Take Stock of Your Church Communications Strategy

If your church communications strategy consists of weekly worship bulletins and a monthly membership newsletter you might want to consider this fact: more than 30% of church seekers begin and end their search for a new church home on the internet. And most Americans under the age of 40 – members as well as nonmembers – regularly communicate by email, cell phone, blackberry, and twitter. Among the under-30 crowd landline telephones are becoming extinct, and the majority of American youth and 20-something adults consider email “old fashioned.” They prefer text-messages and facebook.

In most cases, churches need to have at least an internet presence to be effective in their outreach. It’s a matter of the changing nature of society – and as society changes communications have to evolve, just as everything else must. Afterall, it’s unlikely that any of your current members want to receive the weekly bulletin in ditto copy form. (Remember those nasty old “purple ditto masters”?) Nor do people want to go back to making carbon copies on manual typewriters.

So, your church has already made concessions to changes in communication technology and changing member standards. The question now is, what are you doing to keep your communications strategy up to date with the changes in technology, and the changes in how existing and potential members prefer to receive their communications and information? Here are 10 reflection questions for your leadership team, elders, or trustees to consider as you look to create a more effective communication strategy for 2010:

10 Questions to Ask About Your Church’s Communications

“Use these to help determine direction and strategy in the year ahead…”

To dig further, here are two resources to help you improve your communications strategy and your employment of your computer’s capabilities.

The first, Church Communications Handbook: A Complete Guide to Developing a Strategy, Using Technology, Writing Effectively, and Reaching the Unchurched, is a helpful guide to evaluating and improving how a church communicates the message of the Gospel through its work and ministry both within and beyond its walls. Chapters cover such topics as communicating the vision, effectively using church publications and equipment, responding to church visitors, involving new members, and managing special outreach events.

The second, 40 Days and 40 Bytes: Making Computers Work for Your Congregation, focuses more closely on the effective use of computers. The book received broad acclaim when it was first released in 2004. The authors are experienced church consultants, and draw upon their understanding of computer technology and their combined experience working with all sizes of congregations in the areas of identifying objectives, selecting appropriate technology, and integrating new technology into the life of a church.