Best Practices
Churches can no longer operate using now-dated models from before the start of the digital revolution. When teams are siloed, each team shapes its unique methods and messaging for member engagement. Individual congregants may find themselves interacting with different teams at your church through a variety of channels for giving, volunteering, attending, interacting on social media, or visiting your website. As a result, congregants often get a disjointed experience and leave feeling even less connected to the church than before.
Your church must look inward to examine how your operations can facilitate a more cohesive experience. Consider not only who your congregants are to one team but also who they are to your church as a whole. Where is their desire to get involved, and how do they prefer to engage?
You must partner internally to meet congregants where they are, as the figure below suggests. By embracing these techniques, you can decrease costs, gain greater insight into the impact of your work, strengthen security, and center your focus on the congregants that make it all possible.
As virtual work is now a key component of your organization’s routine, your leadership must establish the protocols and expectations of remote work and develop an online culture among staff and within the congregation. This means, among other things, integrating the work of your teams and ensuring a beneficial experience for parishioners and other constituents.
With the variety of technology, software, and platforms available today, deciding what to use at your church can be confusing. You know that the right technology can help you promote your church, communicate with your congregation and community, and get your message heard, but you may not know what the right technology is, or how to use it. Churches have begun to embrace technology by streaming services live, using applications to post sermon notes, and creating their own phone apps for a complete user experience. And they’re doing all of these things with the goal of connecting with the congregation, new visitors, and the community.
The ability to effectively use technology within your congregation has drastically changed how you communicate with your communities. But many churches are only using technology or social media because they feel pressure to keep up with the times. Because of this, they’re not using it correctly or to its full potential.
“How to Use Technology to Grow Your Church” outlines the broad steps to embrace and use the right technology:
- Identify relevant technology
- Evaluate the technology
- Build your tech team
- Create your tech strategy
- Train your staff
- Communicate your message
For more information on this topic, please visit: Technology