Updating the prayer newsletter
Karen Beilharz / Briefing #375 / December 2009 /
Chances are, if you have been a Christian for long enough, you're receiving prayer newsletters from missionaries. These may include staffworkers on university campuses, aid workers in the slums of Nairobi, lecturers in Bible colleges in Argentina, directors for centres for Christian thought, ministry apprentices, old friends who have gone onto other things, and so on. At my last count, I receive around 30 prayer newsletters via email and snail mail—some yearly, some monthly and some even weekly.
Even though sometimes I have trouble keeping up (because reading a prayer newsletter is not like skimming the headlines of The Sydney Morning Herald; it requires much more time and attention!), I appreciate receiving them because they keep me informed about what's happening at the front lines of ministry and what I can be praying about. Indeed, it would be worse if the missionaries I support did not send out an update as then I'd be in the dark about what was going on and thus more likely to forget about them.
However, over time, I've noticed a difference between newsletters that are a pleasure to read and pray through, and newsletters that are a little more challenging. So I offer the following advice in the hope that it might assist you the next time you communicate with your supporters.
Readability
Call me superficial, but the first thing that puts me off reading a prayer newsletter is the way it looks. Newsletters featuring small margins and large blocks of text in miniscule fonts are particularly rigorous on the eyes. Make it a bit easier for your readers by increasing your margins, leaving plenty of whitespace around legible text, and breaking things up with headings or pictures. You don't need to be a graphic designer (though if you have a friend who is, ask them for tips!); you just need to make sure you don't overwhelm your reader.
Regarding pictures: these are nice for supporters because they help them get to know you, your context and the people you're ministering to. However, be selective in deciding what to include, and make sure you always have permission from the people depicted—particularly if the photo wasn't snapped in a public place.
Finally, list your particular prayer points separately (e.g. at the end of the newsletter, or in a sidebar) and draw attention to them visually in some way (e.g. by using shading, boxes, a different font, etc.) This makes it easy for supporters to refer to them later on.
Content
As a ministry apprentice, I was always told that one double-sided A4 page was the maximum length for a prayer letter. As a ministry supporter, however, I don't mind if newsletters are a bit longer than this as long as they're interesting and engaging. (Breaking things up with a few headings doesn't hurt either.)
That said, what makes a prayer newsletter ‘engaging’ can be elusive—particularly for ministry workers who are not writers. Perhaps the following can help:
- Don't merely tell us what's been happening; tell us how you've felt about it. This enables us to see what your life is like. In addition, tell us where you've seen God at work; that will encourage both you and us.
- Don't simply regurgitate what you've been learning from God's word; tell us how it's affected the way you live your life. The Lord is working just as much in you as he is in your ministry.
- Don't confuse us with details; make sure we understand the big picture of what you're trying to do in your ministry, why you're doing it and what it's like. Are you reaching out to single mothers in the ghettos of New York? Are you encouraging theological students in Indonesia to grasp the Bible's entire story-line? Are you struggling to launch an evangelical magazine in Spanish? Don't assume we know. Remind us regularly.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help—both in specific things you'd like prayer for and practical things we might be able to do (like posting you books). You are the vanguard; we are your support. Tell us what we can do to keep you on the mission field.
- Don't keep it the same; every now and then, vary the format. Try writing a day-in-the-life diary, or run a brief interview with one of the people you're ministering to. Who says every edition has to conform?
Of course, none of this advice will be of any use if your supporters do not actually make the time to pray for you. Here I preach to myself as much as I preach to Briefing readers who are not on the front-line: let's keep working at overcoming our sinful hearts and bringing our requests before our God.
