bit about my design business:

Turn your vision into reality & put your Web site to work! Creative, effective Web design for your church or small business. Barbara Laufersweiler Web Design
http://www.laufers.com/idesign/
design@laufers.com

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Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity:
    Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

[The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, ECUSA]

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If you find this information of value, please pass the newsletter on in its entirety.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome! If you’d like to submit a tip, question, or Web site, send me an email at

cveditor@laufers.com

For more resources, visit

http://www.AChurchVoice.com/

See you in two weeks!

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Copyright © 2001-2002 Barbara Laufersweiler.
All rights reserved.

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