Style and Writing Tips

1. Remember Your Audience. This may vary from channel to channel, but the focus of your content should remain toward the issues and challenges leaders face. Assume your audience has attained a fundamental level of spiritual maturity appropriate for church leadership, and address readers respectfully as such. For example, if you’re writing for small group leaders, offer solutions as if you were a small group leader yourself.
2. Write an Engaging Lead. A compelling start will connect with readers immediately and maintain the connection throughout the story. It’s worth the extra time to craft a gripping first sentence and a concise but intriguing headline.
3. Use Active Verbs. Whenever possible, avoid using the passive voice.
4. Show, Don’t Tell. You’ve probably heard this mantra many times before, but it remains appropriate. It’s always better to advance your story by using specific examples, supporting your most important points with quotes, illustrations, and brief, well-worded stories to keep the reader engaged. Avoid long monologues or rants.
5. Make Your Point or Points Clearly and Concisely. A compelling article will typically present a problem followed by a bold solution (or solutions). Keep it simple, and don’t forget the main idea.
6. Edit Your Work. Make sure to give your story three to four proofreads for spelling errors, misused words, and punctuation. A few minutes of review can make a big impact when it comes to editing and increases the likelihood it will be posted on churchleaders.com. Proofreading is always time well spent—and helps people respond well to your message. churchleaders.com reserves the right to edit your work for considerations of space, audience, common usage, and consistency. We will inform you if substantive changes will be made.)

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