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Copyright Information

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Ten "Commandments" for Writing Better Letters

All Purpose Letter Writing Outline

Tips For Using This Book

Table of Contents

Chapter 1
Letters to Members of All Ages

Chapter 2
Letters to Other Members

Chapter 3
Letters to Nonmembers

Chapter 4
Letters to Church Staff

Chapter 5
Letters to the Community

Chapter 6
Letters to the Media

Chapter 7
Letters to Vendors

Chapter 8
Letters for Special Occasions

Chapter 9
Letters of Acceptance, Confirmation, Invitations, & Refusal

Chapter 10
Letters to Raise Funds

Chapter 11
Letters to Colleagues

Chapter 12
Letters of Policy & Doctrine

Other Books

The most straightforward and obvious way to use this book is to find the letter that best suits your need, replace specific information, add your greeting and closing, but otherwise use the letter as is with little real modification.

These letters are designed to allow you to do exactly that. However, I strongly recommend that you more often use these letters merely as starting points. Effective letters will not only convey information clearly and concisely, but will also convey your personality. Further, you may add paragraph breaks as you desire.

Besides providing guidance for printed correspondence, these examples are easily adaptable for e-mail communication.

Another way to use this book is to peruse the letters and get ideas for expanding the ways you touch your congregation. Perhaps you’ve never thought about following up a miscarriage with a sympathy letter, or acknowledging someone’s new job, or addressing the arrival of a newly adopted child. These are only a few of the ideas you will encounter in this book.

Some of these letters address sensitive situations that may be better handled in person or with a phone call. Having your thoughts in order ahead of time can help make the meeting or call go more smoothly. One way to prepare would be to write a letter that may not get mailed, or that can be used later to document and reaffirm what was discussed.

Finally, these letters can also serve as jumping off points for bulletin and newsletter articles, or even speeches and sermons. As you scan the pages, don’t restrict your vision to just letters. You may be surprised the ideas that are sparked!

A note on special markings:
XX = Usually indicates a place where you would put a specific date such as 10, 21st, 13th, etc.
DAY = Indicates where you would put a specific day of the week such as Monday, Tuesday, etc.
MONTH XX, 200X = Indicates where you would place a full date such as March 29, 2010.
ADDRESS = Indicates where you place a street address such as 1234 Anywhere Lane.
CITY, STATE = Indicates where you would place a city and state name such as Boise, ID.
NAME = Indicates where you place a person’s full, first, or last name based on the context of the letter.
All other markings should be self-evident.

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