Church Brand Architects

Posts Tagged ‘Church Communications’

In my last post  we discussed the necessity of social media for ministry growth; not just leading people to a building but to a relationship or greater relationship with Christ and greater fellowship with each other. Social media is not the ONLY way to do that but it offers the tools to help. In this post I want to follow up with SPECIFIC ways to do that. But before I go into “specifics” let me lay some groundwork:

1. It starts with the top: Ultimately, it is leadership that sets the culture of an organization (or ministry)–whether that culture be progressive or not it starts with the top. If the leadership is not sold on social media the ministry will not benefit from it.
2. Social media is a tool of ministry, not its “savior”: Many ministries struggling often see  this technology as a haymaker shot: “If we get on board technologically speaking, that’ll save us.” Technology doesn’t save ministries great leadership with purpose does. Technology that’s used in line with a core purpose will always bear more fruit than technology that’s used for the sake of being used.
3. Social media efforts must be measured: Sometime ago E-marketer released a survey where 84% said that they don’t measure any type of social media ROI. This is astounding considering the fact that social media allows us to better track our efforts. Granted, some things can’t be measured but there are things that can–track the things that can.

Social media and ministry

So without further ado here they are: some strategies that can enhance ministry effectiveness.

• Use Facebook ads: Paul Steinbrueck recently recalled how his church used this to advertise their past Christmas play. The ad was run for 9 days prior to the weekend of the performances.  Over that time, it was displayed 900,000 times and clicked on 600 times.  Total cost of the ad campaign was about $475. Wow!

• Consider a blog-centric strategy: Some ministries have different ministries that do different things at different times.  A blog-centric strategy allows the church to have a main blog and each ministry to have a blog. Feedburner is set up for each blog, so people can get info from whatever blog they want.

• Launch a Facebook Campus: That’s what Central Christian church did.  Following their mission of “connecting the unconnected” they launched the campus and hold services 7 times a week.  The Church partnered with Plainjoe studios and Facebook to develop the campus after positive responses from its year-old online campus. Launched in September, the inaugural service of the Facebook campus saw more than 450 attendees from around the world comprised of a wide variety of demographics.

• Listen: Granted, social media gives us a bigger microphone to speak from it also gives us a greater opportunity to listen to what’s being said.  You remember the saying: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” In this new era of social media, we’re being asked to be more transparent and personal–its our job to make sure people know HOW MUCH we care.
• Show who’s using it: Mickey Mellen (follow him @mickmel) gave an example of how his church does it.

• Got an event? Promote it through Tweetvite: Tweetvite allows you to create events specifically designed for Tweetups (or “meet ups” that use Twitter). Its free and offers a fully search able listing of upcoming Tweetups (should you want to get out the house). You can sign up through your Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace account; it allows you to map the location of the tweetup; and you can use your own URL. It’s great for informal get-togethers outside of of church as well.

The end of the matter

I must admit, there are endless ways to use technology for ministry. But the one criteria is this: it must be used prayerfully and purposefully.

We as believers have an obligation to “redeem the times”? Or as Paul said, “Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity.” [1 Colossians 4:5 The Message)

And truth of the matter is, the "traditional church" is on its deathbed.The times have changed and will continue to change...but our Message never will. This new landscape presents us with new opportunities. But, its only an opportunity to those who see it as such.

Guest Blogger Mike Holmes

Bio: Mike Holmes is the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. He’s also a blogger that writes on leadership development from a Biblical perspective. It’s leadership by the Book! When he’s not writing blogs or speaking he can be found writing bios in the third person. Check out his website/blog here.

Http://www.churchbrandarchitects.com

This October, YouVersion Live will give you a brand new way to interact with live events like church services, conferences, and more. Want to know how you’ll be able to use it? Join us today for an up-close look at YouVersion Live and how it can work in your environment.

For those that do not know – YouVersion is a interactive Bible Application – Actually more like the Bible Meets Social Networking.  I use the service often to take notes and keep a running journal of my thoughts and the insights God gives me on certain scriptures. They even have an i-phone and Blackberry app, making the this app available on a broad base and platforms. The best part is this app was developed by a church. That’s right. So you know ministry was a big part of its development. Now my friends over at Lifechurch.tv have developed a way of using the YouVersion Bible in a live application. And I have secured an invitation for my clients and friends. The link is below.

Live webinar: Wednesday, September 23 at 2:00-3:00 PM CDT at http://www.youversion.com/live

No need to sign up or register in advance—just go to http://www.youversion.com/live

Hope to see you there!

ChurchBrand Architect

Your Urban Church Marketing Specialist

Today I will Be Hosting the phenomenal 9 minutes sermons on leadership from some of the brightest church minds in the country at ChurchBrand Architects and JRichardbyrd.com . Please stop by and enjoy these great preachers.

The ChurchBrand Architect

Urban Church Marketing Specialists

My mother always told me to put my money where my mouth is. The same can be true when we look at our priorities in the Urban Church. A good focal point for me has always been where do I spend my time but more important where do I spend my money? These questions will tell you my priorities.

Food for Thought
When I was younger, I would watch people in the local church give one or two dollars in the offering. When I was a little older and began ministering in music, I did the same. Now the real sin in this was that I would immediately, after church, spend $30.00 on Chinese food. You see my stomach was my god, and I would cheat God so that I could fulfill my desires. Why is this important, you may ask? Well I will tell you.

As Urban Church Ministers we have to look at how we staff our churches, if we are to be effective in this new era. I have seen churches hire ministers of music, secretaries, and even custodial staff at great expense. All is needed and important- but where is the communication staff? Where are the people that assist in getting your message across and out of the four walls of the church?

What is the Purpose of Church?
The purpose of the church is to present Jesus — Move people to relationship with Christ — and Make Disciples. All of which require good communications skills. That being the case, why do we in the Urban Church not realize the importance of communication? Most churches don’t have a communication department,  and if they do, it is one secretary whose main job is to send out notices to other churches.

This cannot continue if we are to really win souls for Christ. Like my story above — although I professed one thing — my actions, and where I spent my money said something entirely different. I write this post to open a channel of dialogue that forces us to examine our priorities and where we allocate our resources. Let’s face it, the church has expanded way past the walls of the physical plant. How is your church handling communications?

ChurchBrand Architect
Your Urban Church Marketing Specialist

If you are tired of lackluster church communications, join us for the Urban Marketing Challenge. www.urbanchurchmarketingchallenge.com