Every community has one, it’s that church which seems to draw thousands on a Sunday morning, has the slickest website, or sponsors every community event. It’s natural for organizations, even churches, to want to emulate success, or what they perceive as being successful. So, if you follow the same steps toward success, you reap the same rewards, right? Wrong.
If you look across the landscape of how churches communicate and share their stories, you’ll find it littered with copycats. From brand strategies, website templates to messaging, churches often fall prey to the practice of over promising through communications and then under delivering in the execution. It’s easier to emulate rather than investing the sweat equity required to discover who you are and what you do well. Success is ultimately achieved when you share your authentic story – the story of who you are as a church, not who you wish you were.
“Success is ultimately achieved when you share your authentic story – the story of who you are as a church, not who you wish you were.” Most church communication strategies should follow the rule of 80/20. Meaning, eighty percent of your plan will more than likely consist of common strategies. The other twenty percent requires a strategy that is authentically YOU. No matter the denomination, no matter your location, every church has its own unique personality. Social justice, global missions, or even prison ministry may play a part in defining your authentic personality. As a consultant, much of my works consists of helping organizations pinpoint the twenty percent. Defining the twenty percent isn’t easy and often unearths truths that aren’t simply resolved. But once you find the legitimate truth of what makes your church unique, you now have the ability to share that story with the world in an authentic way. As your congregation begins to discover its authentic story, as a group, I encourage you to start asking questions and taking next steps like these:- Ask yourself, what current programs and ministries allow us to step outside our building and engage with our local community?
- What current programs and ministries allow us to step outside our building and engage with our global community?
- Take 2-3 of your newest members to lunch. Ask what motivated them to first visit your church. In what ministries do they hope to or are they already engaged, and why? And if they’ve lived in your community for awhile, ask about their preconceptions of your church prior to visiting. Did their preconceived notions match the reality?
- Ask 2-3 pastors in your community to define what makes your church authentically unique. Often times we are so invested in our own programs and ministries that our view can get foggy. By asking for unbiased feedback, we are able to see opportunities that we may have overlooked.
- Engage a news clipping or social media monitoring service like customscoop.com or vocus.com to identify what’s been written or published about your church in the last few years. This will often tell a story of your community’s perception of your congregation. Ask yourself, is what’s written about you match the reality? Sharing your authentic story will help to redefine those perceptions.
Wow. It's Quiet Here...
Be the first to start the conversation!