A Guide to Taking Good Notes at Church

• Read the scripture for that week’s Mass so you know the context ahead of time.
• Write down the sermon’s main themes, but don’t write everything word for word.
• Jot down your questions and opinions about what you’re hearing.
• Review your notes after Mass and reflect on what you’ve learned.

Sermon Notes

Find out what passages your pastor will read beforehand. If you were in school, it’s normal to preview the lesson you’ll be learning that day so that you know what to expect and what questions to bring. The same goes for attending Mass. Before you even hear the pastor’s sermon, find out what passages they’ll be reading and what the theme of their sermon will be. Look on your church’s bulletin or website to find this information and give the verses a readthrough before going. If this information isn’t posted beforehand, don’t be afraid to ask your pastor directly what passages they’ll be reading that week. There’s no need to prepare extensively. Just read the passage once or twice so that it’s in your mind and you have a bit of context going into that week’s service.

Create a goal that you want to achieve by the end of Mass. If you’ve previewed that day’s passage, what do you think your pastor will talk about? What are you hoping to understand better by the end of Mass? Thinking about these kinds of things prepares you mentally to go into that week’s sermon ready to learn. With this mindset, you’ll be ready to actively listen while your pastor is talking. Keep your goal in mind to help you stay on track and focussed during Mass. For example, your goal might be something like, “I want to learn how to better serve people in my community and focus less on my own wants.” Spend some time praying to God and ask Him to give you guidance and wisdom. Pray for others as well as yourself, and that you may all gain understanding from hearing His Word.

Bring a piece of paper and something to write with. If you’re going to take notes, you’ll need something to write down your thoughts and questions. Bring a pen or pencil and something like a notebook or journal. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. So long as you have something there to jot down your thoughts as your pastor speaks, bring whatever works best for you. Some churches provide pre-made outlines for that week’s sermon. Ask someone at your church if you can get one of these before Mass.

Label the top of your note with the date and sermon title. If you want to keep your notes organized and be able to reference them easily in the future, write the date, the name of who’s speaking, and the title of the sermon (if there is one) at the top of your paper. This will make it a lot easier to flip through your notebook later on and find specific notes and passages you want to review.

Write down the scripture passages you’ll be covering that day. Either write down the entire passage beforehand (if you know what you’ll be reading) or make a note of which chapter and verses your pastor references. This is a great way to help you keep the passage in mind as you take notes and also provides some context when you review your notes later.

Jot down the main points and message of the sermon. Usually, a pastor gives a sermon with the goal of delivering a specific message to the congregation. As your pastor talks, actively listen and write down the big themes and main points of the sermon. Don’t write everything word for word, but just get the main ideas so you can reflect back on them later. For example, the pastor might talk about Acts 4:36, which focuses on the importance of encouragement. Write down why your pastor thinks encouragement is important and summarize their advice about things you can do to encourage people around you.

Take note of any supporting arguments or evidence. Oftentimes, your pastor is presenting you with an argument or proposition through their sermon. For example, they may state, “Jesus is our only hope of salvation. Therefore, we must spread the word of Christ at every given opportunity.” Take note of the evidence they present to support this claim and any passages they cite as evidence so that you can go back and analyze them on your own time. For example, your pastor may cite Mathew 29:18-20, where Jesus explicitly states, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” They may also refer to 1 John 5:11-13, which reads, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Going over your pastor’s evidence doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re trying to disprove their argument. Rather, you’re analyzing the Word on a deeper level from your own perspective and connecting with God and His Word in your own way.

Write down any questions and thoughts that come to mind. A big part of taking sermon notes is making an effort to relate the pastor’s words back to your own life as well as ask your own questions. These will hopefully reveal more about your faith and relationship with God. As you listen, write down these questions as they come to mind. Also, jot down your own thoughts and opinions on what’s being said so that you don’t forget later. Ask questions and write your honest reactions and thoughts as though you’re having a conversation with God. Ask things like, “Why was this phrased like so?” and “How can I relate my situation to this verse?”

Review your notes and answer any questions you wrote. Your note-taking doesn’t just end when Mass does. Pull your notes out again later and go over what you wrote. Reread the passages and work through the main ideas of the sermon again. Then, take time to answer any of the questions you wrote and write down any new ones that pop up. Most importantly, think about how you can take what you learned and apply it to your life. Look to the Bible or even the internet to help you answer some of the questions you wrote down. Take this as an opportunity to also talk with other members of your church and see what they think. By taking another look at your notes, you’re keeping God in your thoughts and strengthening your connection to Him. Go over your notes throughout the week to keep God in your heart and mind as you go about your daily life.

Notes for Church Meetings

Get a copy of the meeting agenda beforehand. Doing a bit of prep work beforehand can help you make sure you’re going into the meeting knowing the context and topics of discussion. Contact whoever is in charge of leading the meeting and ask for the meeting agenda if they have one prepared. If they don’t, ask what general topics you’ll be covering and if there’s anything specific you need to prepare. Before you attend the meeting, write down any questions that you want to ask. Some of these questions might be answered as the meeting goes on, but if they’re not, you won’t forget the important question you wanted to ask.

Write down the date and title of the meeting. This will help you stay organized and make it easier for you to go back and find your notes later on. Writing down the date also will help you distinguish whether the meeting took place before or after a big decision or project was put into action.

Actively listen and write down important details. As you take meeting notes, don’t write down every single word you hear. Instead, write down the main ideas that are being presented, the overall goal of the meeting, and any specific details that are relevant to you. Also, take note of any important decisions and deadlines. Your notes may look like this: 9/8/23 Meeting: Discussing charity event Contact Mary about flier design Submit first draft 9/15 to Mark Be as specific as possible when describing projects and tasks, but also keep things brief so that you can easily review your notes later. You don’t need a long explanation, just the most crucial details. Use bullet points and abbreviations to write down notes quicker and keep them organized.

Keep track of both your and other people’s to-do items. Make a section in your notes dedicated to recording what tasks everyone is taking on. Take note of who is doing what, what their proposed deadlines are, and who they’re working with. This will be a big help later on if you find yourself needing to get in contact with certain people for a project. Be sure to get the contact information of the other people if you don’t already have it.

Go over your notes once the meeting has finished. Take time to read over your notes again and clean them up if necessary by rewriting them or typing them out. Be sure to highlight any important information that’s relevant to you, such as project deadlines and goals. Then, organize your notes in a way that makes them easy to find later, like in a folder or binder. As you rewrite your notes, divide them into the following categories: Task: What’s the project or task that needs to be done? What’s the end goal? Deadline: When does this task have to be finished? Assigned team member: Who is in charge of completing this task? Notes: Any other details you wrote down about the task that are important Status: Is the task “In-progress,” “Pending,” or “Complete”? Update your notes regularly as tasks are completed and new ones are created.