Carpe’ Digital

One of the biggest challenges that church leadership faces is to successfully establish a sense of community among their members and their community by communicating their “Vision” and “Message.” In place of traditional methods of attracting new members and reaching a wider audience, a lot of churches are now using video communications as a proven method of increasing growth and also maintaining that growth.

One of the reasons that delivering your message with video is becoming so popular is that it allows you to communicate your message much more clear, and much more personal. A person’s voice inflections, facial expressions, and style can be communicated and draws people in.  All of those little details can be captured in video which makes a big impact. You can welcome new visitors with a personal video greeting, broadcast information about events with short video podcasts, and share news with all members quickly and easily with weekly video updates.

Studies show that people remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, and 30% of what they see. If you combine what the average adult both sees and hears they retain 50% of that material.  That is why video is such a powerful tool.

Video communications is quickly becoming a very cost-effective solution to engage with your community and your congregation. The great thing about video is that you can start small. You don’t have to do everything at once. I would encourage you to just begin to lay a foundation for video elements in your website and/or your blog and then become strategic on how to build that platform from there.

A mistake that many churches make when it comes to communications is that they don’t always put a priority on it and they don’t take it seriously. The message of Christ is the most important thing we have so we need to devote the resources to making that message clear, sharp and effectively presented.

Church communication, because it is a core aspect of the church’s mission should never be neglected. Many churches have great facilities, fine preachers, wonderful music and but you would never know it. Truth is, when it comes to church communications, many of us are stuck in the same place using the same methods - reluctant to admit they are not working.

I would highly recommend that you sit down and honestly evaluate the communication methods used in your church? What methods are you using and which ones are really making an impact?

* Church Bulletin or Brochure
* Church Newsletter
* Church E-Newsletter
* Church Website
* Online Sermons
* Church Blog
* Banners
* Posters and Flyers

No matter what size congregation or budget you have, you need to ensure that you develop and take your communications ministry seriously. Information is a vital commodity in our world today and using the resources that are available needs to be a priority. We should apply the same level of stewardship and accountability to our vision and how we communicate it, as we do any other area of our ministry.

Several years ago the phrase WWJD became very popular. I know that I used it quite often in my own life and my wife and I used it with our children to help them understand the importance of doing everyday things in their life the way Jesus would.

I came across the WWJD statement again the other day and it made me stop and think about the following statement. What if Jesus had a website? What type of content would He have on it? What would His purpose be for the site and what would He be trying to accomplish with it?

The amazing thing about Christ is that He always has a plan and He is always there to meet people at their point of need. I believe that if He had had a website during His earthly ministry, those same elements would be a priority. His site would show non-believers that those following Him were ordinary, real people; that He understands life’s challenges and can meet them at their point of need; that they would be loved and unconditionally welcome; and most of all, God is there to restore hope and their future.

The funny thing is that, Jesus really does have website. He doesn’t just have one site, but He has multiple sites and He has allowed you and I to be His webmasters. I believe that Christ wants us to manage our sites as He would. I encourage you to be prayerful and ask God for wisdom when it comes to the use of this incredible tool called the Web and that we would be effective in fulfilling the purpose that God has for it. Remember, God has a plan for everything, including your website. Maybe we should change it from WWJD to WWJP. What Would Jesus Post?