I recently happened upon a blog post in Outreach Magazine entitled “The Next Thing in Church Conferences“. After reading through the post, it was less about new church conferences and more about effective communication principles. The article talks about how most conferences have a basic programmatic structure that doesn’t lend much room for interaction other than lunch or moving in between sessions.
The article did however mention some snippets of answers they received to a question they posted asking “What are some church communications best practices.” Some that I found most relevant and useful were:
“Effective communications has less to do with sending the right message, and everything to do with releasing the right response. To release the right response with anyone, you’ve got to take time to figure out what makes your message worth their time; figure out how it relates to their world.” –Kem Meyer, Granger Community Church (@KemMeyer)
“For every piece of communication, before you do anything else, determine the goal. Do whatever you need to do to gain clarity about the desired outcome and keep it in front of you during the entire creation process” –Lori Bailey, LifeChurch.tv (@LoriBailey)
“If your goal in church communication –whether you’re designing a bulletin or launching a social media campaign–is something other than serving people, stop and start over.” –Scott McClellan, Echo Conference (@ScottMcClellan)
“Resist broadcast mode! Megaphoning (a.k.a. “sermonizing”) prevents listening. Ask as often as you answer.” –Cynthia Ware, Pepperdine University (@CynthiaWare)
Church communications is about the audience. You can put out and preach anything you want, but if no on is there to listen, you are wasting your breath. Take a few minutes to think about your audience. How can you more effectively communicate your message to reach your audience?
