The worship song ends in perfect silence. Hearts are open. God feels close. Then someone bounds on stage to ramble about the church bake-off, and the holy moment dies.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone in this frustration.
Adam Stadtmiller captures this exact scenario in his article about church announcements. This jarring transition from transcendent worship to mundane announcements happens in churches everywhere. One moment your congregation is lost in wonder. The next, they’re mentally checking out because of poorly planned, poorly delivered announcements.
The problem isn’t announcements themselves. The problem is how we treat them.
Announcements Are Actually Biblical
Here’s a perspective shift that might surprise you: the Bible is packed with announcements.
Prophets announced the coming Messiah. Angels announced Jesus’ birth. John the Baptist announced Christ’s ministry. The book of Revelation announces what’s coming. Even the rapture will start with an announcement from heaven.
These Biblical announcements share something important: they matter. They connect people to God’s purposes. They change lives.
Your church announcements should do the same thing.
The Real Problem With Church Announcements
Most church announcements fail because we don’t value them. We throw someone on stage unprepared. We treat announcement time as comic relief. We focus on details instead of purpose.
The result? We waste a powerful opportunity to connect people with life-changing ministry.
Think about it this way: every poorly done announcement means someone might miss the conference that could heal their marriage. Someone might skip the recovery group that could save their life. Someone might ignore the mission trip that could transform their faith.
Bad announcements don’t just interrupt worship flow. They block people from transformation.
Four Ways to Fix Your Announcements
The solution is straightforward. Treat announcements like you treat worship and teaching.
Get your best people doing them. While “announcements” isn’t a spiritual gift, you want your most talented, Spirit-led communicators handling this role. The person who stumbles through basic information won’t inspire anyone to act.
Prepare like it matters. Your announcer should know every detail by heart. No notes. No fumbling for information. When someone doesn’t know the basics, they’re telling the audience “I don’t care about this enough to learn about it, so why should you?”
Pray over every announcement. Not every ministry activity deserves stage time during worship. Focus on opportunities that advance your church’s mission and could impact the whole congregation. Save the small group announcements for the bulletin.
Share the why, not just the what. Don’t tell people the service project starts at 7:30 AM. Tell them how it changed someone’s life last year. Don’t list the conference sessions. Share the story of the marriage it saved. Put logistics in the bulletin. Put purpose on the stage.
The Announcement Opportunity
When done right, announcements become bridges. They connect people sitting in pews to God’s purposes for their lives. They move people from Sunday spectators to weekday servants.
This requires a mindset shift. Stop seeing announcements as necessary interruptions. Start seeing them as ministry opportunities.
Your worship team spends hours preparing songs that open hearts. Your pastor spends hours crafting sermons that challenge minds. Why wouldn’t you spend similar care preparing announcements that mobilize hands and feet?
Making Every Moment Count
Great announcements contribute to worship rather than detract from it. They maintain the spiritual momentum instead of killing it. They inspire action instead of inducing boredom.
The medium matters less than the message. Use videos, interviews, stories, or simple spoken words. What matters is that your announcements offer people life.
Your congregation comes to worship hungry for purpose. They want to know how God can use them. They’re looking for ways to make a difference.
Great announcements feed that hunger. Poor ones leave people starving.
The choice is yours.
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