ChurchOn01
Before you make a digital church bulletin: how it compares to paper
A digital bulletin is one your congregation opens on their phones from a link, and the biggest difference from paper is that you can fix it and send it out right away, with no printing. That doesn't make paper wrong. Many churches with older members run both for a while.
| Paper bulletin | Digital bulletin | |
|---|---|---|
| Prep time | Printing and folding every week on top of layout | Publish as soon as you finish editing |
| Changes | Once it's printed, it's final | Fix typos or schedule changes anytime |
| Length | Limited space means cutting announcements | Room for what matters, as long as you keep it tight |
| Reach | Only people in the pews get one | Reach absent members and guests with a link |
| Archive | Old issues are hard to find | Past bulletins are easy to look up by date |
| Cost | Paper, toner, and printing add up | No printing costs |
Rather than dropping paper overnight, try running both for a few weeks, see how people respond, and print fewer copies over time.
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What to include in a church bulletin
Most of a bulletin repeats in the same spots every week, so mapping out your fixed sections first makes building a template much easier. These are the sections most churches use.
- Order of worship: each element from the call to worship to the benediction, who leads it, and song numbers
- Sermon details: title, scripture passage, and speaker
- Announcements: events, a welcome for first-time guests, prayer requests, and family news
- Volunteers: this week's and next week's greeters, ushers, worship team, and kitchen crew
- Scripture: today's reading, a verse for the week, or a short devotional
- Service times and church info: Sunday and midweek service times, address, and contact details
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How to make an online church bulletin in 5 steps
Once you set up a good template, each week comes down to filling in what changed. For your first bulletin, follow these steps.
- 1Lay out your current bulletinGrab a recent paper bulletin or file and split it into sections that repeat every week and sections that change.
- 2Decide the orderPeople scroll top to bottom on a phone, so put what they look for first, like the order of worship and announcements, near the top.
- 3Build your bulletin templateCreate a template once with your fixed sections and the wording you use most, then save it.
- 4Fill in this weekUpdate only what changes: sermon title, scripture, announcements, and volunteers.
- 5Check it on a phone, then publishOpen it on your own phone to catch typos and awkward line breaks, have one more person look it over, then publish.
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How to spend less time on the bulletin each week
The surest way to save time is to stop starting from scratch. Copy last week's bulletin, change only what's new, and most sections carry over as is.
- Set a deadline: Collect announcements and prayer requests by Thursday so nothing piles up on Saturday night.
- Keep a phrase bank: Polish recurring text like the guest welcome or giving info once, then reuse it.
- Schedule volunteers ahead: Plan a month of serving teams at once so you're not chasing people every week.
- Share the load: Give each section an owner, like the office admin for announcements and a pastor for scripture.
The most common slip when copying is leaving last week's announcements in. Make it a habit to delete anything past its date first.
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Writing a bulletin people actually read on their phones
Phone screens are narrow, so short, broken-up text is what gets read to the end. Paste paragraphs straight from a paper bulletin and you'll end up with a wall of text.
- One announcement, one topic. Lead with what and when.
- Write dates with the day of the week, like Sunday, Oct 26 at 2 PM.
- Be specific about places so a newcomer can find them, like Fellowship Hall, second floor.
- If people need to sign up, say who to contact and by when.
- Spell out church jargon and acronyms. Newcomers won't know what they mean.
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How to share your digital bulletin
A digital bulletin travels as a single link, so all you need to decide is where people will find it. Most churches use two or three of these together.
- Post the link in your church group chat or email list at the same time each week
- Put a QR code at the entrance, on the welcome table, or on the screen
- Add the bulletin link to your church website and social media profiles
- Text it directly to first-time guests on the day they visit
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Making your digital bulletin with ChurchOn
ChurchOn is church management software that runs in your browser with nothing to install. You can build a digital bulletin and share it with a link or QR code, and people open it without an app or login.
- Build each bulletin from 22 block types, including order of worship, sermon, volunteers, announcements, and verse cards.
- Save your church's bulletin template and start each new issue by copying a past one.
- Type a scripture reference and the passage fills in for you (NIV, Korean Revised Version, or Chinese Union Version Simplified).
- A fixed address like www.churchon.org/b/grace-church always opens the latest issue, and past bulletins are listed by date.
- Download a QR code (SVG or PNG, transparent background) and a share card image for print or group chats.
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Frequently asked questions
Do we have to stop printing once we go digital?
Not at all. Many churches run both for a while, watch how people respond, and print fewer copies over time. Some keep a small print run for members who aren't comfortable with phones.
How long should a digital bulletin be?
Aim for something people can finish in a few swipes. If you have lots of announcements, keep only what people need to know and remove past events right away.
Do people need an app to read it?
Not if it's a web link. ChurchOn bulletins open straight from a link or QR code with no app or login.
Does ChurchOn cost anything?
Right now there's only a free plan. You can sign up without a credit card and create up to 20 bulletins.