The Communications Grid
At Brookside Church, the Communications Grid provides a useful starting point for understanding the relevance and potential engagement scope for each opportunity the church promotes. This grid consists of four quadrants that correspond to different levels of engagement and types of events based on the number of expected attendees and the types of ministries and events the church is promoting. This grid and included calculator are used as a guide, and all calculator results, dates, and promotions are not guaranteed and are only intended to aid with planning.
REMINDER TEXT MESSAGE | STAGE ANNOUNCEMENT | WEBSITE BANNER/POP-UP | PRINTED INVITE | INVITE TEXT MESSAGE | LOBBY TABLE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SOCIAL | WEEKLY VIDEO | WEEKLY GUIDE | WEEKLY EMAIL | REGISTRATION | |
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Reminder Text Message: This is an electronic notification sent to those relevant, nudging them about upcoming events or deadlines. It's our friendly way of making sure no one misses out.
Stage Announcement: Delivered in person by our pastors during services, this announcement reaches all attendees, creating a sense of unity and shared experience.
Website Banner/Pop-up: These are strategically placed digital reminders on our web pages. Pop-up on the homepage is used when the banner caters to another event. They're like gentle waves saying hello.
Printed Invite: Happening offline, these postcard-sized handouts carry forward the essence of Brookside Church - professional yet personal invites that connect us beyond digital. Ask for design here.
Invite Text Message: Used for broadcasting invitations to specific audiences for events or important deadlines. Like a personalized call to action, brought right to your fingertips.
Lobby Table: Our physical hub situated in the lobby - a go-to spot where queries meet answers and signups occur smoothly.
Social: We announce and interact on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Google My Business - catering not only to our existing members but also reaching out further into the community.
Weekly Video Announcement: A scripted video presentation that highlights imminent church activities or deadlines to keep everyone in sync with what’s unfolding at Brookside Church.
Weekly Guide - "The Weekly Guide": Your virtual guide book offering key information about registrations for events or other important timelines – bookmark it!
Weekly Email: An extension of The Weekly Guide delivered straight to your inbox ensuring access wherever you are.
Planning Center Registration: A pivotal tool for gathering participant details – Streamlining processes so we can focus more on creating profound experiences at every happening at Brookside Church.
Communication Values & Best Practices
Why Does Communication Matter?
If you use words, you communicate for Brookside Church. Emails, social media, conversations…they’re all opportunities for you to represent our church, our leaders, and ultimately, Christ. Let’s do it well! It’s worth our time and effort to communicate with excellence.
Good Communication Removes Roadblocks
Whether it’s getting people to take part in an event or just try Brookside Church for the very first time, communication can help you reach your goals. These values, best practices, and guidelines are here to help you remove obstacles that might get in the way of people taking their next steps toward Jesus.
Our Communication Values
Best Practices
A Matter of Style
When expert opinions don’t agree about usage, it’s called a style issue. In those cases, it’s up to an organization to determine what it will do—and stick to it. Please use the guidelines below in all Brookside Church communication.
Times
Dates
Numbers
Ages
Grades
Use numerals (5th grade, 6-12th grade students).
Hyphenate if you’re substituting for a noun (5th-graders).
Titles
Formatting
Capitalization
When to capitalize:
Bible: always (because it’s a proper noun)
biblical: never (because it’s an adjective)
Scripture: always (because it’s a proper noun)
scriptural: never (because it’s an adjective)
He, Him, His, You, Your when referring to God (unless you’re quoting Scripture and the translation you’re using doesn’t capitalize it)
God’s Word: always (when referring to the Bible or Scripture)
godly: never (because it’s an adjective)
Social Media Handles and Hashtags
Quoting Scripture in Print or Online
Do not abbreviate books of the Bible. (Do: Galatians. Don’t: Gal.)
When possible, Bible verses are always italicized.
Always include the version references, like NIV or KJV. (See YouVersion.com for version abbreviations.)
Use an ellipsis (…) if it is not a complete sentence. In the following example, note the space between the last letter and the ellipsis:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son … John 3:16 NIV
Brookside Church Style Preferences
When there’s no grammar rule, deciding the right word, punctuation, or phrase to use can be a challenge. We’ve helped you out by giving you some guidance for Brookside Church communication.
Welcome or WelcomedAttender or Attendee | Use attender |
Service, Experience, or Gathering | Generally, we use “service” externally, and internally, we use “gathering.” |
Worshipped or Worshiped | Use worshiped, worshiper, worship |
Welcome or Welcomed | Welcome as an adjective; welcomed as a verb |
local mission partner global mission partner | No “s” on mission; use lowercase unless in a header or title. |
Punctuation, Common Slip-Ups, and a Little Shot of Grammar
When there’s no grammar rule, deciding the right word, punctuation, or phrase to use can be a challenge. We’ve helped you out by giving you some guidance for Brookside Church communication
Punctuation
A Little Shot of Grammar
Fix fragments. (Fragment: Lessons like persevering when times are rough, standing up for what is right, and honoring God alone. Correct: Kids will learn lessons like persevering when times are rough, standing up for what is right, and honoring God alone.)
Make sure your subjects and verbs agree. When prepositions are involved, look at the word at the beginning of the prepositional phrase. (Do: Several formats of the file are available.)
Ending sentences with a preposition is okay, unless it is an unnecessary preposition. (Do: We have a lot to think about. Don’t: Where are they at? Do: Where are they?)
Use the right preposition. (Do: Information about. Don’t: Information on. Do: Questions about. Don’t: Questions around.)
Don’t worry. It’s fine to use contractions since we favor a casual writing style.
When two words are used together to modify another, hyphenate the words unless the first word ends with the letter y (age-appropriate, culturally relevant teaching).
Online Information, Email Addresses, and Phone Numbers
Phone numbers
Websites and Links
URLs
Our Websites:
Brookside Church Websites | Names (note proper capitalization and no abbreviation) |
www.brooskide.org online.brookside.org https://brksd.org https://brksd.church www.brookside.info www.brookside.life | Main Website Church Online Print/Screen Short Links Social Media Short Links The Weekly Guide App download page |
Social Media Policy
Our social media policy is intended to cover the responsibilities and guidelines for engaging in social media on behalf of Brookside Church. All social media accounts must be hosted by a Brookside email and adhere to these guidelines as a condition of their use.
General Guidelines
Media
Comments
Conclusion
Text in Church Policy
Brookside Church seeks to provide a safe and secure environment for communication between members and staff. To facilitate this, the church has established the following rules for text messages sent by members and staff.
General Guidelines
Design & Print Policy
Here at Brookside Church, we love to equip all our ministries with as many resources and tools as possible. Check out our Branding Page for all the help and tools. If you would like to be added to our Pro Canva account, let the Communications Director know by reaching out at hello@brookside .org If you would rather have our team design your graphic, fill out our Design Request form.
Design
Before designing anything for use at any Brookside Ministry event or gathering social media posts or video/screen graphics, please consult the Communications Grid or our Communications Director.
Printing
We offer free printing for your approved designs in three sizes in limited quantities.
We offer paid printing for your print designs in four sizes in any quantity based on your budget.
Once your design has been completed, could you submit it for approval by emailing it to hello@brookside. org before anything is printed.