Being Presbyterian » communications

Are you ready? Is your church ready?

Colin Carmichael — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:09:59 +0000

I have two quick videos to share with you today and I’d like to thank Kem Meyer whose post this week reminded me that I’ve been meaning to do this for some time. I thank Kem also for offering this quote from Craig Groeschel, founder of LifeChurch.tv:

“We used to spend our time trying to get people to come to church. Now, we’ve got to find ways to take church to them.”
Craig Groeschel

link

If you haven’t already, you can should check out the Clay Shirky video I posted back in July.

Lessons from McDonalds

Colin Carmichael — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:51:24 +0000

Yes, that McDonalds.

A few minutes ago, Rev. Matt Brough, minister and blogger at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Winnipeg, had this to say on Twitter:

When we talk about communications in the Church, we usually think about bulletin inserts, the website, the projector screen, and the monthly newsletter. But what does your parking lot communicate to prospective pew-dweller about your priorities as a congregation?

We’re all familiar with the notion that non-verbal communication is far more telling than verbal. So what other “non-verbal” messages is your church sending besides who gets priority parking?

The Box Pew Metaphor

Colin Carmichael — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:49:03 +0000

Every once in a while I read a blog post somewhere that is so completely relevant to my life or work that I have to resist the urge to sweep my home and office for listening devices. Jon Swanson, of the Levite Chronicles, wrote just such a post this morning.

His story of a “social media pastor” named Emilio faced with the metaphor of box pews illustrates brilliantly the challenges we face in the realm of church communications in the 21st century.

A few excerpts:

As he stared at them, Emilio pictured the cubicles in his own church, and in many other churches. This time they weren’t around families. They were around generations, around interest groups, around social strata. There were groups that went into their cubicles every Sunday, with walls around them.

And he knew that they were trying. There were weekly bulletins, biweekly mailers, web updates, a facebook group, Sunday school class email prayer chains. There were displays in the hallways, announcements in the services, notes on clipboards in classrooms. There was a limited circulation enewsletter. There were hundreds of pieces of information. And there were people who said they never heard what was going on who, when questioned, acknowledged that they didn’t read the newsletter.

I highly recommend that you visit Jon’s blog and read the article (it’s not long) and leave a comment there (or here) about the manifestation of the box pew metaphor in your own church.

link: http://levite.wordpress.com/2008/11/19/emilio-and-the-box-pews/

Media Relations for Churches

Colin Carmichael — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:30:30 +0000

Making the News by John Longhurst

I went browsing through the PCC/WMS Bookroom last week to see what I might find in the area of Communication. I was pleasantly surprised by this little gem: “Making the News: An Essential Guide for Effective Media Relations” by John Longhurst.

This concise book of just over a hundred pages is geared specifically towards churches and other non-profit organizations. It provides great insight for those with little or no experience in dealing with the media. Among other things, Longhurst offers some very practical advice on how to construct a news release, complete with examples.

I highly recommend this book to every congregation as part of an effort to reach out to their local media to celebrate the mission and ministry of the church. The book can be purchased throught the PCC/WMS BookRoom