The congregation with a heart for communication
Words for our time, media for our time
Who are you as a congregation? What have you got to offer and how do you invite people to participate? Communication and promotion are very important in every congregation. Some congregation are already very good promotion and others this represents a good opportunity to start.
There is a lot that can go wrong with communication: people fail to understand each other, because there is ‘interference’ on the line. Interference can have many different causes:
- There is a lot of interference - sometimes you literally do not understand each other
- You have a prejudice with regard to the other person and allow that prejudice to determine how you hear what they are communicating
- You do not understand each other’s language, even though you both speak English
- You feel put under pressure by the other person and your resistance mounts
- Your lives do not touch each other and you no longer really talk - there is a distance.
When you want to tell others about the Gospel extra effort is needed. “Together with the congregations we will look for words that explain the Gospel in such a way that people will be moved,” the Protestant Church in the Netherlands states in ‘Learning to live in amazement’.
All too often we speak a church language nobody beyond the church understands. What do we mean when we use words like ‘forgiveness’, ‘justice’, ‘reconciliation’ and ‘mercy’? What does things look like in everyday life? Do we have words for these concepts? Of course a minister plays an important part in developing this way of thinking. Theology is connected with people’s daily lives; the Gospel is relevant for people today.
In addition to this communication about the Gospel there is the more everyday communication between people. It is important that there are clear arrangements, that invitations are really inviting, that people know they are welcome, on the basis of words and gestures.
A number of suggestions
- Image a broad spectrum of suggestions, varying from a welcome in the pew, an information booklet and a welcome folder to an overview of what is on offer in terms of education and equipping
- Try for a change to look ‘in from the outside’. How would an outsider read this information? Do they understand what the information says?
An example: “The neighbourhood team organises another house group. You are very welcome to join in on 13 March in the evening at the home of the Ter Steeg family, Hoekstraat 14. Subject: Willingness to serve.“
What is a neighbourhood team? Is it something to do with the police? And what is a house group? For someone on the edge of the church a house group can be a very strange concept. What happens at a house group? And at what time does it start? Does it finish at a particular time?
- Involve an interested outsider in your promotion. Give him or her the information to read. What do they make of them? Are they inviting? Do they make them want come along?
On some congregations’ websites you will look in vain for an address or a telephone number. Sometimes the address of the church is not given and it may be quite difficult to find out when the church service starts. Just because these things are self-explanatory for you (‘everybody knows that’) does not mean that they obvious to an outsider.
- The churches use an ever growing number of communication channels. In addition to the announcements during the Sunday morning service there are the weekly newsletters, church magazines, websites and increasingly congregations use email. Then there is the local press (door to door papers, regional radio, newspaper). In all these cases it is important to ask yourself: What is the target group we want to reach? Is the message clear? Inviting? Does it contain all the necessary information (who, what, when, where)?
Possible approach for the church council
- The church leaders decide to make ‘communications and promotion’ a priority. This is not just about the ‘how’ (form) but also about the ‘what’ (the content of the message).
- Then two working groups are formed:
- A working group (1) to address the ‘content’: how do we communicate the Gospel with words of our time?
- A working group (2) to address communication and promotion within the congregation and towards those outside the congregation.
- Are there communication specialists in the congregation? Involve them.
- Working group 1 consults as many congregation members as possible with a discussion about faith that is stimulated through discussion papers and other written material. (In this context see also approaches 2 “The hospitable congregation”, 3 “The congregation at the Source” and 29 “The reflecting congregation.”).
- Working group 2 makes a list of all the possible communication channels. Which ones do we use? What have we got? What haven’t we got? How can we publicise the activities we are already engaged in more widely? Outsiders are involved in judging the accessibility of texts and website. Evaluation will of course be a continuous activity: has this action identified anything that you need to consider? How can we do it differently/better?
- Do not forget the communication with children and young people. Are young people involved in the working groups? Do they contribute ideas? Are they allowed to give advice?
- There is of course consultation between working groups 1 and 2, possibly through one person who is a member of both groups. Work together to make a clear plan.
- Ask a number of people to monitor the communication and promotion for a limited period of time.
- All members of the congregation are encouraged to focus their thoughts on communication aimed at ‘guests’. Do they have any ideas?!
