Effective Church Communications

Do we really want to serve others with our church communications?

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If asked, "Are you serving yourself or your people with your church communications?" of course I'd answer "My people." But this morning I read an email newsletter that challenged my assumptions.

The newsletter is from Gerry McGovern, a secular web guru and consultant, who consistently provides thought-provoking materials that have useful application in church communications. Today in his newsletter he had an article, “WEB PROFESSIONAL: ARE YOU READY TO SERVE?”

Those of us who do communications work in churches like to think that we are motivated by service, but are we really? Read the extended quote below and replace his work “customers” with those you are trying to reach and grow in Jesus. {+}

"It is impossible to create a website with excellent service if there is not a culture of service within the web team that manages the website. All great web teams are founded on a philosophy of service. They like and are interested in their customers. They are constantly thinking about their customers' needs. They want and like to serve.

Many web teams are unfortunately filled with people who have little interest in serving. In fact, many web teams don't even accept that their primary job is to serve customers.

Some web teams think that their job is to manage technology. They spend their time thinking about technology. They get excited by talk of content management systems, search engines, portals, RSS feedback and mobile computing.

Some web teams think about traditional communications. They have all this content to put up. They think that their job ends after they have written the content. The want to communicate at, rather than to, customers, and they expect customers to listen.

Some web teams are excited by things like branding and graphic design. They often change a website because they're bored with the old one. They secretly long for Flash Intros and sometimes create website designs more for their peers to admire than for customers to do stuff on.

Web teams tend to be isolated from customers, and because of this isolation a culture of service rarely exists. In some organizations, web teams are not even allowed to talk to customers! It is simply impossible to design an effective self-service website without a deep understanding of, and ongoing interaction with, customers.

Great web teams constantly talk about the needs of their customers. The technology, the content, and the graphics only exist in the context of creating a more effective self-service environment.

From: http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/ Content management solutions by Gerry McGovern,
Note: I strongly recommend that you go to the website and sign up for his newsletter, great ideas, challenges and insights that you can apply to church communications.

Let me repeat his last paragraph:

It is simply impossible to design an effective self-service website without a deep understanding of, and ongoing interaction with, customers. Great web teams constantly talk about the needs of their customers. The technology, the content, and the graphics only exist in the context of creating a more effective self-service environment.

In not only our websites, but in all our church communications it is so easy to talk at people instead of listening to then, to get overwhelmed by technology, or to work to please our peers instead of constantly seeking to meet the needs of those we serve in the church.

Dealing with technology—the latest web graphic or whatever, is often much more fun than figuring out why the youth group volunteers don’t understand how to use your new interactive calendar or appreciate the innovative graphics you are using.

But if we do these things we aren't serving—and serving is never easy. Jesus took off his robes, wrapped himself in towel and washed the disciple’s feet—and then he told us to do likewise. We need to strip off anything in our communications work that keeps us from serving the people Jesus has given to us. We need to constantly think about their needs; we need to be thinking about how to meet them, and praying for the strength and wisdom to do that.

The place of technology in Effective Church Communication

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When desktop publishing was new and I was trying to inspire people with the potential we had with this new tool, I would often remind them in my seminars that church offices now had more powerful computers than NASA had when they put a man on the moon.

We've had over twenty years now to use this technology in the service of the gospel, but even though we arguably have the most technology in our churches than any other country in the world, I think few would say we are the most Christian nation in the world.

Tools and technology are important, but if we want to create communications that will change lives for eternity, we need a trustworthy place to search at, as it takes more than the latest version of the newest software. More than that, the software or the channel we use (e.g. the web vs. print) has absolutely nothing to do with how effective a publication will be be.

In seeing thousands of communications each year as I travel all over North America doing my church communications it astounds me how often people will say things like, "Oh, I did this with the latest version of XYZ software" and then proceed to show me a really poorly designed piece—half a dozen fonts on one page, no grid, no form or organization, chaotic layout, clip art mixed with photos, mixed with screens, etc. No matter how sophisticated the software, unfortunately there is still no software that will tell you (in spite of the numerous other messages that pop up for often no seeming reason), "This is too ugly to print, don't publicly embarrass yourself."

Technology is only a tool and a powerful one. We need to learn to use every piece of software well and more than that, church communicators need to learn the basics of good design, typesetting, layout, and how to combine graphics and words effectively.

But church communicators often don't have all the training they need or the time to get it and they often don't have the latest equipment or software. But a perceived lack in those areas should never make anyone in church communications feel their work is inferior and we should never assume for a moment, if we are well-trained or able to afford most costly software or hardware, that that makes our work more important.

You can create either masterpieces or garbage with any software. And more than that—the ultimate success of any project done to advance the Lord's kingdom, ultimately always and only succeeds because he chooses to use it. "Not by might, or by power, but by his spirit," and not by our software or technology, but by his mercy and grace, is anything of eternal importance accomplished by our communications.

Sugar water or sand, how to really change the world

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"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matt. 7:24-27)

The story is told of how Steve Jobs, the president of the new and struggling Apple computer company, enticed John Scully, then president of Pepsi, to come to work for him.

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life peddling sugar water?" Jobs asked Scully. "Or would you like to come and help change the world?"

Scully came to Apple and though they built a computer empire, it ultimately betrayed both of them and they were ousted from the corporation, though Jobs eventually returned. They gave their lives to a cause that may not have been built on sugar water, was literally built on sand.

Sand-the silicon chips that power the computers that run more and more of our lives-that's all they are. And if we don't have a reason for using them that transcends the power in that box, our lives are built on nothing but crumbling sand.

But we do have a different reason for doing what we do with computers. We're doing our work, our church communications, for the kingdom of God. We may not have the most up-to-date equipment, we may not have the time to learn all the programs we should, we may feel like what we produce is never as good as it could be-but we do it for glorious reasons. Our structure may be a bit rickety at times, but the foundation is solid.

Because of the communications you create, lonely people will feel welcome in church when they see the cheerful message and graphics in your bulletin; hungry folks will be fed because your brochure explained a food drive well; birthdays will be remembered and people will feel they count for something because you carefully entered the names into data bases and printed out calendars. And sometimes, whether in a brochure, or newsletter, or web page, you'll clearly communicate the message of the gospel and the destiny of another soul will be changed for eternity.

Don't be afraid to work hard, to be excited and passionate about your work-you aren't working for sugar water or sand, but for a kingdom that can never be shaken.

From The Heart of Church Communications by Yvon Prehn

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