Steve Fogg: Clear and Simple.

Should Churches Use Billboard Advertising?

There are contrasting opinions about the effectiveness of churches, denominations and faith's promoting their message and advertising through billboards. 

I've heard many people use the argument that churches should be using their money to help poor and needy people rather than advertising. I personally don't believe it is an either or proposition.

I've seen many churches use it for the oddest things and many times a billboard has been the wrong medium to use (Here are a 10 examples).

For me it all boils down to your communication goal and your message.

1) What do you want to say/achieve?

3)  Who do you want to say it to?

2) What is the best way of saying it/achieving your goal?

4) Where/what is the best communication channel to reach those you want to say it to?

If you've asked these questions and billboard is your best communication tool then use it. If there is another way to express your churches message then use that. Your message doesn't have be communicated only through traditional media. Your message can also be communicated through your church actually doing something good. 

There's a novel thought. A church doing something.

How about you, what do you think? Should churches use billboard advertising or advertising in general? Comment below.

 

 

Is Your Church Diverse?

I don't really do book reviews but this book peaked my interest because it is about a concept that is so foreign to me. (Warning: Looking back on what I've written it isn't really a review as such, rather just a few thoughts that have come out of reading the book.)

Pastor Scott Williams is from LifeChurch.tv and has written a great book about church diversity (or the lack of it in the America). According to Pastor Scott many churches in America are segregated and the main thesis of his book is that Sunday is the most segregated day of the week in respects to church attendance. Only seven percent of churches in America have reached the 20 percent to be recognised as a culturally diverse church. Meaning that 93 percent are considered racially segregated. 

Stunning fact. Sad. Totally wrong.

I attend a church that is 40 percent Asian, 25 percent from European heritage and the last 25 percent is white Australian so I find it hard to understand why any church or culture would be so segregated. Crossway's congregation reflects the community around our church reasonably well. 

My question is: Does your church ethnicity reflect your community around you? If not, why not and what are you going to do about it?

As a church communicator I consider it my job to understand and know what the ethnic breakdown on my church is and how best to communicate to them. Every race receives communication in different ways. We have first and second generation immigrants and they all have different communication styles. 

My question is: Do you understand how different cultures respond to different communication style? If you don't become a student. Ask a person within that culture.

The early church in Acts reflected this racial diversity, why shouldn't we? I'd be really interested to hear from you if you disagree with me. Comment below.

Muslim Advertising and Marketing

I don't think I've ever seen this in Australia. Muslims are advertising on billboards directly aimed at countering the claim of the central message of the Christian faith.

The billboard claims that Jesus a prophet of Islam. According to their website its just the start of the media blitz and more outdoor advertising is planned on buses. (For the record, I obviously disagree with the billboard's message) 

Check out the story in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Christian denomination leaders reactions. I'm not sure how much this billboard cost but it has picked up a whole stack of free media in a city of 4 million people. 

What marketing or advertising lessons do you think churches can learn from the campaign?

 

 

 

Interview With Chris Hall

One of the joys of being connected online through Twitter is discovering different people who serve in churches and denominations around the world. Today is the first interview with Chris Hall from the Baptist Union of Great Britain. I'll also be doing more interviews with different communications and creatives in the non-profit and church area. 

Hi Chris, tell us about yourself

Born and bred in Berkshire, about an hour’s drive west of London.  Married to Louise and we have two small children, Noah (5) and Martha (2). Attend the local Anglican church but work for the Baptist Union of Great Britain based in Oxfordshire. A news junkie, I am an avid follower of sports especially less popular ones like baseball, US college football and Aussie rules! I love watching DVD box sets like 24, The West Wing and 30 Rock and enjoy walking and listening to podcasts.

Tell us about your role

I am Communications Writer/Editor for the Baptist Union of Great Britain. This involves writing for a number of communications channels mostly to provide information to the more than 2,000 churches that are part of the Union. I edit a magazine, send a religious news email every weekday, write and direct short promotional videos. I am also a press officer proactively writing press releases and setting up radio interviews. I also support my manager Amanda Allchorn on crisis media situations at churches. Probably the biggest case we have had of this kind was back in 2005 when Norman Kember from a Baptist church in London was kidnapped whilst visiting Iraq with a Christian Peacemaker Team.

How did you get into communications in a denomination?

For a number of years I helped with publicity at my church and with some cross church evangelism initiatives in Newbury. Then in 2001 I felt called to be a freelance writer, writing articles for the secular and Christian media  for 3 years. When I saw the Communications Writer/Editor role  at the Baptist Union advertised late in 2003 it looked like the ideal opportunity to increase my skills. I have been here ever since. 

What is the difference about being in a communications role at denominational level vs an individual church?

Being paid! Very few UK churches pay someone to do their communications. The other difference is your audience is over a wider area – therefore when I edit my magazine I have to make sure that I cover stories from across the regions we cover, does it have a good racial mix, balance of men and women etc.  

What does the landscape look like with church communications in the United Kingdom? Weaknesses/strengths

There are some churches, mostly large ones, that have very talented people producing attractive, engaging, innovative communications (Holy Trinity, Brompton and St Aldates are two examples) and are switched on to the latest developments like Facebook/Twitter, podcasts, even iphone apps!  We run a Communications Awards for Best Website, Best Magazine, Best Notice Sheet etc and we get some brilliant entries. For most churches though their communications are OK but quite basic – they have a website, a notice sheet but they are not amazing to look at or read. A lot of churches could do more to engage with local media. I remember doing a communications seminar at a regional Baptist event and asked how many had sent a press release to their local newspaper or radio station and there were not many hands up. 

What is the best example of church communications that you’ve seen in the UK?

This is a tough one. I will say Roselands Community Church, a small church plant in the south west of England that is part of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. Their minister, Malc Reddaway came up with a creative communications strategy to raise the profile of the church in 12 months that included producing a well designed new website, new community magazine and visiting houses at Easter to give them free hot cross buns and a leaflet about their Easter services. You can see more about it in this video. It is a brilliant example of what a small church can do to communicate effectively on a small budget and to engage with their community.

What is the worst example of church communications that you’ve seen in the UK?

I won’t single out any churches but my pet hates are putting everything in comic sans font, and organ music playing when you open the website!

What is your favourite project you’ve worked on recently?

We shot a video just before Christmas about a farmer in Wales that had experienced God in a powerful way and a couple called to minister in the same area. It is one of the most inspiring stories I have ever worked on. You can see it here. 

What does the future hold for church communications in the UK?

I am not too sure. We are way behind the slick sermon series stings you get at megachurches in the US and Australia but will we catch up? I think it will continue to be a mixed picture, some getting it right, some getting it wrong, most somewhere in between.

Dream communications job?

Some international church communications role. I was a press officer at the Baptist World Congress in Birmingham back in 2005 and absolutely loved it. I have a growing interest in the global church so hope I can move onto something in that sphere at some point.

If there was one thing you could do before you die in church communications what would it be?

The majority of Christians live in Africa, Asia and Latin America where Christianity is thriving. The majority of Christian resources and church communications are from Europe and America where Christianity is facing a challenging future. I would love to play a part in readdressing the balance so churches have a greater voice in the Majority World and we in the West can  be revitalised by the Rick Warren’s and Rob Bell’s of China, Nigeria or Brazil.

Thanks Chris. Great to meet you and hear about what you do. You can follow Chris on Twitter or check out his very new blog.

 

Lessons From Cultivate11: Authentic beats professional (but wait there's a catch)

I blogged last week about my first experience on arrival in the United States of America. This week I want to write about another lesson that I learnt at Cultivate11.

This one is a big Cultivate11 lesson. 

Authentic beats professional. 

Well with one catch.

I've noticed for about the last three or so years young adults really want the church to communicate in an "authentic way". In communication land this means they want the communication to feel honest; not overly produced (feeling slick); feel unscripted or unstructured (even if it was scripted); normal looking not nose job, shiny white teeth and stunningly good looking. Bottom line real, not fake.

But here is the catch. There is still an expectation that the communication's production value doesn't feel as though it was done by amateurs. The sound quality needs to be good (not perfect), the vision shouldn't be too shaky (a little bit is OK).

Bottom line is that poorly executed communication is still looked down upon. In fact it will be a barrier for many young adults to move towards the goal of your communication.

One great example of the contrasting communication styles that I experienced was at HillsongOneDay in Melbourne yesterday. Most of the conference had a BIG feeling to it. It was in a stadium after-all. But then in a remarkable contrast to the BIG feel Joel A'Bell preached about 'The Scarlet Thread'. The BIG stage became small through selective use of lighting. Joel's speaking style was informal and he sat on a rather plain chair. The video part of the communication was brilliant and earthy in feel.

What examples of 'authentic' communication have you seen?

Lessons From Cultivate11: First Impressions Last

It's been a little over a week now since I was at Cultivate11 in Huntington Beach in SoCal.

I met lots of fantastic and friendly people in the four day whirlwind tour. Here is one principle that I've come away with that I wanted to share.

I arrived at LAX after a 13 hour flight from Australia. Tired and looking forward to stretching my legs and the drive to Huntington Beach. After departing from the plane I walked quickly so I could get ahead of most of my flight in the immigration queue. 

Only to be confronted by a very long queue in the 'aliens' queue. The Americans had their own queue that wasn't really that long.

After being in the queue for quite some time those of us in the 'aliens' queue all talked about which immigration officer we would like to process our fingerprint scans, our facial scans and our interrogation about our identity. There was one guy who was especially slow and seemingly very grumpy with everyone he dealt with.

Around one and a half hours later after shuffling about 20 metres in a zig zag pattern I finally got to an immigration officer. 

Guess which one I got?

That's right. The grumpy guy. Here is the very first impression that I got of the United States of America, grumpy, let me do my job, no personal engagement, no eye contact, no smile. Wow.

I was so glad to leave this experience and leave LAX airport. Frankly, this experience sucked.

I was so fortunate that every other experience was positive, full of welcome, polite, smiling, happy, engaging people. If the immigration had of been the only chance the United States of America had to make an impression on me then it would of been as my eight year old son says, an 'epic fail'.

Here's the thing, churches can have the same issue. (I've blogged about the fact that you never get a second chance to make a first impression before)

1. We'll put a non-people person in a people person job.

2. We'll create an environment that stiffles rather than engages a new person.

3. We focus on the process and get the person to fit our process and systems no matter what the cost.

4. We put our best people on the inside rather than on the edges.

When designing your systems and processes at the 'front door' of your church, place the right people around the right process. I'm not saying that the immigration administration process sucked. It was the experience around it that switched me off.

Everything we do communicates something. Ask yourself what is your church communicating currently through the people you have in these places?

 

Introducing www.getbaptised.com

Not

I'm really proud to share with you about a new Crossway initiative called getbaptised.com. We've been dreaming about, planning and working on this idea since mid 2010. (Note: I'm having problems with my hyperlinks on my blog please copy www.getbaptised.com into your browser)

We dreamt about developing a simple on-line tool where we could offer baptism preparation to anyone at Crossway. We still run regular baptism preparation classes at church, but the neat idea about taking it online means that you can do your preparation at a time that fits into your life, rather than a time that only suits ours.

Getbaptised.com is also designed so a group leader can journey through the preparation with a group member making the preparation more community focused at a local level, rather than programmatic at a church wide level.

The site is also smart phone friendly so if you commute by train or bus to work you can do your preparation on the go.

The goal of getbaptised.com shifts baptism preparation beyond the traditional ministry philosophy of understanding the why you should be baptised and what the bible says about it. The focus moves beyond this to focusing on preparing you to share your story within God's story with your relational network.

The really neat thing is that we've curated the on-line experience so it isn't only Crossway centric. If you are in leadership at another church that wants to use it, you can. We've written it and shot the videos so it will fit into any environment.

Obviously for all my American friends there is a spelling issue as you say get baptized. We've looked into securing this domain and if we get enough interest we may provide a mirror site with this modification.

As this is a pilot, we'd love your feedback if you are moving through baptism preparation. Drop me a line in the comments section and lets connect.

Thanks to our web development friends Details Communications who crushed a very aggressive deadline to get the project across the line on time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death by 140 Characters in a Tweet Firestorm

If you have been under a rock in Australia you may of missed the ACL's (Australian Christian Lobby) leader Jim Wallace tweet on Anzac day.

@JimWallaceACL
Just hope that as we remember Servicemen and women today we remember the Australia they fought for - wasn't gay marriage and Islamic!

Jim later retracted his tweet (& deleted it) after a backlash:

@JimWallaceACL
Ok you are right my apologies this was the wrong context to raise these issues. ANZACs mean to much to me to demean this day, not intended

This post isn't about what you or I think of Jim or what he said, but to highlight the power and potential every Christian leader has to damage their own reputation through the limitations of the medium they are communicating in.

It takes years to build a reputation and a moment to destroy it.

More to the point here it took 140 characters to destroy or badly damage his reputation with many. It will at least damage the ACL's reputation with those who are neutrally disposed to the ACL and it's lobbying. This tweet will no doubt get support from much of the ACL's core constituency and the usual firestorm and vitriol from those who appose what the ACL lobby for.

You can watch Jim respond on Sunrise TV and his clarification of his remarks in a press release here.

Do you think Jim responded well? Comment below:

I'm Going To #Cultivate11 - Are you?

I'm so excited, in just over a week's time I'll be leaving on a jet plane to fly to LA and to Cultivate 11. It is a 16 hour flight but it will be worth it!

If you are in church communications this is THE conference to get to. It has a line up of great speakers but even better there are break outs where church communications peeps can get together and talk about what is going on in their world.

If you are creative, strategic, and responsible for influencing how your organization communicates, there is a chair waiting for you.

Of course the cherry on top of the delicious cake which is Cultivate 11 is that you can get to meet me - I know, an honour ;-) If you want to book some time, I'm very open to talking over a latte. You can find out more about Cultivate11 here.

Now I would like to meet as many people in my four days in the US. Yes, only four HUGE days. I'm flying in and out so quickly because I want to get back for Mothers Day here in Australia to be with my wife.

If you are going drop me a comment below and I'd love to catch up with you while I'm there. I'm also on the look out for some accomodation near the conference and I'm happy to room with someone. Drop me a comment below if you have spare room!

 

The Power Of Words

Church communicators all face this challenge - to say thing what we want to say in a way that effectively cuts through the noise and gets noticed.

As the woman says "I said it the same, just in a different way."