What is the value of a Facebook fan for congregations?  If the congregational impact is anything like the “Facebook Factor” found in recent Forrester Research, it is massive!

Forrester’s report The Facebook Factor Quantifying The Impact Of A Facebook Fan On Brand Interactions uses statistical models to examine the impact of being a Facebook fan on three critical behaviors:

1. purchase
2. consideration
3. recommendation of a brand

Findings in Brief

Forrester found that  Facebook fans are significantly more likely to engage with brands via purchases, consideration and brand recommendation.  For example, Facebook fans of Best Buy were found to be twice as likely to purchase from and recommend as those who were not fans.

TWICE!  That’s huge.

But does that mean your Facebook fans are twice as likely to go to church, pledge or volunteer?

Which came first, the “like” or the advocacy?

Seeing such a huge impact — results ranging from 2x to 5x as likely depending on brand and the behavior –  leads to the question, which came first, being an advocate of the brand or liking the page?

Lead report author, Gina Sverdlov, offers the following response (from Forrester Community Forum), which I think is a key insight for congregations:

We found that Facebook fans are (much) more likely to purchase, consider and recommend the brands that they engage with on Facebook than non-fans. Some readers ask: “Which came first: the Facebook fandom or the brand engagement?” My response: Does it matter? The goal shouldn’t be to maximize the number of “likes” or followers, but rather to engage your brand advocates and build loyalty.

I love it!  Who cares.

What matters is that now you know who your top advocates are, the people you will have the greatest success engaging with.   What more could you want from social media than that?

What can congregational leaders takeaway from this?

I believe that the strength and overall capacity of our ministry is dependent on the strength of our relationships.  Facebook is an incredibly effective platform for engaging with and strengthening connections with those who share your faith, values and/or care about your congregation.  Not to mention those who are leaning in that direction.

Reading the report, the following “what if” question came to mind…

How would your congregation use Facebook differently if we knew that your “fans” were MUCH more likely to do the following?

1. Offer greater financial support than non-fans
2. Spend more time volunteering / serving than non-fans
3. Invite more people to participate in congregation life than non-fans

Of course, this  would depend on using your Facebook page well. Does your congregation’s leadership understand the “Facebook Factor” and its potential impact on your ministry?  It’s worth a conversation.  As always, I’d love to hear your insights based on your congregational experience with Facebook.

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If you, as a congregational leader,  want to understanding the coming generations, watch one of the following presentations.

At present we are, as Zichermann says, more disconnected from our youth than any other generation.  That’s right, the technological cultural differences between generations are greater than they have ever been. You still making phone calls?  Exactly.

While you watch Gabe’s talk, consider what “gamification” of your congregation and its ministry might look like.

TEDxKids@Brussels – Gabe Zichermann – Gamification

Fun is the Future: Mastering Gamification

The video below features a blind man unsuccessfully begging on the street.  Then something changes…

A woman passing by stops, reflects, then writes him a new sign with amazing results.   The same message but with different words transforms the way people respond to the man and his need.  People immediately start responding differently.

Watch the video to see the new sign.

Congregational leaders need to remember that our words determine how people respond to us. When people aren’t responding, it is easy to beg louder and more often, to add one more exclamation point!!!  This begging — be it for volunteers, funds, or other donations –  can communicate desperation, not the strength, and rapidly becomes additional noise in people’s’ lives.

If your communications are falling on deaf ears, remember the message of the blind man, his signs and the beautiful day.

Video description and credits:
The Power of Words:  This short film illustrates the power of words to radically change your message and your effect upon the world. At Purplefeather (http://www.purplefeather.co.uk) we provide powerful, optimised web content to get you noticed online. Homage to Historia de un letrero, The Story of a Sign by Alonso Alvarez Barreda Music by: Giles Lamb http://www.gileslamb.com Filmed by www.redsnappa.com Director Seth Gardner.
Cast: Bill Thompson, Beth Miller http://www.uk.castingcallpro.com/view.php?uid=217905

Very often congregations wait until there is conflict to bring in consultants.  The Healthy Congregations workshops offer training for leadership that you might characterize as preventive maintenance. Healthy Congregations workshops are designed to help congregational leaders:

•  Gain a renewed sense of purpose and mission
•  Cultivate strong leadership capacities push their congregations to new levels
•  Learn how to develop healthy patterns of living together in community
•  Learn to focus on strength, resources, and options for the future
•  Boost confidence in responding to challenges and opportunities
•  Reflect theologically about relationships
•  Move the congregation toward healthy functioning

As trained Healthy Congregations facilitators  Amy and I are available to lead Healthy Congregations workshops for individual congregations.  We’re looking forward to weaving these offerings into our work with congregations.  Below is some basic information about Healthy Congregations including a short video overview.  You may also read more on their website, healthycongregations.com.

Interested in organizing a Healthy Congregations workshop with us?  Email or give us a call.

~ Peter 

Related Books by Peter Steinke

Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach

Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times: Being Calm and Courageous No Matter What

How Your Church Family Works: Understanding Congregations as Emotional Systems

A Door Set Open: Grounding Change in Mission and Hope

What is Healthy Congregations?     

The following is an excerpt from the HC website:

Healthy Congregations is an ecumenical and interfaith organization that takes seriously the times that we live in and the challenges of thinking more clearly about families, congregations, and leadership.

Healthy Congregations, Inc. offers resources and training that are based on a view of life that looks at communities as living systems that incorporate thinking, feeling, responsibility, and purpose. 

Making use of the contributions of leaders in the field of Bowen family systems theory and congregational life, Healthy Congregations, Inc. has created educational resources and leadership development material designed with the purpose of encouraging healthier, clearer and deeper individual and community life.

Once upon a time people visited your congregation in person to learn about your community, your values, and to see if it is a good fit. No more!  Now nearly 100% of people visit your website first.  That is the first visit. Given many of the 1990’s style websites I see out there, that visit lasts about 10 seconds. That’s about long enough to think “Oh my gosh! This is hideous. Are they serious?  NO WAY am I visiting there.  I’m going back to see what my friends are doing on Facebook.  See ya! Tweet me when you catch up with the present…”

The following is a draft list of design and content considerations. I have been compiling this list during my Spring and Summer presentations on social media, outreach, and online communications.  I’ll be updating this and then sharing as a more refined resource you can download and print.

• Subscribe to our “Tips and Tools” e-newsletter to receive this resource when it is completed.

75+ Congregational Website Design and Content Considerations
by Peter Bowden

1. WHO IS SITE FOR?
   I like sites to have information for members, but be newcomer optimized.
2.  People are LOOKING FOR FRIENDS, not a friendly church. PEOPLE!!
   Is site about people?  Do site visitors feel they are getting to know your community?  Is there information so people can connect, maybe like some people before even visiting?
3. EASY URL  Is your website URL easy to remember?
4.  Is your website URL (web address) printed on your roadside sign
   All publications and leaflets, letterheads, press adverts and news releases? Is it also included in email footers of official church emails?
5.  WHAT STATE AND CITY above the fold.
6. CONTACT INFO provided including city, state, zip, phone, email.
7.  HOME ABOVE THE FOLD
   Most of homepage  should be on one screen
   1024 x 768 screen resolution.
8. AVOID SPLASH PAGES
   Is home a jumping-off point or home page?
9. AESTHETICS
   Are colors, white-space, text and graphics pleasing?
10. WHO ARE YOU?
    Is that clear immediately.  Name, religious affiliation, what you’re about?
11. WHAT KIND OF CONGREGATION
    Size, rental space or own building,  brand new or historic…
12. FORMAL STATEMENTS
    Are formal statements newcomer friendly or are they going to freak people out?
    Mission, Vision, Purpose, Covenants
13. POSITION STATEMENT
    What makes your congregation different compared to others I’ve visited?  Why choose you?
14. VOICE
    Not too formal. Want to be approachable.  Be true to your congregation – if you are very formal with an equally formal dress code, reflect that.
15.  PEOPLE ON HOME PAGE — I’ll keep repeating this…
    Is there a photo of real people on the homepage, more prominent than any picture of the church building?
16. WELCOME VIDEO
    Simple message from minister. If you have a minister, people want to know who this is.  It isn’t ego, its putting relevant information front and center.
17. BUILDING EXTERIOR
    Somewhere I want to see it so I know what to expect. Good to have people in shot so there is a sense that others are going as well.
18.  BUILDING INTERIOR
    Again, so I know what to expect
19.  BE BRIEF
    Make sure site is easy to scanning. Not too wordy.  Shorter is always better.
20.  HUMOR
    Appropriate humor can be disarming.
21. COMMUNITY CONTEXT
    Does site communicate community you are not only located in, but part of, engaged with, valued by?
22. INVITATIONS
    Invite newcomers to specific events, with clear contacts. Sunday Worship isn’t the best way for newcomers to connect.
23. SUNDAY SCHEDULE  /  SERVICE TIMES
    worship
    childrens educiation
    fellowship
    coffee hour
24. SERVICE THEMES
    If you know them, share them.  I was against this until I moved and was looking for a place to bring our family.  This isn’t so members can pick and choose which of your services to go to. It is for people deciding whether to go for the first time.  Do they go to your congregation or the other place?  If they tell and you don’t, you are the unknown and therefore a more anxious choice.
25. WHAT TO EXPECT
    How to dress
    What worship is like and why
    How long is service
    What kind of music?  Organ vs. jazz band
    Better yet, SHOW ME.
26. EDUCATE
    Help PRE-QUALIFY people for visiting.  People now visit having done their homework. Do you help them do this via your site?  Make it easy.
27. VIDEOS
    Can use videos from various sources embedded in site to educate people about Unitarian Universalism.
28. AUDIO/PODCASTS
    Great way to help people give you a test drive. Some people I know have listened to local podcasts. That kept them connected until they were ready to visit.
29. BOOKS
    Link to books people can purchase related to your values and beliefs.  Have a library? Make an online catalog for members and friends.
30. MAP AND DIRECTIONS
    Embed Google map, link to other services.  It costs you nothing to add links to multiple sites.  Drives me crazy when I’m forced to use a map service other than Google Maps.
    Include your address as text on your map and directions page so people can copy it and paste into the mapping site of their choosing.
31. TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING
    Where to park – lots, street, both?
    Car pooling?
32. BIKING OPTION
    If biking is option, is there bike rack?  I know a lot of congregations wishing people would bike, yet they don’t have bike racks.
33.  ACCESSIBILITY TO BUILDINGS
    If accessible, toot your horn. If not, clarify so people can make smart choices, other options.
34. CHILD CARE
    Do you have it?   Tell me. Show me your facility.
35. Use PROFESSIONAL STAFFED childcare
    Pay money to have preferably non-member child care professional with infants and toddlers.
36. SAFETY
    Explain the child safety code, everything to comfort new families
    Check in / out policies
37. CHILDRENS RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
    What are various grades doing?
    What is my kid going to experience?
    Philosophy, teachers, activities…
38. GET INVOLVED (or SMALL GROUPS)
    Primary menu item / front page. People want to and need to get involved ASAP.  People should be connected to some kind of group connecting experience within weeks of attending. Another option is to have “Small Groups” in main menu.
39. CALENDAR
    For both newcomers and members.  Make sure events that allow for connecting with others, participating, serving, helping, using gifts are clear.
40. MEMBERSHIP PROCESS
    Make sure membership expectations are clear, including pledging information and events/how to join. Need to see from day one.
41. SOCIAL JUSTICE
    What do you care about? Hold up justice work, people want to make a difference. Helps people choose right community.
42. ONLINE GIVING
    This is becoming more popular.  Nice to give members this option.
43. PEOPLE on every page. Did I mention that yet?
44. STAFF and LEADERSHIP DIRECTORY
45. PHOTOS OF LEADERS
    Staff, core leadership at a minimum.
46. UPCOMING EVENTS / NEW NEWS easy to find
47.  OPT IN
    Can people opt in to get more news and keep in touch
    Facebook
    Twitter
    RSS News Feed
    Enews subscribe on front page
    SITE NEWS /  RSS Feed
48. DO NOT ask people to email the office if they want to get on your mailing list.
49. OLD NEWS  Avoid old news, ancient dates.   Is there outdated news on the church website which should have been removed?
50. CLEAR NAVIGATION
    Navigation makes location within site clear.
51. MAIN MENU user-friendly. Not too many links. 10 max.
52. Use GUEST not visitor.  Majority of people who visit are in some way GUESTS of your existing members.  That’s how you grow a congregation, through relationship.
53. AVOID JARGON and ACRONYMS
    I work a lot with Unitarian Universalist congregations. May are filled with literature with UU this and UU that.  You ever see the old Sesame Street segment where the Bandit-X rides through town stamping everything with an X?  Avoid this. It creates an insider culture.
54. MEMBER PROFILES
    I love sites that show real people including details about non-religions things. Help people connect via hobbies and other interests.
    If diverse people visit site will they find a welcome for them?
55. PROOF READ
    If you’re not good at this, like me, get someone else to do it.
    (I’ve included some typos in this post as an example. Do they drive you crazy?)
56. HOSTING SERVICE
    Make sure site loads fast with no ads
57.  SITE COMPATABLITY
    Try site on different devices and browsers.
    MAC and  PC
    Big Monitor
    Netbook
    Ipod, Iphone, Ipad
    Android devices
    etc…
58. COMMUNITY DEVICE TESTING
    Invite people to test your site via devices, share response via simple form.
59. USABILITY
    Have you testing site usability using volunteers, different tech ability, members, friends of members who aren’t affiliated with your congregation. Hey! What a great outreach idea. Have members share site with their non-member friends.
60. ACCESSIBILITY
    Make sure standard accessibility design principles used
61. FULL TITLE
    Are your name, town, and area, also clearly included in ‘title tag’ coding on your home page
62. TITLES ON ALL PAGES
    Not repeat of main
63. META DESCRIPTION
    This is information encoded on page. This helps search engines.
64.  VALIDATION
    Getting techie. Make sure HTML and CSS is validated. Especially if someone is designing a site for you using something other than top platforms. Me? I’m a WordPress guy. They take care of the most techie of technicalities so I don’t have to.
65. BOOKMAKING
    Make it easy to remember (bookmark) site
66.  SHARE THIS
    Make it easy to click and share via popular social networking sites
67. SITEMAP
    Do you have one?
    Is every page listed?
68. LISTED ON BIG SEARCH SITES
    Make sure you are listed accurately on major search engines
69. DENOMINATIONAL LISTING
    Other sites may list you, make sure information is up to date.
70. GOOGLE PLACES
    Have you claimed your place?  This allows for customization of that page.  Also powerful tools to see who is looking for you.
71. ANALYTICS
    Do you analyze your website visitor statistics?  I recommend Google Analytics. It is powerful and free.
72.  TEAM APPROACH
    Is your webmaster and/or communications team part of ongoing outreach and growth conversations?
73. CONTENT IN TEXT, not GRAPHICS
    Don’t hide content like address in graphics. People and search engines need to be able to read and copy this.
74. AVOID FRAMES
    Bad for search engines.
75.  KEYWORDS in URLS
    When naming URLs, the address of pages, name with relevant words.
    Calendar, Membership not page1, page2.
76.  AVOID SCARY LONG URLS
    Some sites make the various subpages have very odd names. It should make sense if you read the address.
77. THREE CLICKS to all major content
    Update: Okay, Jeff shared with me that this is a myth. See article & research links. Let’s amend that to navigation should be easy and not lead to frustration. If people are swearing at your website, something is wrong.
78. DROP DOWNS
    If used, make accessible via basic links.

Note that I do offer website reviews for congregations. Hopefully you have a rockin’ communications team and can take this list and review on your own.  If not and you want an outside perspective, let me know.  Happy to help.  I review your website capturing my audio commentary and computer screen as I go.  The session audio and video are then shared with you. This way you can see exactly what I’m looking at, clicking, and so on.  Again, you can do this yourself using this list.  Contact me via email if you need assistance.

• Subscribe to our “Tips and Tools” e-newsletter to receive this resource when it is completed.
• Have suggestions for this list? Please share via a comment on this post.

I’m always a fan of books that are easy for church boards and other leaders to pass around, discuss, and implement. A great read for church leaders.

You may order  Church Do’s and Don’ts through Durall’s website. 

The Needy Church
by Peter Bowden

The big church said, “People, giving away a significant portion of your income to others will not only help transform our community, you will be transformed as well.” To this the other church asked why it must
wait. “Because when you first came, our congregation was keeping all of our pledge income to support our own institutional survival. We weren’t giving any away ourselves. But now we’ve approved an experiment
for next year to give away all Sunday collections and 10% of all pledges to charitable causes.”

What if your congregation approached its worship offerings, budget and larger stewardship as if the congregation was Gandhi, telling its members and friends that it is good for them to give away a significant
portion of their income for the betterment of others? What would that look like?

I think it would look something like this:
All of the worship offerings are given away to support charities outside of the congregation. Budgets are drafted as intentionally moral documents, with a significant portion of total pledges given away.
Pledging is done through a stewardship process that calls people to participate in the outward –focused work of the congregation.

Each week the congregation feels good about helping a charity. People give more than their regular offering, in support of the charities because it feels better!

Modeling stewardship as a religious community raises the bar for everyone. The congregation reclaims its moral authority by budgeting in ways that illustrate its mission and values. When people are asked to
pledge it is a simpler calculation — this pledge is for who we are and what we believe in.

What would happen if your congregation modeled the generosity you want to see demonstrated among your members? Does your congregation give away a portion of its offering or annual budget?
It is common for our congregations to dedicate time in every worship service asking for money. This approach may undermine the success of the larger stewardship effort. We regularly ask people to be inspired
in their personal stewardship while focusing the congregation’s stewardship message on institutional survival.

Andy Stanley

I’ve been speaking with a number of clergy colleagues about approaches to sermons.   On the table has been the question, “How do I make sermons more relevant so people come to church?”

First, I always say that the best way to make church relevant is to make sure people have friends there.  Want to grow your community?  Get serious about small groups and creating friendships.

When you do it right, groups grow relationships, and relationships grow churches.

Assuming you have the relational part down and want to work on your messages,  I highly recommend reading Andy Stanley’s book Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication.

Stanley offers a very practical approach to structuring messages/sermons. He calls it the “I, we, God, you, we” structure.  When I had lunch with my colleague the Zen Master I invited him to think of the core being the “religious teaching”  yielding the formula “I, We, Teach, You, We.”

Breaking It Down

Here’s a little more information on each section.

I : Start with some story or introduction that allows people to connect with you personally. If you don’t connect as a human being, no one is going to care about what comes after. Use “I” statements.

WE : Identify the situation “We all face…” What is the issue you will be addressing? Makes it crystal clear how your sermon is relevant. Make sure to use “We” language.

TEACH
Offer the core teaching that is relevant to the subject at hand.  What’s the lesson? What’s the point?  Make sure you have a single point, not a series of them.  Stanley suggests that if you have more than one key point you should make it a sermon series.

YOU : Give people a specific personal challenge or guidance using “You” language. “When you encounter….. try and ….”
or “Sometime this week, create time when you can…” Make it crystal clear how people can apply your teaching in their own lives.

WE : Wrap up with vision casting. “When we all [personal challenge] the result will be [larger vision]. As a community we can … ” Your dismount is always vision casting.  Speak both to the impact of all present implementing teaching and the role of the congregation.

That’s the quick formula.

Looking for a quick read that will give practical tips on speaking that are immediately applicable with real results?  Read Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication.

~ Peter