IDEAS THAT WORK
Bulletin covers that aid worship
W. Karl Smith with Florence Johnson
April 1, 1986
BULLETIN COVERS THAT AID WORSHIP
"Many churches display their building on their worship folders," I heard another pastor comment in a course on church management, "but the church is so much more than a building."
His comment unearthed my buried dissatisfaction with most church bulletins: They don't lead people to worship.
My own church had been purchasing mass-produced bulletin covers that seldom pertained to either the particular Sunday's theme or the needs of the people. I began dreaming of relevant, worship-inspiring bulletin covers.
To the drawing board
Immediately the practical concerns hit. Even if I could dream up a new format for our worship folders, how would I get the idea produced?
"Talk to Ike Austin," a friend advised. "He's a print genius."
Over breakfast each week for the next three months, Ike—a photographer, artist, and designer—and I brainstormed ideas. We talked of depicting musical themes or reproducing religious drawings, but finally settled on using Scripture in a fresh way. We wanted to visually express the foundation of our convictions.
The first theme we tackled was God and what we wanted people to know about him. Our search for a key verse led us to Psalm 103:8, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness."
I compiled the various scriptural names for God and listed them in Anglicized form with their meanings. For example: Logos, the Word; Adonai, Lord.
Ike's design emphasized our key verse in bold print, with these names of God lightly screened and repeated in the background. This cover became the pattern for our subsequent work.
Up to full speed
On our second folder, we wanted to state something about the people at Oak Hill Church.
My former associate ...
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