Church Announcements: If We Can’t Kiss Them Goodbye, Then Let's At Least Use Kiss Principles

Have you ever sat through a Sunday morning church announcement that was ill prepared, poorly timed, and/or unnecessary? I know that I have; even worse, I know that I have probably been the messenger of such an announcement. If you are in church leadership, you have most likely wrestled with this issue of announcements—when to do them, how to do them, who should do them, what should be said, and what should be left unsaid. You may have even decided out of frustration (or preference) to delete them all together from Sunday morning gatherings.

However if you are like me, you still find it valuable (and exciting), whether it is you or someone else doing the communicating, to publicly share—from the pulpit—some of the ongoing ministries of the church. Sure, at times, you may feel like kissing announcements completely good-bye for a host of good reasons but practically speaking you realize their importance and necessity.

One insight I have discovered about church announcements when they do go wrong is this: the announcement itself is usually okay but the preparation of the announcer to deliver the announcement is not. So drawing from a old pithy acronym I learned in business, Keep It Simple Silly (KISS-the softer version), here are my five KISS principles for improving church announcements.

1. KISS- Keep It Structured & Specific-Have a detailed plan; have a specific plan. Who hasn’t heard the old adage that says “people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.” The reason these old sayings stick like mental gorilla glue is because they are so true and so simple to remember (hey, that sounds like good advice for giving announcements). Well, this simple truth additionally applies to announcements. So before broadcasting your next ministry reminder, take a few minutes to plan what you want to say (content), how you want to say it (delivery), and when is the best time to say it (timing).

2. KISS- Keep it Simple & Substantive- First, keep announcements simple. Don’t make your announcements complicated; rather work at making them easy to remember, which means the fewer points the better. If you have more than one or two points to share about an event, then make the second or third point about pointing the hearer where to go in order to get further information (handout, website, contact person, booth, and/or display). Enough said, if I don’t stop now this simple point is going to get way too complicated.

Second, keep your announcements substantive. Establish the main objective you want to accomplish in giving your announcement and then stick to it. Preachers call this “the big idea” in writing and delivering sermons. Just as it is important to establish the “big idea” of the text and sermon and then deliver that message in a clear and precise manner, the same can be said of giving an effective announcement. If you veer too far from the essential elements of your announcement, the “big idea,” then you more than likely will stray from point number one—keeping it simple.

3. KISS- Keep it Saucy & Sassy- Yeah I know, that’s corny and I’m stretching it to stick with my acronym and alliteration (something I would never recommend for preaching) but I think you will get the point. Most announcements are about future and ongoing missional ministries that have at their core to exalt Christ—to either edify the church in Him or to proclaim Him to the world. That’s exciting! Therefore, why not deliver announcements with life, excitement, enthusiasm, and an expectant flavor.

Our church spends a lot of time at our local Mexican hang out—especially on Sundays. What I have observed is that no one eats their chips or burrito platters sauce-less. Be it hot or mild, everyone likes to add a little flavor and liven up their food to make it more tasty, inviting, and enjoyable to eat. Well I don’t know about you, but I find it a hard to stomach when an announcement about the ongoing work of King Jesus through the local church is given with no flavor of abundant life in Christ. Therefore the next time you give an announcement be sure and add a little sauce to liven up your message by centering your excitement on the one who needs nothing added—Jesus Christ.

4. KISS- Keep it Saviorfull & Safe- Is saviorfull a word? Not exactly, but here is where I am going with this. Since the church is ultimately about Jesus, then our announcements about the church should ultimately be about Jesus. Put another way, announcements in the church should be full of the Savior. Obviously this doesn’t mean that every word or sentence is going to mention Christ and/or His attributes. It would come across rather foolish or trite to stick the name of Jesus in a reminder to bake a green bean casserole topped with roasted onions for the next food fellowship. However, the point is not to lose sight of Jesus being at the center of every activity and event in the church (Col 3:17).

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

So what about keeping it safe? How can an announcement be unsafe? That’s simple, when an announcement becomes more about the announcer than the Savior then that’s a problem. Announcements are to be given in such a way that they draw attention to the ministry not the announcer. Therefore play it safe by keeping your announcements Saviorfull and out of the hands of anyone who struggles with the need for attention, acceptance, and/or a platform to cast their personal piety within the church.

5. KISS-Keep It Silent until Servable- If the message is still in the oven, then don’t call people’s attention to it until it is ready to be served. When an announcement is given with a “we are still working on the details” kind of vernacular, it’s probably best to hold back the delivery until those details are confirmed. This goes back to KISS principle number one, until you have a specific plan then plan on not sharing the announcement. If the announcement is so important that the news must be delivered quickly, then take the time to finish the details and serve it done and piping hot—not half-baked or luke-warm. The former will be better received and it will guard against the announcer or church leadership from appearing ill-prepared, which can, if repeated often, cause the hearers to lose their appetites for the message.

Here is a recap:

Keep it Structured and Specific


Keep it Simple and Substantive


Keep it Saucy and Sassy


Keep it Saviorfull and Safe


Keep it Silent until Servable

If the church is called to do everything as an act of worship unto the Lord Jesus Christ then the giving of announcements is no exception. So the next time you think about kissing your announcements good-bye, reflect upon these KISS principles instead and then deliver the exciting, ongoing work of the Lord as an act of worship unto Him!