10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Coordinated a Church Devotional
Before you start
This is the article I needed before saying “yes” to coordinating a church devotional. When I was asked, I knew it would be a lot of work, but to be honest, I didn’t know how much work it was going to be. Even as a Presbyterian, creating a devotional required a level of detail from me that was challenging and laborious.
I’ve left quite a bit out. This is all about the creation process, not the distribution or the pastoral work that happens after the devotional makes its way into your congregation. “What next” is important, and so if this article feels like too much, it’s important to remember that this doesn’t begin to include the pastoral work. Once your devotion is printed, you’re only at the starting line.
This isn’t to dissuade you from creating a devotional; but I hope you will catch an honest look at what is demanded from the process. If you are one of the brave and stalwart souls who is determined to press onward, all power to you, and may these tips help you start on the right foot.
My unsolicited opinions
1. Hold the theme loosely
Some people will follow the theme to a ‘T,’ and some people will write about everything except the theme. Keep it super simple and make it foolproof. Don’t get too creative, because it can make things a million times more difficult than they need to be (of course, I’ve never learned this lesson the hard way).
2. Envision the final product
Take a step back and imagine the near future when you’re distributing the devotional. What is it like? How big is the devotional? How many pages? Does it have glossy, full-spread images, or is it mostly text in black and white? All of these things matter, and you’ll want to hammer out the details before you do anything else.
A few questions to consider:
How many copies are you printing?
Are you printing in house, or are you sending it off to FedEx Office or a commercial printer? If you expect members to print at home, then consider the limitations of an inkjet printer and the total page count.
If you’re printing full color, do you pay for toner, or does your lease include toner at no charge?
Does the devotional need to be large print? If so, what is the sweet spot between font size, page size, and page count?
How many copies will you mail by USPS? How will page count and page size affect your postage cost?
Tip: if you’re doing a true booklet—where each sheet of paper is folded in half to create four individual pages—then the total page count needs to be divisible by four. For example, if you’re creating a letter-sized booklet, each sheet of paper will yield four 5.5”x8.5” pages in the booklet.
3. Talk to your comms person
Some people (regardless of age) like digital versions of devotions. If you plan on publishing the devotional online, make sure you chat with your church’s communications coordinator throughout the process. Do they need anything to implement it online? How much lead time do they need for the website?
One strong opinion: when publishing your devotional online, take the time to make it responsive. In other words, add it to the body of a web page, rather than adding the PDF to your website. PDFs are notoriously awful when it comes to accessibility, and it’s likely that the majority of users will access it on a mobile device. You don’t want folks pinching around, zooming in and out to read your devotional, and the odds are good that users will skip the hassle of navigating a PDF altogether.
On a different note, if you choose to share the devotions online, make sure you have the person’s permission. Some folks are okay with their name shared everywhere, or someone might want to be completely anonymous and keep their writing analog. You might need to put a disclaimer somewhere or ask folks to opt-out if they’re not comfortable with that. Every church has its own opinions on privacy and consent—and in my view, churches still pretend the digital world is imaginary or far-removed—but it’s important to have a conversation with your head of staff or church committee(s).
4. Write your submission guidelines
The last time I coordinated one of these projects, the devotional had a print run of 1,000 copies at 64 pages per booklet. As a result, I am especially neurotic about page counts and submission guidelines.
Submission guidelines include everything your authors need to know. This includes:
A description of the project and its theme
The submission deadline
Submission length
How to submit
The scripture passage (or if it’s not assigned, scriptures to choose from)
Content guidelines, and if laypeople are writing, tips and tricks to get them started
Everyone will ask you for a word count, so it’s wise to provide it up front. The word count should take into consideration your formatting constraints. If each devotion needs to fit on a single page, don’t forget to include the header, footer, scripture, or graphics that will affect the space that is available.
5. Spreadsheet everything
Spreadsheet everything, because you’re going to be juggling lots of emails, contributors, and details. At the minimum, you’ll want to track:
Confirmed contributors
Scripture (unless it’s self-selected)
Receipt of a submission
Whether the submission has been edited
Whether the submission has been laid out and formatted in the booklet
If you’re hand picking the contributors, you will need to add an extra row or column to track invitations that are sent.
6. Set a short submission window
Set a rolling deadline of 2-3 weeks after a contributor has agreed to write. Fair warning: lots of contributors drop out in the eleventh hour. Setting a short deadline will help reduce the number of dropouts. When a contributor pulls the escape hatch, be sure to have alternates ready to go (pastors, staff, Synod/presbytery liaisons, etc.)
7. Give plenty of buffer
Related to #6, contributors will wait until the last second and then ask for an extension. Make sure your submission window has plenty of buffer built in, so that you can offer extensions and keep everyone happy. When someone bails in the eleventh hour of their extension, that’s when you’ll want to start calling in alternates who will need time to write.
After the writing is complete, your editor will need time to go through the submissions with a fine-tooth comb. Plan on 3-4 weeks for this step. Finally, you or your communications coordinator will need to lay out the devotional in booklet form, which could take another 3-4 weeks with review and proofing.
If you’re sending the devotionals to a commercial printer, they may have additional requirements or estimates on their turnaround time.
Here’s what it will look like in practice:
Initial 2-3 weeks for writing
1-2 week extension for individuals who overcommitted
2-3 weeks for alternates to finish up
(God forbid) 1-2 week extension for alternates who overcommitted, or for you to plug the gaps.
After the writing is finished:
3-4 weeks for editing
3-4 weeks for review, proofing, and preparing a digital format
Printing time (depends on printer and method)
This means the total time will be 6-10 weeks for writing and 6-8 weeks for editing, designing, and proofing.
If you’re looking at an Advent devotional, aim to start by mid-September at the latest. Lenten devotionals are more difficult, because Ash Wednesday is between February 4 and March 11. Timing is not in your favor for Lenten devotionals.
8. Send reminders
Be generous with the reminders, and make sure every email has the person’s scripture passage and submission guidelines. If you don’t feel confident with mail merges, you can always link to a document with everyone’s information. Be sure to fuel the FOMO so folks submit.
9. Get an editor
Line up an editor (only one!) who can not only proofread/edit, but also organize and streamline things. I was saved by an editor who put things in order, fixed Scripture citations, adjusted formatting, etc. You will never underestimate the degree of messiness or sloppiness submitted by contributors.
10. Say thank you
This might seem obvious, but please send thank you’s. People put a lot of love and time into their submissions, and it can be a really vulnerable experience. Give the writers a little thank you token - maybe a signed note/card or a little chachki. It will go to the moon and back, especially if you hope to make devotionals an annual tradition.
