If you aren’t familiar with this, the whole budgeting system for it needs to change as it typically involves ongoing yearly costs. Some useful programs that are sold this way include the entire Adobe line of Products including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, the Microsoft products including Word, Publisher, and PowerPoint and specialized [graphics] communication programs like Canva, PicMonkey, and Snappa. Check here for a video review and comparison of these three products click the following link.
Though these monthly subscriptions can add up, one area that has come down in price, from very expensive to zero is the number of FREE image sources.
What if your communication staff themselves aren’t sure what would help them the most? If they aren’t sure or want to check out other opinions, below is a list of Facebook church communication groups, with the end title of the group describing which area of ministry they specialize in. Encourage your church communicators to join and ask.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallchurchcomm/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/WordPressForChurches/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VisualChurchMedia/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/churchcommstrategies/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/churchcomm/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ilovekidmin/
In addition to the hardware and software, don’t forget time and training
No matter what you budget for hardware and software, don’t forget that no matter how “intuitive” a new system is advertised to be, it is rarely as intuitive and easy to use for the church staff member as it is for the person who created it.
ALSO: FIVE WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR CHURCH ON A TINY BUDGET
Please give the staff person time (meaning closed door, no one can bother them) TIME to learn the new systems and software. Lynda.com remains one of the best resources for overall how to use software programs and Churchcomtraining.com is a resource for training specifically for church communicators and church communication strategy.
Church communicators will always “make it do and do without” but they can do much more for your church and gospel outreach if they have the tools they need to do their work. Your prayerful and careful budget process can make that happen.
