Guide

Church Bulletin Ideas: Layouts, Advent and What to Include

Front Porch Puzzle Press · November 9, 2026

A good church bulletin does three things: it walks people through the service, it tells them what is happening this week, and it makes a visitor feel expected. Here are layout ideas, the things worth including every Sunday, and ideas for Advent, Christmas Eve and the rest of the church year.

A simple layout for a folded bulletin

The most common format is one sheet of letter paper, printed landscape on both sides and folded in half. That gives four panels:

• Front cover: church name and address, the Sunday's name and date, a short verse, and the pastor's name. Keep it uncluttered.
• Inside left: the order of worship, with service parts on the left and hymn numbers, readers and Scripture references on the right.
• Inside right: sermon notes with a few ruled lines, the prayer list, and a tear-off connection card.
• Back cover: this week's calendar, announcements, service times, staff and giving.

Our step-by-step guide to making a church bulletin in Word or Google Docs shows how to set the panels up so they print in the right order.

What to include every Sunday

• A welcome line for visitors. One sentence near the top of the inside pages ("We're glad you're here") and a connection card they can drop in the offering plate.
• The order of worship. Mark where to stand with an asterisk and add "Please stand as you are able."
• Serving today. Greeters, ushers, nursery and sound, so people know who to ask.
• This week's calendar. Monday through Sunday with real dates, so Wednesday's Bible study is never a surprise.
• The prayer list. Ask before printing anyone's name or health news, and take names off after a few weeks unless the family asks you to keep them.
• Sermon notes. A title, the text and a few blank lines. People keep bulletins that have their own notes on them.
• How to give. Service times, the mailing address, and any online giving option your church uses.

Church bulletin ideas that people actually read

• One featured announcement. Put the week's most important item in a box. Five equal announcements get skimmed; one boxed one gets read.
• Short entries. A line or two each. Longer news belongs in the monthly newsletter.
• Same place every week. When the calendar and the prayer list are always in the same spot, people go straight to them.
• A children's corner. A small word search or a "find these words in today's reading" box keeps young hands busy.
• Birthdays and anniversaries. With permission, a short list on the back is one of the most-read parts of the bulletin.
• Large print copies. Keep a stack at the door. A bigger bulletin on legal paper means older members can follow along without asking.

Advent bulletin ideas

Advent starts four Sundays before Christmas. In 2026, the First Sunday of Advent is November 29, and the Fourth Sunday of Advent is December 20.

• Name the Sunday on the cover. First, Second, Third and Fourth Sunday of Advent, with a verse of hope or promise such as Isaiah 9:2.
• List the candle lighting. Add an "Advent Candle Lighting" line to the order of worship with the reader or family for each week, and print the schedule of families on the back.
• Print the December calendar early. Put Christmas Eve service times, the cantata, caroling and the shut-in visits in every Advent bulletin.
• Use Advent purple. Many churches use purple for Advent; a deep purple accent still copies as a clear dark gray on a black-and-white copier.

Christmas Eve bulletin ideas

• Expect visitors. Christmas Eve brings people who don't attend every week, so print extra copies and make the connection card easy to find.
• Print the carols' titles and hymnal numbers. Only print the words of public-domain carols, or ones your church is licensed to reprint.
• Explain the candlelight. One line about when candles are lit and how they are passed helps first-time guests.
• Look ahead. List the Sunday after Christmas and Watch Night or New Year's services on the back.

The colors of the church year

Churches that follow the church year often change the color of the paraments, and some carry the same color into the bulletin. A common pattern: purple for Advent and Lent, white or gold for Christmas and Easter, red for Pentecost, and green for the ordinary Sundays in between. Even churches that don't keep the liturgical calendar use these colors as a quiet seasonal accent. If your bulletins are photocopied, pick deep shades; pale colors wash out on a copier.

Bulletins already dated for the year

Our church bulletin templates for Word put these ideas into a dated bulletin for every Sunday from the First Sunday of Advent 2026 through December 26, 2027, plus Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Eve, Watch Night, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Each has the Sunday's name, a King James Version cover verse, the order of worship, a prayer list, a connection card and that week's calendar, in Classic, Seasonal Color (purple for Advent and Lent, deep red for Christmas and Pentecost, gold for Easter, green for ordinary Sundays) and large print on legal paper. Try the free First Sunday of Advent bulletin first.