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29. May, 2009 
6 Comments
If
you were to move to a small church with little to no budget for communications,
how would you implement a system for communications?
KEM:
I think a lot of people assume that they can’t have
excellence in church communications because they don’t have a budget for
it. Excellent communications in any organization isn’t dependent on a
dollar amount. And, a small budget does not prevent churches from WOWing their
guests and adding value.
I read about the budget restraints Steven Spielberg faced
when he was shooting Jaws. He was just getting started in the business and
didn’t have a dream budget. He wanted to film an incredibly lifelike
mechanical great white shark attacking and consuming weak humans en masse. The
problem? An incredibly lifelike mechanical great white shark was incredibly
expensive. So what did he do? He didn’t make a bad movie and blame lack
of money for it. He had to think of something else. Something creative.
Something cheap. He decided to shoot the unsuspecting swimmers from the
shark’s point of view (with scary music), and it resulted in a classic.
When I started attending my church we were averaging 400
on the weekend. When I came on staff part-time, we were averaging around 3,500
on the weekend. Now, we’re averaging anywhere between 5-6,000 on the
weekend. Here’s the thing—the core principles and values we adhere
to define our systems. Those principles and values don’t
change—they’re the why behind the what and they are not dependent
on size or dollar amount.
Here are some things any church can apply right now to
implement a communications strategy with no budget.
•
Have conversations. Lots of them. Help coach the people you work with to stop
thinking brochures and start thinking about objectives and customer service.
•
Create a style guide. A consistent stylistic approach will have a positive impact on
the overall excellence of your church.
•
Identify your specific audience. You need to know who
you’re talking to before you know how to say it. If you need a sample,
I’ve included one in the book.
•
Document your communication values. What is the method
and context of your environment? Find out and write it down. I’ve included
a sample of ours in the book.
•
Outline a strategy. Determine what is communicated, in what priority, using what
vehicles. Not all news is appropriate for the entire church.
•
Reduce emotional overload. Create less and say more. Look at
everything you’re creating and find something to cut. Look at the number
of words (or pages) in your bulletin, and edit them down.
•
Implement an official proofing team and process. Have a group of
volunteers review everything for accuracy and consistency before it’s printed
or distributed.
•
Assemble a group of consumer advocates (or secret shoppers). This team of critical
thinkers can experience your materials from “the shark’s
perspective” and provide input into what’s working and what
isn’t. Have them attend the service as an outsider and provide feedback
about the things you can’t see yourself.
All of these steps work in a church of 10 or 10,000.
Money or not, this list is a great place to start. Everyone already has the
resources whether they realize it or not. They just need to use what they have
in better ways.
Hungry for more? Yep, knew you would be! Just put your comment below. Tell me what you think is the biggest hurdle is to effective communication in the church or you can share your thoughts on Kem's words. Monday morning at 8:00 a.m., I'll draw the name of one of the commenters for the WIN!
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Faye, excellent question! I like how all the things Kem suggests in her answer don’t involve a significant budget. I think the church faces two big challenges. The first is how to get the right balance between sending out too many messages and leaving people feeling like they don’t know what’s going on. The second challenge is internal communications – how can the staff, ministry leaders and other key leaders really communicate well and know what’s going on (and the why behind things)?
I gotta say that the biggest hurdle is getting the entire team to participate in whatever system you put in place for communication. It’s important to know how each member of your team is wired in order to operate effectively as a team. Strengths Finders 2.0 is an excellent tool for that.
Oh and by the way, my group could really benefit from a copy of this book!
Because I just can’t make a decision, I hopped over to random.org and got some help in choosing.
Chris Hill, come on down, you’re the winner of the Less Clutter, Less Noise Book by Kem Meyer!
Larry, I hope that you’ll get a copy of the book and use it. There is so much in there, it’s like an encyclopedia.
And my prayer for both you guys (and myself) is that God will us us mightily to bring glory to Himself and His Kingdom. Now, let’s get out there and get to it!
Larry, as soon as I’m finished reading the book, I’ll mail it to you! I got your email address from your blog. I’ll email you requesting your mailing address.
Thanks Faye!
Faye, thanks – it turns out I won a copy on another blog on the tour
Chris, I just emailed you. I’m increasingly impressed by the ‘reality’ of online community. The generosity just keeps getting passed around, sharing not just a book but encouragement and tools for serving Christ better. And that’s an awesome thing! – Larry