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How to Harness the Power of a Parishioner Spotlight Article

Web Team • March 19, 2024

Recently, our team at LPi did a research project together. We examined a selection of hundreds of the different church bulletins that we print every week in order to learn about current trends in parish bulletin design and content. One piece of content that stood out to us as a super-engaging addition to a parish’s printed bulletin was a parishioner spotlight article.

In fact, last year we interviewed Daniela, the social media coordinator at St. Augustine Parish in Coral Gables, Florida for an article about parish social media success and she spoke with us about why they include parishioner spotlights in their church’s bulletin and social media content. She also explained why parishioner spotlight articles were so important to their community.

“We want to know who our parishioners are so we can create a stronger community. We have a lot of parishioners who attend Mass every Sunday, and we know who they are, where they sit, who their kids are, but we might not know their names. The Parishioner Spotlight posts bring a little more information about our lovely community members to the church as a whole. We sometimes like to highlight parishioners who are especially active in a certain ministry so that we can shine a light on that ministry as well.”

How to Craft a Parishioner Spotlight Article

Step 1: Determine Who to Interview.
Make a list of some of the people, couples, or families you’d like to include. Consider starting with some people who are ministry leaders at your parish, volunteers, people who have recently received a sacrament, or members who contribute something unique to your community. Feature a single member or an entire family in one article! If you aren’t sure who to feature, ask around at Mass to see who others might nominate for the spotlight.

Step 2: Build Your Questionnaire

Most churches seem to ask the same questions to each spotlight recipient. This way, readers know what to expect from the interviews. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box, though, and ask some follow up questions if your subject has a special interest or something particularly interesting to share!

Some examples of questions you might include are:

Where are you from originally?
How long have you been part of the parish community?
What are some of your hobbies/interests?
Do you serve with any specific ministries and why? How has your experience been?
What keeps you coming back to the parish?
What is one thing you would tell a visitor to the parish about the community?
What is your favorite type of prayer?
Is there a special Catholic tradition that you love?

Step 3: Create an Image

Make sure to get a nice, high-resolution image of the parishioner(s) that you’ll feature. Most smart phones are perfectly adequate to use for this task! You could photograph them with your pastor or photograph them while they are engaging in a church event or ministry.

Another option is to ask them to share a recent photo that they like with you. If you are interviewing a couple who recently got married at your parish, they might want to use an image of them at their wedding or if you are interviewing a family who recently baptized their child, you could use a photo from the baptism. The sky’s the limit!

You might consider taking an extra step and creating a template to use with each image like St. Augustine does:

They include a little design flare with each photograph to tie them all in together and include their parish logo, the words “Parishioner Spotlight,” and the names of those featured. Adding these elements to their photographs makes the images used for their parishioner spotlight content look more intentional when printed and shared online.

Don’t forget to use your own parish branding when creating these images. For example, you could use your parish colors as alternating backgrounds for the images or use the same font that you have in your logo. If you’re reading this and thinking, “oh boy, our logo and brand feel outdated,” reach out to us! We specialize in helping Catholic parishes redesign or simply refresh their logo and branding!

Last Step: Share Your Content

You can share your parishioner spotlights in many ways! Remember, we got the idea for this article in the first place from seeing content like this shared inside church bulletins so, don’t forget to include your spotlights in your printed bulletin!

Parishioner spotlight articles are also great for digital communication spaces. Consider creating a special place on your website’s homepage where people can read about those featured and see their photos. Include your spotlights in posts on your social media profiles like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and your parish’s blog. Don’t forget to tag the people being featured so they can share it on their own social media profiles!

Extra Help

If you read this article and thought to yourself, “a parishioner spotlight feature would be great in our bulletin or on our website, but it simply won’t fit into the design,” we can help! Our print and digital bulletin services come with a free professional redesign of your parish bulletin template!

If it’s your website design you’re more worried about, we have a solution for that, too, with WeConnect — our easy-to-use, yet powerful parish website builder. We also have a team of multimedia designers who can design an incredible website for your incredible parish, all with space to include your parishioner spotlights! Learn more about our web services here.

Want more parish bulletin inspiration? Visit the "Church Bulletins" section of our blog.

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Surprise! Printed Church Bulletins Are More Popular Than Ever

February 12, 2025

In a world full of digital content, it’s easy to assume that printed church bulletins are becoming a thing of the past. Wrong! Recent studies show that well-designed, content-rich Catholic parish bulletins are still going home with families after every Mass. Is your parish running out of your printed bulletins every week? If not, we can help you level up. By following our tips to enhance your bulletin's design and content, you can increase its appeal and effectiveness within your congregation. Why Are Printed Church Bulletins Gaining Popularity? Professional Design: A strong, easy-to-navigate parish bulletin design is one of your very best tools to getting your parishioners to pick up the bulletin every week. Churches with professional, attractive designs are finding bulletins fly out the doors! Tangible Connection: A physical bulletin provides a sense of tradition and belonging that digital formats often can't replicate. Engaging Content: Elements like pastoral letters, beautiful Catholic covers , and parishioner spotlights can make the bulletin more engaging. Exclusive Content: Make your bulletin one of a kind with content your parishioners won’t find anywhere else! With WeCreate, our exclusive library of Catholic content, you’ll have access to Catholic comics that engage and inspire, Gospel story illustrations that bring scripture to life, saint illustrations that highlight the heroes of our faith, and so much more ! How to Enhance Your Parish’s Bulletin 1. Lean In and Invest in Professional Design: If your bulletin is cluttered with small copy and hard to read, many folks may simply overlook it. An intentional and professionally designed layout enhances readability and reflects your church's commitment to excellence. Don’t forget, parishes that print their bulletins through LPi get a free professionally designed, custom bulletin template to easily cross this task off their list! 2. Incorporate that Engaging and Exclusive Content: Consider the content you include and remember to: Highlight Key Information: Important announcements, event details, and staff/ministry contact information should be prominently displayed and easy to find. Maintain Consistency: Use consistent branding elements, such as colors and fonts, to create a cohesive look that aligns with your church's identity. We can help if you don’t know where to start with a professional brand for your parish. Solicit Feedback: Encourage congregation members to provide input on the bulletin's content and design to ensure it meets their needs and preferences. In fact, consider putting a survey in the bulletin for them to return the following week! 3. Print Your Bulletin in Vibrant Color: Give your parish a bulletin that stands out with high-quality paper and gorgeous, eye-catching color — without breaking the bank. With LPi’s free, ad-supported bulletins, your parishioners will feel proud to pick up a beautifully crafted bulletin as soon as they see it at Mass. By focusing on these areas, your church bulletin will become a cherished resource that congregants look forward to each week, fostering a stronger sense of community and engagement. To learn more about LPi’s ad-supported free printed and digital bulletin service for Catholic parishes, and see some examples of the beautiful bulletin designs we create for thousands of parishes across the country, head on over to our website . We would love to help you spread the love of Christ!