Open and informative communication within an organization always increases participation and encourages involvement. Through church newsletters, a congregation has the opportunity to better incorporate themselves as more essential contributors to the church.

Regularly published email newsletters are an effective way for the clergy and other staff members to continuously contribute relevant information that helps keep the congregation and the greater religious community informed about the latest happenings in the church.

Here are 5 inspired topics to help improve your church newsletter.

1. News

Routinely include a news story that is directly related to the church or the surrounding community. Create posts in this theme that answer the five Ws: who, what, when, where and why. Reserve this section of the newsletter specifically for events that have either passed or that are coming up, and keep this section near the front as an introduction to your newsletter.

These types of posts will usually be dry and to the point but easy to write and consistently available. Use this topical information as preliminary reading to warm up to your readers.

2. Profile

Try to think of topics that would be of interest to the vast majority of congregants, including profiles of long lasting members, authors of books on faith or overlooked members of the church providing volunteer services.

This section can also be used to introduce new members of the congregation that have an interesting background they don’t mind sharing. Craft these articles with the intent of strengthening community ties and encouraging connections among the churchgoers.

3. Community

Reach out to the congregation and involve members of the church as much as possible. Ask them to participate by voicing their opinions on columns or perhaps contributing photos of their volunteer efforts abroad. The more members of your church are involved with the newsletter, the more the content will naturally cater to their interests and concerns.

4. Inspirational

This may be the most important section of the newsletter. Find members of the congregation that want to share their personal experiences with God and write about it to inspire others. Perhaps God put them through an obstacle; they witnessed a modern day miracle; or they simply have an inspirational story of courage and faith.

Members of the congregation will see this as the section of the newsletter that truly strengthens bonds within the church through a shared faith.

5. Scripture of the Month

Choose a scripture with a theme that parallels that of the sermons or Bible Study lessons of the month. Also, include scriptures that you have personally found encouraging and share your interpretation of its meaning.

There is no need to feel like a profound and enlightening statement is necessary. This is merely a way for the newsletter to encourage insightful conversation about the scripture outside of the church. Don’t forget to include the Book, Chapter and verse numbers.

Routinely incorporate these 5 topics into your church newsletter to increase participation and encourage involvement within your religious community.