Steve Fogg: Clear and Simple.

When The Little Guy Becomes The Big Guy

There was once a time when Microsoft was the big guy. Darth Vader. The dark side of the force. Apple by comparison was the little guy – Luke Skywalker, our only hope. It stood for everything we admired. It was the underdog. Loved. Admired. Respected. A free thinker.

Then something changed.

Apple became the big guy. iPhone. iPad. Whoa. It got really, really big. Bigger than Microsoft. Steve Jobs became a grumpy old man. Firing off emails. Taking Flash out. Reports dripped out day after day of Chinese workers living in bad conditions. Then there were the environmental issues. Phones that were once magical and revolutionary became dodgy and had bad reception.

What happened? A perception shift of seismic proportions.

The little guy was to have been perceived by the wider society to have grown up and become the big bad guy. Unfortunately the same thing has happened to the Church.

The little guy. The counter-cultural community became a movement that changed the world. A Roman Emperor become a follower. Rome followed. Countries followed. Buildings were built. Cultures and world-views were born out of it. Wars were fought because of it.

The Church is now perceived to have well and truly grown up and the world doesn't like what it sees. Or thinks it sees. Some would say that the church hasn't just grown up, but that it's gotten old. Grumpy. Irrelevant. Past it's used by date.

You see. Whether you like it or not, this is a perception of your church (and mine) by many of what your number one target audience.

Don't get me wrong. They still like Jesus. But for most people? The church? No thanks.

4 questions for you

1. What is your perception of your church? Here are 25 factors that shape perception of your church. There are hundreds more.
2. What is your community's perception of your church?
3. Do you have a primary target audience?
4. If you need to, how will you change this perception? Hint: Everything counts

Question: Why do you think the Church has the perception problem of Darth Vader proportions? 

Follow me on Twitter, come and say G'day on Facebook, get regular updates via my RSS feed or stalk me in person in Melbourne (you'll have to do the leg work on that one).

 

Learn How To Set Up A Blog For Your Church (For Free)

I just came across this free course from Problogger on Sitepoint for people who are thinking of setting up a personal or professional blogs. It's really good and it's FREE. But this is equally relevant if you are setting up a blog for your church.

If you know me by now, I love free. I've found free sermon series graphics, I really enjoy giving free stuff away when I can. I even found a search engine called Freepik that focuses on finding free stock photos and vector art.

If you haven't already started a blog for your church it's well worth checking out. It's aimed at those just starting out. Here is the link.

I'd love to know your thoughts after the jump.

Follow me on Twitter, come and say G'day on Facebook, get regular updates via my RSS feed or stalk me in person in Melbourne (you'll have to do the leg work on that one).

 

Success Rises (But More Often) Or Falls In The Detail

 
Last Friday and Saturday I attended the Willow Creek Global Summit at a nearby local church (The conference was really, really good). On Friday morning it wasn't just raining, but a deluge and in usual 'Fogg' style we arrived with only a few minutes to spare. Or so we thought. As I put on my indicator to turn into the car park there were traffic cones across the entrance with two very nice chaps signalling for us to do a u-turn. They told me that the car park was full and that I needed to find parking somewhere on the (busy) street.

Now I was mildly annoyed at the fact that the car park was full, but then we had left it quite late to arrive. But on closer inspection the car park only had room for around 30 cars. Yes, 30 cars (The conference in Melbourne had around 300 people show up). As my lovely American friends like to say. Do the math.

Now I'm sure that the wonderful Willow Creek Australia (WCA) people will have this on their feedback forms from the conference. I want to be really clear, I'm not writing about this experience to have a go or embarrass WCA or the church who hosted the conference. I'm sharing this story because this is what a first time visitor to your own church could (and probably has) experienced (I've blogged about the fact you don't get a second chance to make a first impression before).

Imagine a member of your congregation has been journeying with a friend for a long time and finally they've had the courage to invite that friend to church. For them it's a HUGE relational call. They've checked ahead of time and the topic that is being covered on the weekend fits well with where their friend is at, it also happens to be the speaker who they just know will connect well with their friend because they are so relational.

Your member feels like all the stars are aligned and makes the call, and to their surprise their friend says yes. Your member thinks, okay I've done my part, boy, I really hope my church can deliver. They've put their trust in you and hope you can back up. They arrange to meet their friend at the church in the entrance.

Can you imagine your members horror when their friend doesn't show up. And to make matters worse, when they finally get in contact with them (because their friend feels slightly embarrassed)  and they find out they didn't come because they couldn't find a park.

Wouldn't that just suck? Your congregational member is annoyed with you because it wasn't clear for a first timer where to park, their trust in you just went down a couple of notches. But more importantly, this could of been the one shot at this person coming to church. They may never, ever step foot in any church again.

(By the way, I'm also using a principle I learnt at the conference. Candor. For us to improve in churches we have to be candid and not fudge the facts.)

Here's the some things I learnt that you can also apply to your own setting:

1) Set expectations- If you have limited parking let people know about it on your website and in any other appropriate communications channel. If you are posting or emailing out a confirmation of a event booking, or a templated email invitation to church spell out that there is limited on site parking. Also;

2) Demonstrate options - Tell the person that is attending an event at your church, or coming to your church for the first time that there are other options available because we all know that (and I'm sure its just me, not you) some people leave arriving at church until the last possible second of the last possible minute (I bring the 'just in time' philosophy to a whole new level).

3) Give directions - Show the visitor what other options are available and where they can park, preferably on a really simple map in your confirmation letter, email and on your church website.

4) Staff your carpark and tell your potential visitor that they will get help - A year or so ago I visited Riverview Church in Western Australia. They were in a very similar situation to the church that hosted the conference. Located in an industrial estate with limited parking. But their brilliant solution to this problem was to over compensate with extra volunteers on the ground literally directing you to a parking spot. It was brilliant. It was my first time at the church and I never felt like I would struggle to find a park (And yes, I was using the same 'just in time' philosophy). I also felt welcomed and appreciated with the smiles from the car park attendants. You can also add an extra paragraph in your communication piece to reassure your potential visitor not to worry and that helpful car park attendants will be there to direct them to a space.

We are fortunate at my church that we have a huge capacity for parking, well over what we could ever possibly need at our current levels. But if I was in a built up area with limited parking I'd doing this RIGHT NOW.

If you are in a built up area and have limited parking:

1) Check your website

2) Check your communication pieces 

Check them and ask yourself 'Is it clear what parking options are available?'

Some of you right now are thinking 'so what?' But believe me it's my experience that often the most important communication wins or failures are in the detail.

What communication wins or failures have you seen?

Follow me on Twitter, come and say G'day on Facebook, get regular updates via my RSS feed or stalk me in person in Melbourne (you'll have to do the leg work on that one).

 



What Happens When Chris Brogan (Blog Guru) Goes To Church

Chris Brogan is a blog guru. No doubt about that. A gazillion subscribers on his blog. Even more on his twitter feed.

What happens when a guy like that shows up at Lifechurch.tv's internet campus? Chris writes about his experience on his blog. (Chris says he's not religious, but he's curious. Which makes me happy because I'm not religious either.)

There were four communication principles from that I took away from Chris's post:

1) People look at church through their own lense. Chris loves techie things and its not surprising then that he writes mainly about the technology side of church while absorbing the spiritual essence of the message.

2) People are surprised (and become more engaged) when speakers use the normal words. Poop. There I said it. Pastor Craig Groeschel said poop in his message and Chris related well to his use of normal everyday language. I think we all want speakers to connect and understand what we are facing everyday in our lives.

3) There is a pulse in online church. Some Christian leaders I've spoken to about online church have poo-pooed it. (yeah! I said poo too) They are highly sceptical about online churches ability to help people connect and make disciples. Chris felt warm and invited. What a great start to his church online journey.

4) Online church feels normal for wired people. For people who spend alot of time online going to church online doesn't feel (that) weird. Even if it is their first time.

Chris, if you ever read this post, thanks for being so honest in your post. I hope you continue in your spiritual journey

How about you, what did you think of Chris's post? How effective do you think online church is?

Follow me on Twitter, come and say G'day on Facebook, get regular updates via my RSS feed or stalk me in person in Melbourne (you'll have to do the leg work on that one).

 

Is Your Church A Carbon Copy?

There is no other church in the world like your church. Yet, many churches look the same, feel the same, and even say the same things.

Some churches look the same for the wrong reasons. They imitate the largest church/most successful Pastor in their denomination because they think if they are doing it, then it must work. Maybe their Lead Pastor has seen something they like from another church or have a strong opinion about a creative angle.

Either way, it won’t work.

Don’t copy another communication style, design, typography or pithy, edgy copywriting because you think it’s cool and hip or because your Pastor says so.

I would go so far as to say – don’t even copy their name. I’ve seen it too many times. Every church wants to be a _______pointe, ________.tv  _______song.

This strategy sucks. Why?

Your church’s culture is different. The community your church serves is likely to be different. Discover first what your church’s culture is like, what your community looks like, and thinks is important.  Start with whatever the felt needs are in your community, then start your creative process.

On the other hand, if you see something that you know will work in your community that another church has done, then that’s a completely different story. With the original church’s permission to use their ideas – go for it. Your church is a one of a kind and God created your church to be an original. Don’t be a carbon copy.

Now that you have thrown away your carbon copy, where can you start?

1. Read smart church communication leaders blogs & books. Here is a large list of communication guru's that can help.

2. Read what smart leaders outside of church are saying.

• Seth Godin
• Gary Hamel
• Fast Company

3. Look outside the church world for creative inspiration.

• D&AD
• Creative Review
• Communication Arts
• AGIA

3. Lead with your strengths, get professional help with your communications & creative development. Here is a list of great people here who can help you.

So what do you think?  Have you figured out a way to cure the Christian copycat that is in all of us? Where do you draw your creative and strategic communication inspiration from? Here are 10 tips on how to successfully rename or name your church.

Follow me on Twitter, come and say G'day on Facebook, get regular updates via my RSS feed or stalk me in person in Melbourne (you'll have to do the leg work on that one).

Leading With Your Strengths

We’ve got a problem at our house. We have possums living in our roof. Now before you get all mushy and goofy, they are not cute or cuddly. They are noisy and emit alien-like screams in the middle of the night to compliment all of the WWF-esque thumping that they do on our bedroom roof.

But I had a cunning plan to get rid of these ‘pesky varmits.’ Pete the Possum man told me that all I have to do is to close up any cavity space underneath the house, then the possums can’t climb up the walls into the ceiling space. Problem solved. With a torch in one hand and my ‘no more gap’ spray cans in the other, I took up Pete’s advice and did a long commando-crawl underneath the house to their most likely infiltration point.

You should know, the space under our house is dark, very narrow, full of cobwebs and dreaded Australian spiders such as redbacks, funnel webs, white tail spiders which are all very bad for your health should they bite you.

Knowing the risk, I emptied the cans of ‘no more gaps’ in the cavity space. As I was finishing up, a blob of the ‘no more gaps’ fell on my face and down my neck. It went rock solid and very sticky in about 10 seconds. I had to then commando-crawl back out and hurried up to my bathroom mirror where I saw that half of my goatie beard was covered and the whole left side of my neck.

To cut a very long story short, I had to cut off half of my beard and spent a couple of hours peeling the remainder from my neck (now I know how women feel when they wax). Not a great experience. I didn’t really do the job that well. It isn’t finished, it won’t keep the possums out and I hurt myself in the process.

Churches do the same thing. We try to do things that we aren’t good at ourselves. We often don’t finish what we start. We don’t do it well, and we often hurt our brand/church in the process.

We try to:

• Design our own website
• Create our own brand strategies
• Develop our own social media
• Create our own video
• Design our own logo (by committee)
• Do our own PR

Like me, churches need to understand where its strengths lie—what they are good at, and what they aren’t good at. We need to lead with our strengths and get help in the areas of weakness. If that means hiring a graphic designer, a brand strategist, a videographer, a PR specialist, etc., then so be it. If it means that it will cost us money, so be it.

We must remember to lead with our strengths and stick with that. In every other area we need to surround ourselves with those who are brighter, smarter, and more talented at what they do. In the end we will be better off because we did it.

What areas are you weak in? What areas are you strong in?

 

What Deep Cover Spies Can Teach You About Your Church

The story about the Russian 'deep cover' agents has been all over world news last week. They were allegedly trained by Russian Intelligence in Moscow and sent to spy on America. Their mission was to infiltrate policy making circles and send back intelligence to Russia.

Imagine a senario where deep cover agents infiltrate your church. Their mission is to report back to their puppet master and dish up what is really going on at your church. Not what you think is going on, but what is really happening.

Imagine to my surprise when I came across a real life puppet master who sent his secret agents into churches - not to spy and use it against churches, but to go undercover and use it to serve the vision and the mission of that church.

This service to churches includes an eye on everything:

• Your church’s website
• parking lot
• foyer/lobby
• nursery
• facilities
• signage
• restrooms
• overall feel and a main focus on the worship experience including music
• technology/media and preaching.

About a month or so ago I came across a guy called Greg Atkinson. Greg oversees a ministry called 'Secret Shopper'

The corporate world has used for years the idea of mystery shopper. This is where a 'undercover brutha' or 'sista' (I've always wanted to use that word in a blog post) uses the service the business offers. The undercover brutha then writes a report about their experience using a pre-determined report that is then handed back to the client to reveal their areas of strengths and weaknesses.

Why is a secret agent/secret shopper so important? I've said before that perception is everything. That it is not about how churches see themselves that really counts, but how others from outside the church see them really matters. Secret shoppers or undercover brutha's will help you see yourself how others see you.

Brilliant.

Have you every used a secret shopper? 

 

Real Message. Big Challenge. Urgent Question For Your Church.

Bill Taylor at the Harvard Business Review always has a habit of asking uncomfortable questions. Here is a message, challenge and question he threw out for business. I've ammended it to make it relevant for churches.

Real Message: If your community can live without you, they eventually will.

Big Challenge: If you do church the way everybody else does church, you'll never do any better.

Urgent Question: If your church disappeared tomorrow, would anybody notice?

Uncomfortable anyone? I am.

What do you think?

Follow me on Twitter, come and say G'day on Facebook, get regular updates via my RSS feed or stalk me in person in Melbourne (you'll have to do the leg work on that one).

The Power & Effectiveness Of Personal Invitation

One of the biggest myths out there is that larger churches have it all figured out from a church communications persepective when communicating with local communities. The reality is that every church large or small can communicate with their local community on the same level. Every church already has the most powerful and effective communications tool and communications asset there is.

Your most powerful and effective communications asset is your congregation. The elderly, young families, young adults, youth or children are all the best and most authentic communication asset you have available.

Your most powerful and effective communications tool is personal invitation by your congregation. When they invite their friends, families, workmates. Nothing beats it. It's highly effective.

Why?

You can spend thousands of dollars on direct mail postcards and get a very low percentage positive response in return (under 2%). This is actually considered a good result. You'll spend thousands of dollars buying the address lists, printing the cards and mailing them. All for an incredibly low rate of return.

It just doesn't compare to the power of a friend inviting a friend to come along to church (They can use the same postcard). The sucess rate is far higher with people saying yes. But so much more than that, the new person who comes along has a guide who will help them navigate their first experience at church. They will also be there to answer any questions their friends have, or even connect them into their smaller church community such as a life group.

So how can your church do it?

Example 1

Print a invitation card at least a month out from your advertised event. It could be a new sermon series, baptism, or a baby dedication.

Equip and educate your congregation on the power of inviting their friends to church using the invite cards. Ensure you have the cards available for them to pass on when you talk about it.

(In Australia you can print 5,000 postcards for as little as $500)

Example 2

Shoot a video advertising your event with a strong call to action to inviting congregations friends to church. Upload it to Facebook or YouTube.

Equip and educate your congregation on the power of inviting their friends to church using the videos. Demonstrate and show them how to invite their friends via facebook or YouTube.

Recap: Your most powerful and effective communications asset is your congregation. Your most powerful and effective communications tool is the power of the personal invitation by your congregation.

What communication tools do you use to invite people to church?

Whats worked for you? What hasn't worked?

The Power Of Research

David Ogilvy, Grandfather and doyen of advertising throughout the world said:

"People who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals."

To put it another way - In order to put your best leadership, strategic and creative foot forward, ensure it is the right foot first. That first step should be research.

Research can assist churches and communications staff in so many different ways:

1) Demographic research

Demographic research will provide a snapshot of what your local community looks like. Their ethnicity, age, socio-economic status, gender, income. By understanding who they are and what issues are important to them you will have a clearer understanding on how to connect with them. If you think the inerrancy of scripture is top of the preaching calendar, yet their highest need is to how they are going to pay the next mortgage bill you may be missing the mark. A preaching series on 'how God wants us to use our money' is obviously more appropriate.

There are plenty of tools that will help you find out who your community are including:

Australian Bureau of Statistics

American Census Bureau

Your community profile (Most Australian councils have one, visit your local council website, this provides alot more in depth analysis about your community)

Kem Meyer, the Jedi Communications Warrior Princess provides an excellent insight on this topic and digs deeper here and here.

You can even pay for researchers to do more work for you. But you will need deep pockets.

2) Focus group research

Focus groups can tell you what your communities, congregations and staff perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes are towards your church. What they think is important may not what you think is important. They may think you are brilliant, or they may not have even heard of you. They may love your brand or think it looks old and tired. Do you know what their highest need is? You will never know unless you hear from them directly. 

3) Survey

Find out you how well your church community doing in their spiritual journey. We did a survey last year and it changed much of what we preached on for the rest of the year because we knew what areas needed to be taught. It gave us an honest, sobering account of the state of our church.

I got the basis from the survey from Leading Smart and Evotional. If you leave a comment and your email address I will email you the survey we did. There were 30 questions, over 1,200 responses and 30,000 variables. It took over a month of 4 of my amazing volunteers to put an incredible snapshot of the church together. 

4) Find the right suppliers, staff or volunteers

Ask around before you commit to a new product, system, people. You'll get behind the marketing, CV's polish and get the real story. We were looking for a new church management system last year and I asked around 20 churches what they used. I also asked the churches that used the system we were thinking of using their opinion. Their feedback was priceless in helping us make a final decision.

Think of a project you are working on. Are you are armed with the all the facts and research you need to take the first step in a realistic, informed way?

Have you ever done research?

How did your research help you?

What would you like to research more about?

:: Follow me on Twitter, come and say G'day on Facebook, get regular updates via my RSS feed or stalk me in person in Melbourne (you'll have to do the leg work on that one).

Related Posts
The Power of Focus