What to Include in Your Church Bulletin (Complete Checklist)

Whether you're creating your first church bulletin or you've been doing it for years, having a reliable checklist ensures nothing important falls through the cracks. Here's a comprehensive guide to everything that belongs in a well-rounded church bulletin.

Essential Items (Every Bulletin)

Header Information

• Church name
• Date of service
• Service type (Sunday Morning Worship, Evening Service, etc.)
• Church address (helpful for visitors who received the bulletin before visiting)

Order of Worship

This is the backbone of your bulletin. Include every element of the service in order:

• Prelude / Musical Introduction
• Call to Worship
• Opening Hymn or Song (include number if using a hymnal)
• Invocation / Opening Prayer
• Scripture Reading (book, chapter, and verse)
• Responsive Reading (if applicable; include text in the bulletin)
• Sermon title and pastor's name
• Offertory and Offering
• Closing Hymn (include number)
• Benediction
• Postlude

Announcements

• Current events and upcoming activities
• Deadlines for registration or sign-up
• Committee or ministry team updates
• Congregational meeting notices
• Volunteer opportunities (specific needs, not generic)

Prayer Requests

• Names with a brief description (with permission)
• Thanksgivings and praises (often overlooked but meaningful)
• Missionaries or other prayer partners

Include When Applicable

Upcoming Events Calendar

A short list of events in the next 2-4 weeks, including:

• Date and day of week
• Event name
• Time
• Location (if not the main sanctuary)

Ministry Highlights

• Children's ministry announcement or note
• Youth group updates
• Women's or men's ministry news
• Mission team updates

Births, Deaths, and Significant Life Events

• New births in the congregation
• Deaths and memorial service information
• Significant anniversaries or milestones

Financial and Giving Information

• Online giving QR code or link (increasingly standard)
• Stewardship campaign updates (when active)
• Budget or fundraising milestones

Back Page / Footer Items

The back page is often the most-read part of the bulletin. Include:

• Church staff names and titles
• Office phone number and email
• Office hours
• Website URL
• Social media handles
• Visitor welcome paragraph
• Visitor connect card or instructions for connecting

Special Service Items

For holidays and special services, consider adding:

• Christmas/Advent: Candle lighting liturgy, season-specific scripture, Christmas Eve service times
• Easter: Easter sunrise or early service information, Lenten reflections
• Communion Sundays: Words of institution, participation instructions for visitors
• Baptism Sundays: Names and brief testimony of those being baptized (with permission)
• Ordination/Installation: Brief biography and vows being taken

What to Leave Out

Not everything needs to be in the bulletin:

• Information that's been in every bulletin for the past six months unchanged - it's background noise by now
• Information better handled digitally (like recurring event details that live on your website)
• Overly detailed committee reports (summarize, with a note that full report is available)
• Content that requires permission you don't have (medical details, family situations people haven't shared publicly)

A Note on Visitor-Friendliness

Run your completed bulletin through this test: if a visitor picked it up and read it with no prior knowledge of your church, would they:

1. Know how to follow the service?
2. Understand what each announcement is about?
3. Know how to get involved or connect?
4. Know who to contact with questions?

If the answer to any of these is "no," your bulletin has some assumptions that need explaining. First-time visitors are a gift - the bulletin is one of the best tools you have to help them feel at home.

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