By Ben Stroup
It’s interesting that we live in a digital, multi-media world of RSS feeds, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., until we go to church. Even some of the strongest users of these platforms in other areas of their lives fail to see the impact technology can have in church life.
A capital campaign is one of the most intensive and comprehensive tasks a church chooses to take on. It requires a tremendous amount of communication to keep everyone up to date and on board. And the six-month campaign also comes with an 18-36 month pledge fulfillment period which means the energy of the first six months has to continue until the final dollar is raised.
Thus, a capital campaign is the perfect opportunity to introduce technology as a way to manage communication with the larger church membership. (And social media isn’t just for young people. The fastest growing group on Facebook is women 55 and older as seen here.)
Consider these four ways to leverage social media and technology to support the communication and funding efforts of your next (or current) capital campaign.
1. Announce upcoming events. People forget. They have a lot going on in their lives. It’s difficult for the church leader to remember this because they are so close to the situation. Most of the people who occupy the pews of our churches only interact with their church once every seven days in 59 minute segments. Don’t expect people to rush home and put everything in the bulletin on their personal calendars. Make it easy for them to remember. As participation increases so does funding.
2. Share personal testimonies. Giving is an emotional process. Stories are emotional by design because they are grounded in our human experience. Don’t wait until Sunday to share how God is speaking to someone or moving in someone’s life as a result of their commitment and participation in the capital campaign. Personal testimonies are a great way to keep the momentum rolling. All you really need is a Flip Video and access to YouTube. Don’t forget that link to online giving.
3. Create an electronic photo gallery. (Think scrapbook.) Remember those albums your Mom kept of you from the time you were a baby until today? You can easily see the progression and re-live specific moments in your past by glancing through this collection of pictures and captions. It’s the same with a capital campaign. Use an online photo gallery as a scrapbook so that people can remember the campaign from beginning to end. It also becomes an easy way for others to share about the ministry of the church with others. The saying is true, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” People are looking for churches who are investing in Kingdom impact. It’s not unusual to see numerical growth as people are attracted to the energy a campaign creates.
4. Remind people to give. Make it easy for people to give. A capital campaign is designed to raise a large sum of money in a short period of time. People don’t attend church as often or as consistently as they have in the past. We live differently and our schedules are much more sporadic and unpredictable than they have ever been. Reminding people how they can support the campaign and making it easy for them to do so online increases the opportunity to maximize the giving capacity of your congregation.
The people who sit in your pews already use social media. Maybe the church should consider harnessing the power of this communication platform, too.
Ben Stroup, works with GENERIS, an innovative stewardship consulting firm focused on accelerating generosity and funding the work of the Kingdom. This post entry originally appeared on the site http://ministrymarketingcoach.com.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Rescuing Creation
by Dr. J. Derrill Smith
After having been buried alive for a week in the rubble of Haiti's January 12 earthquake, Ena Zizi was rescued by the Gophers. As they pulled her dirty and injured body out on a broken piece of plywood salvaged from the rubble and carefully passed her down over three stories of debris to the ground, the 70-year-old woman began singing. Her singing was inarticulate, as she hadn't had any water to drink for seven days. Yet, her joy was infectious. The members of the Mexican rescue team who were carrying her began crying...
The Mexicans who saved Zizi's life are known in their home country as Los Topos de Tlatelolco, or the Gophers of Tlatelolco. Tlatelolco was a giant apartment complex in Mexico City that was destroyed by earthquake in 1985. During that disaster, when the Mexican government failed to respond promptly, Tlatelolco residents formed their own rescue brigade and learned on the job. In the years since they have become stars among international rescue teams.
Unlike rescuers who stay on the surface and peel away the debris until they reach the victims, they Gophers have become world-renowned experts at gaining faster access to survivors by tunneling into rubble and propping up makeshift tunnels with debris. It means they put their own lives at risk, but that risk paid off for Zizi. ("Out of the Rubble," The Christian Century, March 23, 2010)
Paul Jeffrey, a United Methodist missionary who reported this moving story, says that the Gophers have a lot to teach us. He says that if we are to help the Haitians, as well as other devastated people, we must dig deeper and tunnel into the systems that keep people depressed and poor. Indeed, he is correct. But some of my first thoughts about the Mexican rescuers tunneling deep into dangerous places went immediately to the great thing that Christ did for us. Setting aside his glory and putting on human flesh, Jesus of Nazareth tunneled into the pathos of human existence in order to show us the way to God. Yet, the world did not receive this Savior but hung him on a cross. The earliest teachers of the faith said that "he descended into hell." There is much speculation about what exactly that descent means, but there is no denying that Christ tunneled into human existence, even death and hell itself, to rescue his creation. This is the message of Easter. "Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!"
Derrill Smith is the pastor of Wingate Baptist Church in Wingate, NC. This article originally appeared in Wingate Baptist's church newsletter, "The Chrysalis."
After having been buried alive for a week in the rubble of Haiti's January 12 earthquake, Ena Zizi was rescued by the Gophers. As they pulled her dirty and injured body out on a broken piece of plywood salvaged from the rubble and carefully passed her down over three stories of debris to the ground, the 70-year-old woman began singing. Her singing was inarticulate, as she hadn't had any water to drink for seven days. Yet, her joy was infectious. The members of the Mexican rescue team who were carrying her began crying...
The Mexicans who saved Zizi's life are known in their home country as Los Topos de Tlatelolco, or the Gophers of Tlatelolco. Tlatelolco was a giant apartment complex in Mexico City that was destroyed by earthquake in 1985. During that disaster, when the Mexican government failed to respond promptly, Tlatelolco residents formed their own rescue brigade and learned on the job. In the years since they have become stars among international rescue teams.
Unlike rescuers who stay on the surface and peel away the debris until they reach the victims, they Gophers have become world-renowned experts at gaining faster access to survivors by tunneling into rubble and propping up makeshift tunnels with debris. It means they put their own lives at risk, but that risk paid off for Zizi. ("Out of the Rubble," The Christian Century, March 23, 2010)
Paul Jeffrey, a United Methodist missionary who reported this moving story, says that the Gophers have a lot to teach us. He says that if we are to help the Haitians, as well as other devastated people, we must dig deeper and tunnel into the systems that keep people depressed and poor. Indeed, he is correct. But some of my first thoughts about the Mexican rescuers tunneling deep into dangerous places went immediately to the great thing that Christ did for us. Setting aside his glory and putting on human flesh, Jesus of Nazareth tunneled into the pathos of human existence in order to show us the way to God. Yet, the world did not receive this Savior but hung him on a cross. The earliest teachers of the faith said that "he descended into hell." There is much speculation about what exactly that descent means, but there is no denying that Christ tunneled into human existence, even death and hell itself, to rescue his creation. This is the message of Easter. "Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!"
Derrill Smith is the pastor of Wingate Baptist Church in Wingate, NC. This article originally appeared in Wingate Baptist's church newsletter, "The Chrysalis."
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Easter Reflection
by Rev. Laura Barclay
As Easter approaches this year, the topic of consumerism has been on my mind. It wasn’t until a recent Saturday morning when my spouse and I were watching television. A commercial appeared with a cartoon Barbie swimming around in the ocean. The announcer said something about how the story of Barbie achieving her dream of being a human would make a great Easter gift. Really? A cartoon based on a plastic doll that has dangerously unbelievable body proportions and may encourage poor self-esteem in our youth is the perfect Easter gift?
I began to notice some of my divinity school friends on Facebook complaining that they couldn’t find anything Easter-related in stores that didn’t have to do with an bunny or an egg, fertility symbols from a pagan holiday that Christians co-opted many centuries ago (similar to the Christian co-optation of the Roman festival Saturnalia into Christmas). One particular children’s minister was looking for cutouts of figures from the Easter story and was met with a sea of candy, baskets, and plastic grass.
The reality is that we are living in a culture that is becoming more and more secular by the day. Some aspects of this are great—public schools, separation of church and state, freedom of conscience—and some are more challenging—consumerism and competing values. Businesses in a capitalist economy know that cut-outs of the Easter story won’t sell like candy or Barbie, so they bombard us with images that allow us to forget the less palatable story of the arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.
I’m a realist. I know that teaching our children and ourselves the story of Jesus amid the barrage of competing ad campaigns is more difficult than in recent history. However, I think the resulting questions, reflection, and faith is more genuine and more committed than it was when everyone claimed to be a Christian, whether they really wanted to be or not. Not so many decades ago, you had to be a Christian to get elected in most districts, to succeed in most social circles, and to fit in most places. Now, in the post-modern marketplace of ideas, most of us that choose to follow Christ do so because we really feel led, not because of peer pressure. We have the freedom to ask questions and deepen our faith in a way that the rigidity of the all-or-nothing modern world didn’t allow. So, while we are losing the ability to find Christian products in every store, we have gained a new way of thinking about our faith.
As we approach the cross, what ways have we carved out of our life to renew our faith as followers of Jesus? How do we reflect on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday? How does the Easter story relate to us today? What does Jesus ask of us as Christians? What crosses do we see in our community that we should take up? Asking ourselves these questions can help center us and focus us on the path of Christ when so many images threaten to distract us.
I wish you a prayerful and reflective Holy Week.
As Easter approaches this year, the topic of consumerism has been on my mind. It wasn’t until a recent Saturday morning when my spouse and I were watching television. A commercial appeared with a cartoon Barbie swimming around in the ocean. The announcer said something about how the story of Barbie achieving her dream of being a human would make a great Easter gift. Really? A cartoon based on a plastic doll that has dangerously unbelievable body proportions and may encourage poor self-esteem in our youth is the perfect Easter gift?
I began to notice some of my divinity school friends on Facebook complaining that they couldn’t find anything Easter-related in stores that didn’t have to do with an bunny or an egg, fertility symbols from a pagan holiday that Christians co-opted many centuries ago (similar to the Christian co-optation of the Roman festival Saturnalia into Christmas). One particular children’s minister was looking for cutouts of figures from the Easter story and was met with a sea of candy, baskets, and plastic grass.
The reality is that we are living in a culture that is becoming more and more secular by the day. Some aspects of this are great—public schools, separation of church and state, freedom of conscience—and some are more challenging—consumerism and competing values. Businesses in a capitalist economy know that cut-outs of the Easter story won’t sell like candy or Barbie, so they bombard us with images that allow us to forget the less palatable story of the arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.
I’m a realist. I know that teaching our children and ourselves the story of Jesus amid the barrage of competing ad campaigns is more difficult than in recent history. However, I think the resulting questions, reflection, and faith is more genuine and more committed than it was when everyone claimed to be a Christian, whether they really wanted to be or not. Not so many decades ago, you had to be a Christian to get elected in most districts, to succeed in most social circles, and to fit in most places. Now, in the post-modern marketplace of ideas, most of us that choose to follow Christ do so because we really feel led, not because of peer pressure. We have the freedom to ask questions and deepen our faith in a way that the rigidity of the all-or-nothing modern world didn’t allow. So, while we are losing the ability to find Christian products in every store, we have gained a new way of thinking about our faith.
As we approach the cross, what ways have we carved out of our life to renew our faith as followers of Jesus? How do we reflect on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday? How does the Easter story relate to us today? What does Jesus ask of us as Christians? What crosses do we see in our community that we should take up? Asking ourselves these questions can help center us and focus us on the path of Christ when so many images threaten to distract us.
I wish you a prayerful and reflective Holy Week.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Theology at Bob Evans
by Rev. Dr. Dennis Hill
Each week I meet with a group of pastors at Bob Evans. Our conversation is much stronger and rich than their good mellow coffee. In fact, we usually drink deeply from the well of our theology and faith. Given the good rapport we share, we do not hesitate to challenge, disagree, and even laugh at one another, as we quote scripture, our teachers and good books. This week someone asked, “Speaking of the evil that causes us to be silent in the presence of evil, who was it that said, ‘when they came for the Jews, and the Communists, I remained silent; because I wasn't a Jew or a Communist. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.’” Several said, “It was Martin Neimoller, the Lutherine pastor during Hitler’s reign.”
The conversation continued, “Why was it that German Christians allowed Hitler to take over?” “The Nazis took over Germany while many Christians were silent, for the same reason that we are sipping coffee here and not out in the world confronting the evil forces of our own day!” “It is unpopular to stand against the majority, and it is often very expensive.” “It doesn’t take much to stir-up a tempest, if you identify commonly accepted ways of thinking as inspired by the devil.
Someone said that it was always easier to talk about the sin of smoking, dancing or drinking than it was to talk about caring for the poor. Another asked how the church can be relevant without addressing the political issues that effect the things that Jesus cared about and died for – the hungry, sick, and powerless.
Another asked if the church should have anything to say about the community campaign to “STOP GOODWILL?” Another asked about providing the same health care for the poor that the Congress receives?
“But a pastor can get fired if he insults someone one who is influential!” “So we pastors are left in the painful position of risking to address the sins of the day, or safely pretending that they are of no concern to the church.” “And that is what happened in Germany in the 1930’s. Did you know that Hitler even addressed the Baptist World Alliance in 1938?” “Why did the Christian church hunker down in Germany and try to go along?” “But every Christian did not become silent! Some were sent to work camps or death for opposing Hitler.” “Hitler was so popular in the ‘30’s. He got the trains running on time.” “And he made a scapegoat of the Jews for all of the financial problems in Germany.” “A lot of Americans supported Hitler and even urged FDR to take over like Hitler was doing.”
“It is our calling as pastors to identify evil when we see it and to help our congregations to not get swept in political propaganda, and not to get snookered by evil that is all decked out in fine clothes, or singing a popular song.” “God help us!” “Could I have some more coffee, please?”
Dr. Dennis Hill is the pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, NC. This article originally appeared in the March edition of their church newsletter.
Each week I meet with a group of pastors at Bob Evans. Our conversation is much stronger and rich than their good mellow coffee. In fact, we usually drink deeply from the well of our theology and faith. Given the good rapport we share, we do not hesitate to challenge, disagree, and even laugh at one another, as we quote scripture, our teachers and good books. This week someone asked, “Speaking of the evil that causes us to be silent in the presence of evil, who was it that said, ‘when they came for the Jews, and the Communists, I remained silent; because I wasn't a Jew or a Communist. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.’” Several said, “It was Martin Neimoller, the Lutherine pastor during Hitler’s reign.”
The conversation continued, “Why was it that German Christians allowed Hitler to take over?” “The Nazis took over Germany while many Christians were silent, for the same reason that we are sipping coffee here and not out in the world confronting the evil forces of our own day!” “It is unpopular to stand against the majority, and it is often very expensive.” “It doesn’t take much to stir-up a tempest, if you identify commonly accepted ways of thinking as inspired by the devil.
Someone said that it was always easier to talk about the sin of smoking, dancing or drinking than it was to talk about caring for the poor. Another asked how the church can be relevant without addressing the political issues that effect the things that Jesus cared about and died for – the hungry, sick, and powerless.
Another asked if the church should have anything to say about the community campaign to “STOP GOODWILL?” Another asked about providing the same health care for the poor that the Congress receives?
“But a pastor can get fired if he insults someone one who is influential!” “So we pastors are left in the painful position of risking to address the sins of the day, or safely pretending that they are of no concern to the church.” “And that is what happened in Germany in the 1930’s. Did you know that Hitler even addressed the Baptist World Alliance in 1938?” “Why did the Christian church hunker down in Germany and try to go along?” “But every Christian did not become silent! Some were sent to work camps or death for opposing Hitler.” “Hitler was so popular in the ‘30’s. He got the trains running on time.” “And he made a scapegoat of the Jews for all of the financial problems in Germany.” “A lot of Americans supported Hitler and even urged FDR to take over like Hitler was doing.”
“It is our calling as pastors to identify evil when we see it and to help our congregations to not get swept in political propaganda, and not to get snookered by evil that is all decked out in fine clothes, or singing a popular song.” “God help us!” “Could I have some more coffee, please?”
Dr. Dennis Hill is the pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, NC. This article originally appeared in the March edition of their church newsletter.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
"Introducing the Missional Church" Book Review
by Rev. Laura Barclay
Introducing the Missional Church:What It Is, Why It Matters, How to Become One by Alan J. Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren is a resource for persons interested in thinking differently about the way in which church operates. The authors talk about how church has been traditionally attractional, meaning that the goal of the ministers and laity was getting persons from the community into their church through different programs and ministries. Roxburgh and Boren present another idea: The Missional Church. A missional church would be engaged in the community outside the church walls for the sake of relationship and community building, not merely for proselytizing. This hospitality embodies the example of Jesus and reorients the church to think about how they can help further the mission of what God is doing in the community. They refuse to give a model for how to transform from attractional to missional, because they say that the institutionalization of a model will actually keep a church from being able to adapt to its situation and community. Instead, they offer markers and a process for holding grassroots discussions in congregations that will help the members think outside the church walls and build relationships in the community.
Roxburgh and Boren stress the importance of the transition to a missional church not being a hierarchical decision; rather, they want to begin with house meetings with suggestions, questions, and concerns from the congregants. Findings from the congregations will be made public in a report, and discussion will ensue around the congregations’ observations within the church community. Some congregants will become interested through this process to venture outside the comfort of the church walls into the neighborhood. Roxburgh and Boren share a story about one congregation that notice a large influx of youth in the community, loitering on the streets because there were no community centers or youth activities. Members of the church built relationships with the youth and realized they wanted a facility to keep them occupied. The church then organized to build them a community center simply to be a good neighbor and better the city.
While the book can be frustrating at times because the authors stress that there is no road map to being missional, the ideas and resources provided allow churches to begin toward a path of looking outward into the world to find and work alongside with God’s mission. To access their Mission-Shaped Field Guide or Mission Shaped 360 assessment tool, visit www.roxburghmissionalnet.com. Also, you can find this book on Amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Missional-Church-Matters-Allelon/dp/0801072123.
Introducing the Missional Church:What It Is, Why It Matters, How to Become One by Alan J. Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren is a resource for persons interested in thinking differently about the way in which church operates. The authors talk about how church has been traditionally attractional, meaning that the goal of the ministers and laity was getting persons from the community into their church through different programs and ministries. Roxburgh and Boren present another idea: The Missional Church. A missional church would be engaged in the community outside the church walls for the sake of relationship and community building, not merely for proselytizing. This hospitality embodies the example of Jesus and reorients the church to think about how they can help further the mission of what God is doing in the community. They refuse to give a model for how to transform from attractional to missional, because they say that the institutionalization of a model will actually keep a church from being able to adapt to its situation and community. Instead, they offer markers and a process for holding grassroots discussions in congregations that will help the members think outside the church walls and build relationships in the community.
Roxburgh and Boren stress the importance of the transition to a missional church not being a hierarchical decision; rather, they want to begin with house meetings with suggestions, questions, and concerns from the congregants. Findings from the congregations will be made public in a report, and discussion will ensue around the congregations’ observations within the church community. Some congregants will become interested through this process to venture outside the comfort of the church walls into the neighborhood. Roxburgh and Boren share a story about one congregation that notice a large influx of youth in the community, loitering on the streets because there were no community centers or youth activities. Members of the church built relationships with the youth and realized they wanted a facility to keep them occupied. The church then organized to build them a community center simply to be a good neighbor and better the city.
While the book can be frustrating at times because the authors stress that there is no road map to being missional, the ideas and resources provided allow churches to begin toward a path of looking outward into the world to find and work alongside with God’s mission. To access their Mission-Shaped Field Guide or Mission Shaped 360 assessment tool, visit www.roxburghmissionalnet.com. Also, you can find this book on Amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Missional-Church-Matters-Allelon/dp/0801072123.
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