That title, "A Ministry First" could sum up a lot of my thoughts and posts. It's a statement that we need to continually make about our efforts and direction. Living in the technology world, which includes a WIDE array of categories: graphics & video creation, broadcast and live video, audio engineering and lighting design - the pursuit for inspiration and improvement leads us to look at and examine examples used often on tour, on TV, and in other performance-based arenas. Often we tread down the path of wanting to be more produced, more polished, and better rehearsed.

But we're a ministry before we are a production.

We ran up against a scenario this week where that statement needed to be pressed into our perspective. It's the week before Easter, and that means some challenging, but exciting additions to our services. We have a large lighting rig change we're implementing on our main stage and secondary stage, and a bunch of rental fixtures that will be hung as part of this. The rentals (obviously) won't be in the building until closer to the weekend so as to keep the cost down. In addition to lighting, we're projecting some creative content on the side walls of our main worship center - a setup that will require both time in install and in tweaking content to look just right. Along with both of these, we're also needing to set up the stage visually and functionally for the weekend.

All of these tasks require that our worship center be available and unused so we can get it all done. We already have some challenges built into our schedule - our college ministry meets in the worship center on Tuesday nights. This is unavoidable, since they are way too big to meet anywhere else and we live broadcast their gathering to other college groups across the country. Another schedule challenge, which is universal to most churches on Easter weekend, is that we're holding Good Friday service as well. Functionally, this gives us some pretty short windows to get everything done.

But we're a ministry before we are a production.

So with limited time as it is, and my team feeling the pressure to complete it all, I get a phone call on Friday: "We need to hold a memorial service in the worship center on Friday morning."

"Next Friday morning? Good Friday?" was my surprised response. The wheels started turning in my head. I text Kyle, our live production coordinator, and we jump on the phone to discuss. He's very in tune with the time needed to pull off our setups, and I'm hearing some major concern with this addition to the schedule. We batted some options around, and eventually landed on confirmation that we can accomplish it all, even with the tightened schedule. But what if we couldn't?

Here's the back story - this memorial service is for a fallen soldier who was serving in Afganistan. The family wants to hold the service at our church because it's the only venue big enough to hold everyone. Soldiers, family members, friends - all of them want to come and pay their respects, and they'll hear the Gospel too!

At first glance, it seems crazy to add an event to the calendar that weekend. We're having 5 services in three days. This memorial service will add to it, and be on the same day as our Good Friday service. But when you press up the statement "we're a ministry before we are a production" to this scenario, it seems crazy that we wouldn't do it. Funerals are an awesome opportunity to present the gospel. We're providing comfort and support to one of the families of our military. It's a no-brainer. If something had to go, it would be our lighting or our projection or our cool looking stage WAY before we would mess with this. 

Often times tech teams think that their leaders don't really know all that's involved in what they do. And they are often right. But just as often, tech teams don't know all that's involved in a scenario and are unwilling to look beyond the logistical concerns. Choose to look through the lens of ministry, not show and production. Utilize technology for ministry, and don't limit ministry to a specific context. Be willing to get out of the way if necessary.

What do you think? Tell us in the comments below or sound off on facebook or twitter.

@JonCook_

We've already established that social media tools are incredibly valuable for the church. If you aren't using them, check out a previous article, "Why Social Media Matters And How To Get Started"

If you are off the ground and running, but wondering how to make this thing more effective, here are a few tips:

Don't just post the predictable!
Twitter doesn't allow repeat tweets for a reason. You already said that! Post fresh, new interesting items. Instead of "Come to prayer meeting, Wednesday nights at 6pm", try engaging the activity of what is happening. This would be way more powerful: "WOW! Last Wednesday night we had 100 people come to prayer meeting. We're doing it again tonight at 6pm!" - you shared a bit of info from last week, and encourage others to join.

Don't rely on right now for updates!
We all know that life is busy, and life in ministry certainly comes with its many hats to wear (think multitasking, not ladies wearing their Sunday best). One minute you're counseling someone, the next you're clearing the stage for an event. I get it. That's why tools like hootsuite and buffer are SO valuable to this process. Set up a hootsuite account to schedule specific posts at specific times. You can go through the calendar for the week, even the month if you want, and preset when you'll send out tweets and fb updates. It's free! 

Buffer is also free and works a bit different. While you could also kind of schedule posts via buffer, it's purpose is more to create a cache of items you'd like to share at some point. Do you want to sprinkle in some bible verses here and there to your updates? Load them all into buffer, and they will trickle out one by one into your feeds. 

Both of these guarantee (if you use them well) that your content flow won't stop. 

Be responsive and cultivate conversation
Twitter and facebook are called SOCIAL media for a reason. It's a conversation, not a communication blast. If you post something up there, and someone asks a question, you absolutely must engage with them. If not, people will stop listening. Begin to cultivate conversation by asking questions instead of making statements. Challenge your audience. Get them to participate!

Create a team
All of the above takes work. It takes focus, it takes passion, and it takes commitment. Don't go it alone. Seek out 2-3 people who you trust to help with these conduits. Make them admins on your fb page. Give them access via hootsuite to connect with your twitter account. With 3-4 people on the team, replies will come sooner to the audience, better content will be created, and more activity will be happening.

"PLEASE TRUST ME!"

This thought is one that I promise has, as some point, gone through your mind if you serve on a technical team in a church. If you're a worship pastor or senior pastor, please know, this one tops the list of things they wish they could say to you. 

So often in churches, there is a great lack of trust given to the tech team. But, being honest, it's often for good reason. More times than not, tech teams develop a reputation for communicating poorly, being experimental with not-so-great results, and seeming to do things that are distracting or outside of the goals of their pastor and leadership.

Today's challenge to tech teams: earn that trust.

Today's challenge to leadership: trust them anyways.

First, let me speak to those serving on the tech/media team. 

If you want to be trusted, you need to earn it. This should be your default thought position: "How can I begin to earn the trust I desire for this team?" You may feel as if you aren't trusted when it comes to a stage layout, or in deciding how a video or graphic should look, or even with smaller decisions. To begin to change this, start by developing ways to "pitch" the idea in advance, instead of expecting blind trust. Do you want to change up the stage? Don't just go in and ask your pastor without being prepared. Measure the stage, create drawings, talk with others about potential problems first. Then, when you have that conversation, you can answer any of their concerns right away. You have visuals to help you explain the idea. Do this a few times, and you'll begin to earn their trust - they will see that you are thinking of all angles, not just your own.

Often times, the problem really is that the tech's perspective is based on something other than that church's context. They see a concert with a cool lighting rig or a much larger venue utilizing 10 cameras. They see and admire that setup, and want to emulate portions of it. More people than just church techs are guilty of this by the way. This is why many churches that seat 50 people end up doing IMAG cameras on their screen. Church techs - learn to scale your ideas and live within the context you're working in. Dream big, yes! But cool, for cool sake? Often times that's distracting and erodes trust in your decision making being good for the church.

Now, to those in church leadership:

Above, I said to trust them anyways. But, after all that I've written to the tech/media teams, you're probably saying "no, they can earn that trust as you say above." Wrong. The BEST way for you to help them through that process is to offer them trust. Not, blind, irresponsible levels of trust, but trust that allows them to grow. When an idea surfaces, don't shoot it down. Get excited about the creativity and help them scale the idea to fit. When they suggest a technical solution (mic placement, a way to play videos, etc), if at all possible, let them try. Their best opportunity to learn will be through the experience; success or failure. It's better to have a group of people who have had the chance to try and have failed then those who continue to believe that if only they were allowed, it would be awesome. You, in your leadership role, can do so much with a combination of high expectations and high degrees of trust upfront.

Are you on a church tech team? Do you have areas where you wish you were trusted?

Are you in church leadership? Do you struggle to trust your tech team?

Leaders, trust them anyways

Techs, earn that trust!

Here are some things you probably never want to hear right before the service or event starts:

- "Hmm, I thought I saved those changes…"

- "There must have been a power outage. Seems none of the settings recalled"

- "I was just in the bathroom, but I forgot to take my mic pack off my belt…"

- "I just ran all the software updates for this computer"

- "I just upgraded ProPresenter to the latest version. I've been curious how it works"

- "I think the network is down"

- "This thing keeps crashing"

- "The speakers are making this weird, muffled, popping sound"

- "Hey, we just need to add _______ (fill in the blank with an instrument, singer, set piece, etc)

- "Hey, I just need a real simple graphic (or video) made"

- "I can't get the ___________ to turn on (fill in the blank with any important piece of equipment)

- As someone's about to speak/sing: "I'm not sure I replaced the batteries in that mic"

- "Where is ______________" (fill in the blank with a key volunteer who NEEDS to be here to operate the service)

- "You do remember we're doing baptisms today, right?" as baptistry sits empty or full of 60 degree water

- When asking to double check a video for the service: "What video?"

- "I didn't test this, but it'll probably work fine"

What don't you want to hear on a Sunday before service? Add your own in the comments!

Here are four major observations that I believe will contribute to a surge in efficency:

#1 – Passion
The tasks I have been completing aren’t just tasks; they are items I am extremely passionate about. I take them on as challenges, not just stuff in the “to-do” pile. This passion only adds to the sense of accomplishment when I see progress being made.

#2 - Focus
Getting into that groove usually happens after I've focused carefully on what I want to accomplish. I've sat with my to-do list and not just added to it but organized and prioritized it. I'm a task list junkie since it's the best way for me to organize my work, but when I'm really humming, it's partially because I whipped that list into shape and focused hard on it.

#3 – Milestones
Milestones of success along the way allow me to feel that progress is being made. One of the major projects I am working on right is something that won’t be completed for months, maybe even years. Yet along the process, there are major victories that allow me to see this work is making a difference. That’s important! When we work on projects that only have one point where we see success and those points are so far off in the distance, our motivation is challenged at times. Worse yet, sometimes we are presented with projects we don’t have the opportunity of seeing the benefit of completion on. Looking for ways to celebrate those accomplishments along the way will do a lot for that feeling of satisfaction in work.

#4 – Reliance on God’s strength
I am so guilty of relying on my own strength at many times; my own problem solving, my own enegery to stay up late and work through an issue, and lots of other ways of being self-reliant. Right now, I have been spending a lot of time just reading and meditating on God’s Word. People always say “leave it up to God” or they flippantly quote part of the verse ” cast your cares…” Its more than that. When we plug into Him and allow Him to flow through us, we literally will feel the strength coming from somewhere than ourselves.

I truly believe that life is cyclical, and that every week can't equal those weeks where we're running 110%. We all need rest and we all need a cycle of faster, then slower. However, there's a lot to get done! When you need to be on a roll, implement the above and make #4 the priority. Of all these points, remembering #4, keeping God in the focus, will be key to staying energized and passionate.

Sometimes, the environment in churches really stinks when it comes to the usage and acceptance of media and technology. This is one of the common complaints of those serving in these areas. In this article, I'm going to propose that there are clear ways to help change that environment, but it's up to you to put in the effort and have the patience to see those things change.

In my last article, I was outlining some of the elements of my church that make it easy for our media ministry to be successful. If you haven't read it, check it out here.

Those key elements included:

- being allowed to experiment

- given a seat at the table to hear and weigh in on decision-making

- not being micromanaged

- encouraged to partner with others

- having a spiritually centered team

So, all good right? But what if your environment stinks and you have no control over changing it? 

I do believe there are very few scenarios where all hope is lost to change that environment, but it's going to mean some hard work, humility, and some patience. Here's a suggested path toward changing it:

See It From Their Point Of View

The first step to making any kind of progress here is to evaluate the scenario from church leadership's point of view. Why haven't you been allowed to experiment? Is it because you've been irresponsible in the times that you have? Do you raise the stress level when something new is tried? Could this be the reason for micromanagement as well? Try and get in the head of others and understand what makes them nervous about your team. 

Ask For Feedback

Sit down with or send a note to your leadership, asking them generally for feedback. Ask questions like "what do you observe about the media team at church, and what could we do to improve?" These are disarming questions, because you show a desire to improve and an openness to constructive criticism. This conversation also confirms your suspicions from the above step in trying to see from their perspective.

Develop A Plan For One Key Item

In order to develop trust (needed to create this change) across the board, you need to earn trust through a few single items. Start by coming up with one project that you know would be beneficial to the church. Write out a proposal for this. Let's say, for example, you want to show pre-service video announcements. Start by determining how you would gather content. Write out the timeline for creating this project, who would be responsible for what aspects, and what other people would need to be involved to make it happen. Answer important key questions like "is this sustainable weekly?" , "what value does this present for the church" , and other questions you think your pastor would ask you.

If Possible Execute The Plan As Proof-Of-Concept

If possible, do the thing that you're proposing to do, just to prove that the concept works. In the example above, create those video announcements for one week even though there's no intention of using them. This shows that it's possible to do what it is you're proposing. If it's not video work, set something up temporarily and take pictures. DON'T leave it and assume it's ok. This is about building trust and respect.

Discuss

Have a conversation with leadership about this one project. See if there is a positive reaction to efforts taken. *Important note here: Even if the answer is still no to this project, thats ok! This exercise is not about creating results on one project; it's about changing a culture. Your efforts will not go unnoticed, even if you don't get the response you hoped for.

Be Patient

Repeat these steps several times and be patient. Know that this might take months, even years, before you see any change. Your passion and ambition will help to make a difference. And by the way, it won't just make a difference with leadership - you'll be transformed as well as you continue to strive for excellence and not use excuses to avoid action.

A couple final notes:

- If Sunday morning doesn't lend itself to some of the things you really wish you could do, look to partner with others (one of the key elements above). Is there another ministry in the church or in the community that would benefit from your efforts? This will still allow you to grow and not feel frustrated, even when you can't spread your wings in the service.

- Don't use the stinky environment as an excuse to let yourself or your team become complacent or bitter. Lead towards spiritual growth and passionate service and trust God for the rest.

Have you ever tried changing an environment you were in? How did it go?

I work at a church. Yep, that's my full time job (you'd be surprised how many times I'm asked to clarify that when I tell someone where I work). Truly, I love the place where I work. I say often to those around me that the privilege of witnessing God's activity daily is one of the greatest joys we could hope for, and right now, we are witnessing some incredible things in Western New York. 

Certainly, I give God all of the credit for how He has directed my steps and allowed me to serve Him on a church staff team for over 11 years now. It's been a thrilling journey, and one that I have been on due to some leaders giving me a chance when I was really young and green, but really passionate and eager to learn. What I'd like to point out specifically though is how the leadership at my church made it possible for us to grow as a team, gain experience, and deliver successful results.

Allowed to Experiment

Here's an inevitable - A media/tech team will have a "great idea" that they want so badly to try because they think it will be amazing. Yet, when implemented, it isn't quite what was expected. Could be flat out failure, could be just not as beneficial as originally thought, or could be good but distracting in other ways. 

Here's a personal example: we wanted a moving camera shot in front of our stage. So, we went out and build a whole dolly system for the camera operator to ride on. It was awesome. Smooth, easy to pull, and the shot looked great. The problem was that it rode on this big metal track that was super cumbersome. Anyone coming up on the platform had to step through this maze to get to the stairs. Also, a few times during the service, the dolly ran off the track, creating the need for a few guys to go over, pick it up, and put it back. Did the shot look awesome? Yes! Was it a good solution for the environment? No.

But here's the lesson. We were allowed to try. Not only that, but we were allowed to come to that conclusion on our own. No one came and said "get that contraption out of here." We learned ourselves. I have more than a hundred more stories like this I could share, but the point is this: allowing room for the team to experiment means that growth and learning will take place. That's a challenge to any pastors and senior leaders reading this. If you trust these guys to make the best decision and you believe they are passionate about improving quality and creating value, allow them to experiment.

Given a seat at the table

Just by the very nature of our staffing structure, I've been given an advantage and head start to building a successful team. Why? Because almost since the start, I've been invited in to the decision-making discussion. This means that I hear directly about what's happening in the church from those who lead in their areas. I've been allowed to be a peer instead of a subordinate to those key leaders, giving me a better chance to initiate conversation on how to prioritize our efforts. Mostly (and this is true regardless of structure) the priority for media to enhance the worship environment and assist communication to our people has always been allowed to supersede outside demands. We can focus on aspects of media and technology that only we would be aware of but know that without those efforts our capacity for other requests is diminished (i.e.: system upgrades, creative exercises, etc). 

Not micromanaged

This may be the single-most important element. I have a voice with my pastor and those in leadership, but our team is not micromanaged. There is a trust level that I SO MUCH appreciate, and it allows us to live with the understanding the failure and experimentation is ok, as long as our priorities were in order and our plans were created in good faith. Don't get me wrong, there IS management: often people get the wrong idea, thinking that any presence of management is micromanagement - this simply is untrue. Media teams need direction from leadership, as with any other aspect of an organization, or they will run in directions not in tune with the overall goals and principles of the whole. However, being given the freedom to assign priorities to workload, feel the freedom to dream and create without having to run every step by someone else; this builds up a team! 

Encouraged to partner with others

The culture I live in is one where we are encouraged to partner with others. Certainly others within our four walls (music ministry, children's ministry, etc) - we have expertise and resources that they don't and we need to partner with them to help accomplish the mission. But others also means our brothers and sisters at other expressions of the church. One main reason for this website in fact is to partner with others. We constantly are in discussion with other local churches, offering whatever resources we have to help them accomplish the mission where God has them. THIS IS A FREEING MINDSET. It allows us to live outside our own little microcosm and see what happens elsewhere. We learn from others and they learn from us. That breeds success and creativity.

Spiritually Centered

I've written a lot about this subject, but that is because it is so important! Media and tech teams are so often led poorly in this area because the default personality type often is one that likes to hide behind equipment. To develop a successful team, that team cannot be treated as less important members of the whole team. Does the worship team pray before service? So should the media team - pray together even if possible! Take time out discuss each other's spiritual development. Encourage small group involvement. The more spiritually healthy the individuals on the team become, the stronger the team as a whole will be. Focusing on this also helps prevent against bitterness, harsh, sarcastic responses, and other bents that media team members are prone to.

What kind of environment do you live in? What works? What do you wish could change? If you serve on a team, are you being led toward success?

As of today, we officially have 17 days until Easter Sunday, which means preparations are in full swing. Not only are we planning Easter Sunday, but Good Friday as well. It's an exciting weekend, since it represents a great opportunity to speak to people that don't usually step foot in church. Here are a few things we're considering that day for the church I serve at:

- Promotion: Don't forget to promote your services! We've created a Facebook event that allows our church to invite their friends easily on FB. Use a hashtag to do the same on twitter. These are free options that allow people to easily engage in actively reaching their community.

- Room setup: we're adjusting some seating to make sure we don't run out of room (or have a backup plan in case we do). Are you worried about space issues? Do you have a way to show a camera feed on a TV in your lobby or other space just in case people are standing out there?

- Playback tracks: We have two campuses with very different music setups. However, we want to run similiar elements at both. So in order to supplement at the one campus, we'll record and program some elements ahead of time then play them back with the band. The band plays to a click, and can now have extra parts not live on stage. It's not faking it (ok, well it kind of is) but the goal isn't to fake anyone out. Rather, we're trying to create an environment that has impact and sounds like it should. We're using DP for audio playback, but you could use ProTools, Garage Band or a host of other options.

- Graphics: Our Easter graphics will look different than other Sundays. We're designing around a theme linked to the message. This will show up on our bulletin cover, screen graphics, during music, and in the way we light the stage.

- Projection: We're taking two projectors and shining them on our side walls in the main worship center. We'll be projecting extra images during some of our music elements. As well, we'll be creating a visual mood all throughout the message. 

- Rehearsal: We get our music team and media team together the Saturday before Easter and run through everything, just to make sure it will go right!

- Prayer: Above all else, we're preparing by asking God to be in charge and do something amazing that day. 

As of today, we officially have 17 days until Easter Sunday, which means preparations are in full swing. Not only are we planning Easter Sunday, but Good Friday as well. It's an exciting weekend, since it represents a great opportunity to speak to people that don't usually step foot in church. Here are a few things we're considering that day for the church I serve at:

- Promotion: Don't forget to promote your services! We've created a Facebook event that allows our church to invite their friends easily on FB. Use a hashtag to do the same on twitter. These are free options that allow people to easily engage in actively reaching their community.

- Room setup: we're adjusting some seating to make sure we don't run out of room (or have a backup plan in case we do). Are you worried about space issues? Do you have a way to show a camera feed on a TV in your lobby or other space just in case people are standing out there?

- Playback tracks: We have two campuses with very different music setups. However, we want to run similiar elements at both. So in order to supplement at the one campus, we'll record and program some elements ahead of time then play them back with the band. The band plays to a click, and can now have extra parts not live on stage. It's not faking it (ok, well it kind of is) but the goal isn't to fake anyone out. Rather, we're trying to create an environment that has impact and sounds like it should. We're using DP for audio playback, but you could use ProTools, Garage Band or a host of other options.

- Graphics: Our Easter graphics will look different than other Sundays. We're designing around a theme linked to the message. This will show up on our bulletin cover, screen graphics, during music, and in the way we light the stage.

- Projection: We're taking two projectors and shining them on our side walls in the main worship center. We'll be projecting extra images during some of our music elements. As well, we'll be creating a visual mood all throughout the message. 

- Rehearsal: We get our music team and media team together the Saturday before Easter and run through everything, just to make sure it will go right!

- Prayer: Above all else, we're preparing by asking God to be in charge and do something amazing that day. 

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Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve: These two days of the year are considered by many to be the biggest Sundays of the year. Now I know many of you will say "every Sunday is the biggest Sunday of the year!" - and I hear you, and I also would say just calm down a bit. No one is forgetting the opportunities that exist each and every wekk to present the Gospel in a church context. But, the fact is that many more people are willing and likely to visit a church on Easter than would be on a typical Sunday. Our culture creates this expectation around these dates. So, since we know there's a potential for that increased amount of people curious about Jesus and willing to listen, we should be doing what we can to present Christ to people using all tools at our disposal.

So the question on the table today is how do we get creative?

I've heard several conversations on this topic, ranging from great ideas to the "we don't have time" argument (which by the way, doesn't fly with me. If you want to, you'll make time).

So here are a few ways to get that creative ball rolling:

Seek Direction
Before you plow ahead with any idea, seek the direction of your leadership. Talk to your pastor/leader and try to get a general outline, main theme, or idea behind what is being communicated. If there isn't one, ask if there's anything you can do to pull out a supporting visual or idea that will help them communicate the message.

*Important note: don't expect your pastor to lead on the details of this creative. Get that general outline, then go away and take some time to think. Come back with a formulated plan. If they'd like to be looped in fine, but don't hinge the whole process on someone who's focus is in 20 other directions. You drive it!

Collaborate
In order to get the creative juices flowing, you need to collaborate. Seek a group of people who have open minds to thinking outside the box. Come prepared to discuss with them. Send them whatever notes you have from your leadership and a few main ideas. It's ok if these take long tangents - keep using that as the filter to bring it back in line. Sometimes tangents are the best way to generate a great idea.

Also consider seeking out the voices of people you don't normally hear. If the same people always discuss ideas, you'll have the same ideas. Bounce some thoughts off the receptionist, neighbor, whoever you can invite into the process for another perspective. They don't have to drive the outcome, but they widen greatly the scope of the conversation.

Live With It A Bit
You need to give yourself some time to live with the idea a bit. Give yourself space to think and let ideas breathe. Don't land on hard decisions in your first discussion with a group. Go away and mull it over. You'll either shape it some, or confirm that you love the ideas you came up with. You also might find a whole new direction.

Execute
Don't let your ideas die in the realm of "hey that'd be cool, but..." - even if you have to dream big, then scale down to what's doable, go for it! 

Here are just a few ideas to consider, ranging from basic to extreme:

- New bulletin artwork: If you don't design your own, seek out a graphic artist who can. Theme it to the day instead of generic Easter. (Anyone buying shells anymore?)

- Pre/Post service screen content: Could be scripture of the resurrection, testimonies of people transformed by Christ

- Artwork: Do you have someone who can paint, draw, build, etc? How could you leverage that in a service?

- Projection: Can you project somewhere different than normal?

- Testimonies: A person's story of a transformed life is one of the most powerful ways to help someone see Jesus. Find ways to communicate stories. Through video, audio, print (maybe a booklet of stories?), or live testimony. 

What are you planning for Easter Sunday?

It's been called the "after-church-crash", the "production coma", the "Sunday snooze" - it's that nap enjoyed by many around the world after Sunday services are over. If you're involved in serving at church, you know what I'm talking about. So, today we're exploring the nature of this phenomenon: why it exists, what rules surround it, and how to make the most of it.

Why does it exist? 

It's an interesting fact that while Sunday is often NOT the longest day of the week, it sure feels like it. If your church has one service, you might spend 3-4 hours there. Two services? Maybe 6-7 hours. Yet Sunday afternoon often feels like the end of an SAT cram session or marathon run. You just want to stare at the wall or count some blades of grass or... NAP!

I think it comes down to mental and physical energy expelled. I know I personally come away drained predominantly when that Sunday was either unusually intense with cues and unusual elements or if something went wrong. If we were down to the wire fixing something or generating troubleshooting solutions to a major problem, I just want to go lay in a pool of drool after it's all over. Pastors, youth workers, volunteers in any capacity - I know you experience these same side effects often. We get up earlier than usual, our mindset and routinues are different than other days, and we give it all we have on Sunday. Our brains are in high gear as we try to make sure that everything is set and ready for when people arrive.

What are the rules?

Unfortunately, there are several rules involved in properly executing the Sunday afternoon nap. Many of these often prevent it altogether. Pay close attention so as not to commit a rookie break in nap etiquette.

• Naps can only occur once you've completed your duties and arrived safely at home: No napping in the booth under the counter. Your drool may cause a short in the wiring. No napping in the car on the way home, especially if you're driving!

For those of you living under a rock (http://bit.ly/wccFk9), social media is made up of those sites such as facebook, twitter, Google+ (kind of) and others that have literally transformed the way we communicate with each other. If your church isn't leveraging these tools to their max, you are missing out on some great connections. So, why should you use it?

It's free! Why would you not want to use a tool that is both highly effective and completely free? 

People are already there and listening. Ignoring these areas would be like preaching your sermon in your office when you know the congregation is sitting in the sanctuary waiting to hear you (overstated? I think not!)

People expect you to be there. Just like 10+ years ago people expected that if you were relevant and with the times, you'd have a website, so today they are shocked when you aren't on facebook or twitter.

It's one part of your tool box, not a complete replacement. If you have those who prefer traditional forms of communication, that's ok! Social media is an added component to the way you connect with your people. For those that don't like it, they don't have to use it. Don't force-feed people with it, but make it an added way for people to connect.

So how do you get started?

1st, you need to set up your online presence:

For facebook, you login as yourself and create a "Fan Page" - you can do that here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php 

For twitter, you create a new account and call it the name of your organization. Try and make this name predictable but short (ex: @fbac is better than @firstbaptistarcticcircle)

2nd, tell your people about it:

Use your traditional communication methods (platform announcements, bulletin, slides, etc) to let people know where you are online. 

3rd, populate with content OFTEN

Relevant, quality content is important but frequency is just as important. Make a goal to post AT LEAST once a day. This doesn't have to be new content every time. We'll talk about what kind of content can be posted below.

4th, begin to be social

Try to use these platforms to interact, not just broadcast. Especially when you're 1st starting out, reach out to those who have followed you. Mention them or at the very least be present online to aswer their questions. Don't let interaction on their part go unanswered.

What if I already have these platforms but no one is using them?

Most often this is because no one was posting content. Maybe you got off to a good start, but then stopped updating it because life got busy. It's happened to the best of us. If that's the case, have a re-launch campaign: Basically, pretend like you're starting for the 1st time. Make a big deal about it through traditional methods - have a specific thing people can go there for to relearn that you're available online. Make an effort to reconnect people.

Ownership and content

One of the hardest parts about social media, especially for those wearing many hats is the pressure of one more thing to update. 1st, I'd say that this doesn't all have to be new unique content, just content in a more accessible place.

• Do you record your sermons and post to a podcast? Also publish that link to facebook and twitter! 
• Did you have sermon points on Sunday? Highlight one each day and remind people of the challenge that was given. 
• Do you know the sermon title or topic for the upcoming Sunday? Give them a preview on facebook of what they should expect to hear about when then arrive.

http://bit.ly/wccFk9), social media is made up of those sites such as facebook, twitter, Google+ (kind of) and others that have literally transformed the way we communicate with each other. If your church isn't leveraging these tools to their max, you are missing out on some great connections. So, why should you use it?

It's free! Why would you not want to use a tool that is both highly effective and completely free? 

People are already there and listening. Ignoring these areas would be like preaching your sermon in your office when you know the congregation is sitting in the sanctuary waiting to hear you (overstated? I think not!)

People expect you to be there. Just like 10+ years ago people expected that if you were relevant and with the times, you'd have a website, so today they are shocked when you aren't on facebook or twitter.

It's one part of your tool box, not a complete replacement. If you have those who prefer traditional forms of communication, that's ok! Social media is an added component to the way you connect with your people. For those that don't like it, they don't have to use it. Don't force-feed people with it, but make it an added way for people to connect.

So how do you get started?

1st, you need to set up your online presence:

For facebook, you login as yourself and create a "Fan Page" - you can do that here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php 

For twitter, you create a new account and call it the name of your organization. Try and make this name predictable but short (ex: @fbac is better than @firstbaptistarcticcircle)

2nd, tell your people about it:

Use your traditional communication methods (platform announcements, bulletin, slides, etc) to let people know where you are online. 

3rd, populate with content OFTEN

Relevant, quality content is important but frequency is just as important. Make a goal to post AT LEAST once a day. This doesn't have to be new content every time. We'll talk about what kind of content can be posted below.

4th, begin to be social

Try to use these platforms to interact, not just broadcast. Especially when you're 1st starting out, reach out to those who have followed you. Mention them or at the very least be present online to aswer their questions. Don't let interaction on their part go unanswered.

 

What if I already have these platforms but no one is using them?

Most often this is because no one was posting content. Maybe you got off to a good start, but then stopped updating it because life got busy. It's happened to the best of us. If that's the case, have a re-launch campaign: Basically, pretend like you're starting for the 1st time. Make a big deal about it through traditional methods - have a specific thing people can go there for to relearn that you're available online. Make an effort to reconnect people.

 

Ownership and content

One of the hardest parts about social media, especially for those wearing many hats is the pressure of one more thing to update. 1st, I'd say that this doesn't all have to be new unique content, just content in a more accessible place.

• Do you record your sermons and post to a podcast? Also publish that link to facebook and twitter! 
• Did you have sermon points on Sunday? Highlight one each day and remind people of the challenge that was given. 
• Do you know the sermon title or topic for the upcoming Sunday? Give them a preview on facebook of what they should expect to hear about when then arrive.

It doesn't all have to be Sunday-related either. Use this as a platform to let people know what else is happening in the church. Use it as a way to share big ideas. Get people talking about how the church is reaching the community. It's a conversation, not just a billboard.

  

Also consider who will own the responsibility for posting. This can be more than one person! Divide up who will post what kinds of stuff and approach it as a team. 

 

What do you find challenging about social media strategy? What questions do you still have? What's working for you? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

 

/>" target="_blank">For those of you living under a rock (http://bit.ly/wccFk9), social media is made up of those sites such as facebook, twitter, Google+ (kind of) and others that have literally transformed the way we communicate with each other. If your church isn't leveraging these tools to their max, you are missing out on some great connections. So, why should you use it?

It's free! Why would you not want to use a tool that is both highly effective and completely free? 

People are already there and listening. Ignoring these areas would be like preaching your sermon in your office when you know the congregation is sitting in the sanctuary waiting to hear you (overstated? I think not!)

People expect you to be there. Just like 10+ years ago people expected that if you were relevant and with the times, you'd have a website, so today they are shocked when you aren't on facebook or twitter.

It's one part of your tool box, not a complete replacement. If you have those who prefer traditional forms of communication, that's ok! Social media is an added component to the way you connect with your people. For those that don't like it, they don't have to use it. Don't force-feed people with it, but make it an added way for people to connect.

So how do you get started?

1st, you need to set up your online presence:

For facebook, you login as yourself and create a "Fan Page" - you can do that here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php 

For twitter, you create a new account and call it the name of your organization. Try and make this name predictable but short (ex: @fbac is better than @firstbaptistarcticcircle)

2nd, tell your people about it:

Use your traditional communication methods (platform announcements, bulletin, slides, etc) to let people know where you are online. 

3rd, populate with content OFTEN

Relevant, quality content is important but frequency is just as important. Make a goal to post AT LEAST once a day. This doesn't have to be new content every time. We'll talk about what kind of content can be posted below.

4th, begin to be social

Try to use these platforms to interact, not just broadcast. Especially when you're 1st starting out, reach out to those who have followed you. Mention them or at the very least be present online to aswer their questions. Don't let interaction on their part go unanswered.

 

What if I already have these platforms but no one is using them?

Most often this is because no one was posting content. Maybe you got off to a good start, but then stopped updating it because life got busy. It's happened to the best of us. If that's the case, have a re-launch campaign: Basically, pretend like you're starting for the 1st time. Make a big deal about it through traditional methods - have a specific thing people can go there for to relearn that you're available online. Make an effort to reconnect people.

 

Ownership and content

One of the hardest parts about social media, especially for those wearing many hats is the pressure of one more thing to update. 1st, I'd say that this doesn't all have to be new unique content, just content in a more accessible place.

• Do you record your sermons and post to a podcast? Also publish that link to facebook and twitter! 
• Did you have sermon points on Sunday? Highlight one each day and remind people of the challenge that was given. 
• Do you know the sermon title or topic for the upcoming Sunday? Give them a preview on facebook of what they should expect to hear about when then arrive.

It doesn't all have to be Sunday-related either. Use this as a platform to let people know what else is happening in the church. Use it as a way to share big ideas. Get people talking about how the church is reaching the community. It's a conversation, not just a billboard.

  

Also consider who will own the responsibility for posting. This can be more than one person! Divide up who will post what kinds of stuff and approach it as a team. 

 

What do you find challenging about social media strategy? What questions do you still have? What's working for you? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

 

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