Gleanings from a Communications Workshop

I've been going to write about something I learned last Friday during my Communications workshop at Granger Community Church. The leader was Kem Meyer, Granger's Communications Director. I took a seminar by her at the MinistryCOM conference in September, out in Phoenix, and loved both the content and her delivery. Her slides expertly use graphic metaphors, with not a single bullet point in sight. And aren't we all tired of PowerPoint bullet points, which just keep coming and coming and COMING from all directions with tiresome, gimmicked-out flourishes? They are soooo nineties.

Perusing my notes, I see a lot of good stuff, but nothing which I feel compelled (or smart enough) to expand upon. So I thought I'd just bullet-point some tidbits which I found interesting, useful, or insightful. These are not necessarily the main points. Just things I scribbled down.

  • Churches are often a small number of people overhyping their product. Can they really deliver on their promise of health, success, good families, etc?
  • People want information, but not more information. They have a specific question, and want the answer to that question.
  • Don't give people more choices to make. It has negative consequences, regardless of generation. Boomers get overwhelmed and shut down, GenXers fuss over whether or not they're making the right decision, and GenYers just ignore you and move on.
  • Pastors can be prostitues or prophets. A prostitute is someone you pay to make you feel good. A prophet tells you what you need to hear.
  • In trying to reach nonChristians, put them in their comfort zone. That may mean behind a cup of coffee, or in front of multimedia.
  • People today enjoy the buzz of large groups, but they like to process in small groups.
  • If you can't maintain something, don't implement it. (For instance, a website.)
  • True creativity comes from limited resources.
  • Two types of people read the bulletin: first-time visitors, and people looking to see if you used their announcement.

Posted on November 17, 2006 09:30 AM|

Comments

The bullet that caught me was in putting nonChristians in their comfort zone. I think that churches need to be very careful with this tactic. We should not bring God down to our level. We need to rise up to His level and accept Him on His terms. Most of the time it is not easy to be a Christian; there are sacrifices to make and Christ's standards to live up to. It's important that nonChristians except CHRIST and not the entertainment offered at church.

Posted by: Julie | November 18, 2006 08:54 PM

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