Reach out. Connect. Grow.

For most churches, these three goals are the cornerstones to creating a vibrant community of faith that provides members with a deep spiritual connection. The challenge for many is finding new and effective ways to achieve them. One tool that can provide significant value, but is often overlooked, is a professional pictorial church directory.

Church directories have long been used as a way to put "names with faces" and document families of the congregation. Although directories are still important for those purposes, opportunities now exist to enhance the value of these publications and make them work harder on behalf of your ministry.

Blending tradition with technology, the new generation of directories provides a compelling way to communicate and bring to life the mission and good works of your church. Secure online directories are the perfect example of how conventional directories can be taken to the next level. An effective directory goes beyond traditional photography and building exteriors, and instead focuses on capturing memories, instilling pride, and inspiring your family of faith. The result is a renewed emotional connection between the members, your ministry, and the greater community. 

Bring Your Story to Life
Today's church directories can be designed to tell the story of the church by customizing every aspect of the publication from the photos to the layout to the design. A personalized look and feel creates a one-of-a-kind publication that reflects the spirit of the congregation and the vision of the ministry. This enhances the sense of community with members and provides powerful way to share your story with others, including inactive and prospective members.

In addition to charting growth, directories are also an important tool for documenting the roots, traditions, and history of the church. Whether a church is centuries old or newly established, it is critical to preserve the evolution of the congregation for future generations with regularly recorded milestones.

Photographs of the members of your congregation are the centerpiece for any church directory, so it is important to partner with a company that understands the importance of capturing the personality of your family members. Portraiture should tell a family's story visually, giving other members a glimpse into who they really are. The trend in directory photos is to capture the subject's personality rather than the traditional head and shoulders shot. This can be done in a number of ways, such as through digital enhancements, like borders and backgrounds, or by including pets or props that have special meaning. This attention to the individual adds to a great experience for the church member.

Scheduling the photography session is a great opportunity for the church to reach out to inactive members. Volunteers get the chance to speak one on one with members who have not been at church in awhile, learn why they have fallen away, and help bring them back into the fold. Contacting each member often results in increased participation and a more complete directory.

When creating their directory, many churches find that it is effective to select a theme that carries throughout the publication. Following that theme, many choose to open the directory with a short, inspirational message from the leader of the church that sets forth the church's mission. This approach unifies the directory and helps convey a clear, consistent message.

Activity pages that use action-oriented photography are another powerful way to showcase the good works of the church and the vibrancy of the church community – especially to prospective members. Active photography lifts these programs off of the pages to highlight how the activities make participants feel and remind members of the personal rewards of being involved. A visual record of the collective opportunities and services available is a great way to demonstrate the church's commitment to the congregation. It provides an ongoing reminder of the many roles the church plays in each member's life.

To bring it all together, many churches want to incorporate electronic design and layout options into the directory, but they may be lacking the expertise to do so. New technology is now available to make it easier than ever to personalize your directory with user-friendly design tools and templates. With a number of color choices and page layout options, these tools allow your church directory to truly reflect the unique character of your congregation.

It is important to update your church directory frequently so that the information stays current and the book can be used as it is intended. This becomes particularly important in the case of a young or rapidly growing parish. Families, as well as pastoral staff, can change quickly, leaving the congregation with an outdated directory.

Connecting Through Technology
A new way that many churches are leveraging their directory is by making it available to members online. This has quickly become a popular option, because it provides a new level of interactivity and more opportunities to reach out to the congregation. With minimal effort and no financial investment required, online directories offer a beneficial new tool for the entire family of faith.

The customizable online directory can be linked to the church's Web site or serve as a stand-alone site. The best online directories also provide a high level of security by providing individual passwords to each family of the congregation. A number of user features are available, such as targeted searching, broadcast or targeted e-mails, desktop printing, bulletin boards, event calendars, and online surveys. The searching tools are especially helpful, as they allow members to search for others with similar interests, providing a new way for members to communicate and connect with one another.

Another key benefit of an online directory is that it can easily be updated on an as-needed basis. Individual members can access their profiles and update their information at any time, which is particularly important to young families who are changing. New members of the church can join the online directory immediately and no longer need to wait to be included with the rest of the congregation. Directory companies also offer opportunities to update or add member photos in between versions of the printed directories.

Choosing a Partner
For many, the decision to move forward with a new church directory can seem like a daunting task that requires significant time and resources to complete. While the church's participation is certainly critical to the success of the directory, partnering with a directory company can alleviate many of these concerns and keep the process moving along smoothly.

Directory companies bring all the necessary tools and resources to the process, from the professional photographers to helping set up appointments, and they can help you every step of the way.

When it comes to selecting the right partner for creating your church directory, there are a number of things to consider. Following are some of the most critical things to look for:

* Program at no cost to the church
* Complimentary directory and portrait for every family photographed
* Extra directories to use in outreach to new members and the community
* Compelling family photography to capture memories for a lifetime
* Trained professional photographers who are employees of the company
* In-house print production of the directories and portraits, to ensure consistency and a quick turnaround
* Free, secure online directory that can be easily accessed and updated
* Free promotional tools to encourage participation, such as posters, bulletin inserts, letters, pulpit and newsletter announcements, reminder cards, sign-up displays, online sign-up tools, DVDs and presentations
* References from other churches

With all of these elements in place, churches have an exciting opportunity to get so much more out of the traditional directory. The use of compelling visuals and photography to share the church's vision and story brings the church to life in new ways and evokes a feeling of spiritual connection. The lasting impact of this makes the new generation of church directories a wonderful and effective tool for communicating the church's mission and achieving its goals.

Karen Walters is a field liaison for Lifetouch Church Directories and Portraits, www.lifetouch.com.