Capturing Faith
Capture the History of Your Local Congregation for Posterity
Wonderful, life-changing events are happening in churches every day, but they are forgotten because they are not recorded. This book is designed to spark renewed interest in documenting the history of local churches.
The author says, “It is my hope that this book will inspire many people in local churches to begin thinking about the history of their church and its contribution to their community and the world. I hope people will be motivated to chronicle their history and to disseminate it widely.
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Author: Donald L. Hughes |
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Annotated Table of Contents
Introduction
Author Donald L. Hughes provides background about why he wrote this book. The book is written for both volunteer and professional writers.
Chapter 1: Finding a Need and Meeting It
Why churches need a history written, why newer churches can benefit from a church history, the popularity of history today as seen in Ken Burns documentaries and popular shows like Antiques Roadshow, History, Detectives, American Pickers and Pawn Stars.
Chapter 2: Enlisting Support
How to enlist support for a new or updated history of your church from pastor and other leaders. How to gain and maintain congregational support. There are important sections on how to create a writing project budget and different ways you can use to fund it.
Chapter 3: Research for Success
The steps you need to take to research the history of you church. Includes a special section on how to do oral histories.
Chapter 4: The Writing Process
The fastest way to write the history of your church and deliver a high quality book that people will be happy to own. There is an emphasis on using professional writing methods, including instructions about how to benefit from the writing/revision cycle. Special topics are addressed, like copyright and plagiarism.
Chapter 5: Publishing Methods
Details about the different means of publishing a book, including a discussion of vanity publishing and self-publishing. This chapter also includes information on how to get your book printed at lowest cost. Alternate methods of publication are also covered, including e-books, CD's and other methods.
Chapter 6: Marketing and Distribution
The author covers all the major means of marketing your book, including sales to the congregation and community. He also describes how to effectively present complementary copies of the book to gain visibility in your area.
Chapter 7: A Local Church History Writing Ministry
Many Christian writers want to write meaningful books, but realize they may never get a NYT Bestseller. The author takes would-be writers through a step-by-step process to show how they can create a career and earn an income by writing church histories.
Appendices
Appendix 1: Oral History Release
Appendix 2: The Structure of a Book
Appendix 3: Selected Resources