Midway on the journey of small-church ministry,
I found myself in a dark wood—
for the path of clear communication had been lost.Somewhere between the committee meeting
and Meta’s “For Business” page,
the way grew dim and difficult to follow.So bitter—death is hardly more severe.
But to retell the good discovered there,
I must tell the other things I saw.
Announcements that scatter like leaves,
emails written long after the house is quiet,
graphics no one wanted to make.“You should get on TikTok,” they say,
though no one has the time or the patience,
and the bulletin still needs to be done.“No one read it,” someone mutters;
“Why didn’t that go out?” comes next,
followed by, “Who’s doing it this week?”
You’ve walked these rings long enough to know their weight;
yet even here, the path is not closed,
nor hope beyond reach.Here he stepped aside
and made me stop, and said:
“Look. Here is Dis.And this is the place
where you must arm yourself with fortitude.”
So the old master warned.If you pursue your star,
you will not fail to reach a steadier harbor-
if I have read your journey rightly.And though the way narrows before it rises,
there is an opening above you still-
a round breath of sky.A hint of the world remade,
something like the first glint of morning
breaking through the stone.Take courage.
The climb begins from here;
the turning has already started.
You’ve seen the toll this descent has taken,
the strain of weeks stitched together by will alone,
the quiet fear that the work is slipping through your hands.I am no Dante, though I have walked these paths;
no Virgil to guide you with practiced certainty,
and no miracle worker-this much is true.But I know the dark wood of church communications,
its scattered tools and midnight burdens,
and the weight it asks you to carry.So hear this plainly:
what help I offer is simple and honest,
shaped by the weight you already bear.
Who This is For:If you are a small church,
still showing up every Sunday
with more heart than staff-If forty to two hundred people
gather in your pews,
and no one holds a full-time comms role-If announcements feel scattered,
emails arrive at the last minuteand
Sunday comes too quickly again-If you long to reach neighbors and families,
but the path toward them feels unclear,
crowded with tools you never asked for-If volunteers are tired,
staff stretched thin,
and no one wants “one more thing”-If you’re done with gimmicks,
and want something honest, sustainable,rooted in your mission-Then this is for you.
You are exactly the kind
I had in mind.
What we offer is a simple framework-
clear enough to follow,
light enough to carry.A message shaped by your mission,
so every announcement and invitation
flows from the same center.Roles that are human-sized,
answered by “who does what, and when,”
so fewer things fall through the cracks.Tools that fit your people-
templates, sample language,
guidelines even a tired volunteer can use.
If any of this feels familiar, here’s what working together actually looks like.We begin with a simple Zoom call. Nothing formal. Just space to name what’s heavy, what’s working, and what never seems to get done.
I listen.
I map your current flow; announcements, email, social, Sunday rhythm, so we can see the whole pattern at once.From there, I build a communication outline sized for your church, not someone else’s idea of success.A messaging guide in your voice.
A weekly and seasonal rhythm you can trust.
Human-sized roles.
A couple of starter templates for announcements, email, or social.Then we walk through it together. Slowly. Honestly.
Choosing the first small changes that relieve pressure instead of adding more.In one small parish: a hundred-plus years old, about 120 in worship, the shift was simple: message matched mission, rhythm got steady, and people started noticing.
A single post reached 4,700 neighbors.
Engagement climbed more than 60 percent.
Clicks rose more than 400 percent.
Ads averaged about thirty-four cents each.
No gimmicks. Just clarity and consistency.Typical projects run $2,000–$2,500 depending on scope.No retainers. No funnel. Just a defined piece of work.If you want to see whether this fits, schedule a free twenty-minute call.Or send an email with your church name, location, attendance,and your biggest communication frustration.I’ll reply with a couple of practical ideas—whether we work together or not.
Liturgic Consulting
Small Church. Deep Roots. Lasting Fruit.