So this is pretty weird to be posting my own notes… Download a PDF of the Slides here.
HUGE thanks to everyone who came and supported, I hope it was a beneficial session for you guys! And a HUGE thanks to Jarbyco for hooking us up and letting us take questions via text! And, if you are in or near the Chicago area and want to continue the conversation, come check out Cultivate being hosted at Park on Oct 27!
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A little about me…
- I’m 26, going on 27.
- I’ve been around doing church communications for almost 8 years now.
- I knew there was no money to be had in ministry and didn’t see the need of going to Bible college.
- Started at age 19 at Riverside Community Church in Peoria, Illinois as an intern for their college ministry.
- I started doing the bulletin for Riverside with a copy of Microsoft Publisher 98, some bad fonts, and clip art that I ripped off from an internet photo site.
- They say that “experience can be an educator,” and Riverside provided me a place to become an expert from learning from my mistakes.
- In May of 2007 I went on staff at Park Community Church in Chicago.
About Park
- Park was founded in 1989 by a group of 50 people who were a part of Moody Memorial Church that had a vision to see a church established in the downtown area of Chicago that would reach out to young, urban professionals.
- For 20 years, Park’s motto was: “have church will move” as they moved between various locations throughout the city.
- In June of 2008 Park opened their first building, located in the heart of the former Cabrini-Green neighborhood of Chicago.
- Park now meets in two locations, soon to be three and has an average weekly attendance of around 2,000 people.
Challenge of Church Communications
- Oftentimes when I tell people I do church communications their initial response is, “oh… so you make the bulletin?”
- While it’s true that’s something I do, there’s honestly a lot more all of us do.
- Church communications is a broad category and many of us wear a lot of different hats and do a lot of different things.
What I do at Park
- I do anything the communicates outside of the auditorium
- Print (although we don’t do much)
- Web strategy
- Social Media (Twitter, Facebook)
- Texting
- Part of Park’s creative team that plans and designs services.
The Changing Face of Church Communications
- The way our world communicates has changed dramatically in the past few years.
- The way the church communicates is changing, too.
- 10 years ago the face of church communications was the church secretary.
- She used pre-printed bulletin shells that more than likely had misty nature images or Holy Spirit doves and Scripture.
- The church had 2 basic platforms from which it communicated: the front platform and the church bulletin.
- Church communications today today looks a lot different: we’ve got email,websites, Facebook, Twitter, texting and other social media.
Our Role is Important
- It’s really easy to get discouraged in our jobs because our job is essentially a very thankless task.
- We’re not the ones up front preaching or leading worship, oftentimes we’re just stuck behind our computer screens.
- It’s easy to feel like we’re not really “in ministry”
- But you and what you do is REALLY important.
- The future potential of the church rests in the hands of people who are thinking and creating ways to communicate the timeless message of the Gospel in a way that connects with the world around us.
- What we do is really important.
- One day as we were walking into a church a friend of mine said, “you know it’s crazy to think that the people who are coming here are here because of something you created.”
- Oftentimes the things we create (postcards, fliers, websites) are the first point of contact people have with our church.
- The need for people who are committed to Christ and who are innovating new ways to communicate are vital for the future of the church.
We Have A lot of Critics and Not Many Contributors
- Too often the only feedback we get is negative.
- People never say, “wow that font changed my life…” or, “that stock image really moved me.”
- I used to have someone who would mark all of the errors in our bulletin and slide it under my office door.
- While many of our churches value communications and the role we play, in most cases we work as a staff of one. We’re on our own with limited resources, budget and support.
Do it Yourself Church Communications
- We’re going to use the analogy of building a house to creating a structure to support our church communications.
Foundation – Getting to the basics of what it means.
- “Church marketing” isn’t exactly found in the Bible.
- The closest thing to “marketing” is the marketplace where Jesus turned over the tables in the Temple.
- There are, however, a lot of great things that can illustrate our calling as church communicators.
Luke 14:16-23
- This and other verses (Matthew 28:19-20) show us that we are called to go and tell, to be witnesses and extend the invitation.
- Our competition isn’t the other church in town but the things that people are giving their time and attention to.
- The invitation that was sent in mass was rejected, but the in person invitation brought more people.
- From a marketing perspective, the way the early church grew in size and influence was through viral marketing. People telling other people. People bringing their friends.
- With all of the great resources we have available to us today I think the one we need to get better at is the personal invitation.
- Our job as communications people is to urge or to compel people to come, “that the house might be full.”
Survey – Get a Feel For the Land
- Who is your city? What is the demographic and psychographic of people in your community?
- Who is your church? Who are the people that come to your church?
- What do they respond to?
- How do they communicate?
- A major part of our job is to keep a pulse on our church and our community.
- We can read reports and surveys but we can learn the most by simple observation.
- We need to be keenly aware of our community and who the people are that attend our church.
Chicago
- 2.9 million people
- 3rd largest city in the USA
- Neighborhood-centric
- it’s the “city that works”
- also known as the Second City
- Center for banking, finance, marketing and business
- “a drinking town with a sports problem”
Park
- Average age is 29
- 60% single
- Most have a minimum of a college degree
- Most work white collar jobs
- Online experts
- Most people will stay at Park for about 3 years
- Most are incredibly BUSY
Once you have a better understanding of your community and your church, you have a better context to filter your communication strategies through.
Blueprint – your guide & plan.
There’s a difference between inspiration and imitation. Imitations are just cheap.
- Whatever you do, be yourself.
- If you’re not hip and trendy, don’t try to be.
- Your church is unique, celebrate that.
- Open source resources are great but don’t let them be an excuse of laziness.
- Just because it worked somewhere else doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you in your context.
- There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to church communications.
- If you must “borrow,” ask permission first.
- We serve the God of creativity (Gen 1:1), we need to seek Him!
- I’ve often found that the times when I’m at a creative block is when I’m not in communion with God.
Union Workers… aka our church staff and ministry leaders.
- Our jobs would be a lot easier if we didn’t have to deal with people.
- Replace your IM screen and Inbox with face-to-face conversations.
- Remove the word “NO” from your vocabulary.
- Give people options or alternatives, not ultimatums.
- Don’t bog people down with policies, style guides, etc.
- Take the time to get to know your staff.
- Get to know them and earn their trust.
- I didn’t make huge changes when I first started at Park, I took the time to get to know the culture of the staff, church and the city of Chicago first.
- That way, when I did start to make change I wasn’t “the new guy who we’re not sure about,” I was “Tim who we know and trust.”
- When you need to make change don’t just tell people about it, show them.
- I shared the story of how we made the switch to a monthly bulletin and instead of just telling people about it, I created a prototype and showed them what it would look like.
Some Learnings from the move to the monthly bulletin.
- Print budget went down by 75%.
- Our budget has moved from being 80% print/20% web to 20% print/80% web.
- The switch has increased traffic to our website and upped our email subscriptions.
- We initially printed it in color but switched to black and white in January to save money.
- The move has forced us to be more planned and ahead of schedule.
- It’s also forced us to be more creative.
Support Beams
- Determine the keys ways to communicate to your church.
- Decide what the key things are going to be and plan your budget to your strengths.
Park’s Key Things
- Our website. Soon to be re-launched, designed by CHANGEffect, powered by Ekklesia360#mce_temp_url#.
- Facebook. Over 1,200 fans and over 10 groups reaching over 3,000 people.
- Email. Over 4,000 subscribers. We use ConstantContact.
- Texting. We use texting in our services and as a means to communicate to our congregation throughout the week. We are huge fans of Jarbyco.
- Twitter @ParkChurch. We currently have over 550 followers.
- TheCommon.org used to connect people to ways to volunteer and serve.
- We’re soon transitioning to using the Cobblestone Community Network. A blog post about that is coming soon!
Interior Design – Words, Images and Language
Images
- Are the images you use a true reflection of who you are?
- Be who you are, not who you want to be.
- Don’t portray yourself to be something or someone you’re not.
- Use real images of real people in your church.
- People want to know there are people like them at your church.
- Use iStock for objects, concepts, and backgrounds… not people.
Words & Language
- Put people and their needs first.
- Go through your bulletin and highlight every mention of your church name. If your church name is first, re-write your copy!
- Avoid Christianese at all costs.
- Keep things concise and simple, not cute and fluffy.
- Talk like people in your church talk.
- Don’t just answer questions people are asking, ask questions people are asking.
- I shared the story of how we marketed our Alpha Course.
Curb Appeal – External Marketing
- Your church website is the front door to your church. Is it welcoming?
- Church websites used to be an accessory, today they are an absolute necessity.
- Your brand is driven more by what other people say than by what you say.
- I shared the story of the redesign of Park’s website and showed a sneak preview of our new website.
Closing Thought: Get a Hammer!
- I keep a hammer on my desk.
- No, I don’t use it on co-workers or my computer.
- It was a gift from a friend to be a reminder that everything I do is building the Kingdom of God, the Church.
I closed sharing this poem…
The Magnificent House of God
There is a house different from any other
Filled with light and love
Radiant with a glory that is totally irresistible to all.
It’s an open home
A huge welcome sign hangs from the door
Inside overflows with good food and bountiful supply
Laughter and healthy conversation
And for all who are questioning there are answers
An abundance of hope
Salvation is offered to all
Mercy and grace kiss each one.
A fire is crackling within its solid walls
Always there to warm and soothe
Gently drying tear-stained faces
Affirming the wandering soul and bringing strong counsel to
give clear direction to all negotiating this journey of life.
Captivating melodies fill every inch of every room
A new sound available even to the untrained ear
Causing every heart to willingly sing and every knee to humbly bow.
This is the House I give my life to build
To gather His Church and bring healing to the nations
This is the only House fit for a King
This is the magnificent House of God.
- Darlene Zschech
