Posted on Fri, May 17, 2013
Community Connection Series: Part Two
Robert was the Executive Director of Operations for a church with an average weekly attendance of 1,450 in a Midwestern town of 11,140 people. A visitor approached him after a morning service and complained that she had a lot of trouble visiting the church. She originally found the church website on a directory but reached a Chinese take-out when she called the listed number. With more research, she found two churches with similar names but different addresses. It was only because of her determination and denominational loyalty that she persevered and eventually attended the service. Robert was naturally unhappy hearing this and wondered how many others were not showing up at the church’s door because of similar difficulties.
Like Robert (who isn’t a real person, by the way), many executives are shocked to discover incorrect information about their church’s website, name, address, or phone being propagated across the Internet. Even more disturbing is the feeling of helplessness when they discover wrong information. How can you manage information about your church online when you don’t know how the information got there?
Businesses and organizations alike are wrestling with a new issue: managing their NAP/W (name, address, phone, and website) online.
• What information is circulating about your business?
• How can you correct bad information?
• How can accuracy be maintained?
It’s like managing a personal credit score. It’s complicated, especially if you haven’t done it before. And the responsibility is ongoing. This is especially true if there is inaccurate or outdated information about your church online, such as an incorrect phone number, an old address, an incorrect variation (or several variations) of your organizational name, or mention of a former staff member.
Do a quick search for your church and see if Google has you “pinned” correctly on its map, and if that information is accurate. If your church’s pin shows up at the right place and if it has accurate and complete listing information, you’re among the fortunate. But even then, don’t get too smug in your present success. Instead ask, “How did Google decide to put the church’s pin there?” and “What steps can I take to shore up ongoing accuracy?”
Next, take a minute and do a Google search for “church” followed by your town’s or nearest city’s name. Check out the top twenty results and see what you learn about how strong your church’s online presence is and how accurate and consistent your NAP/W information is.
Most people aren’t aware that a lot of NAP/W information appearing online originates from three core data providers: Infogroup, Acxiom, and LocalEze. It is important to periodically audit this information on these sources to make sure they continue to disseminate accurate information about your church or organization. You may be surprised to see a wrong phone number pop up that has been inactive for years, or an address of your pastor or staff show up as the church’s location.
You may also need to track down wrong information that has already been propagated across the Internet. Try doing a Google search for your church’s name. You might be surprised to see a variety of directory results below your own website that include your listing, such as city-data.com, local-yahoo.com, yellowpages.com, and xanga.com. You may even see search results listing social media sites that you didn’t even set up. Those sites got this information from a trusted source, and you need to track it down. It may be one of the core data providers. Correcting the core data providers is a good start, but you should also contact each directory two months later as they’re likely to hold onto outdated and incorrect information without your direct intervention.
Creating citations (updating your NAP/W information on directory sites) may seem like a tedious and time consuming job, but don’t underestimate its importance. Not only will new people discover your church on directories over time, but these listings also help your church’s website to move up in search engine rankings for local searches. Google ranks whom Google trusts, and multiple, consistent mentions of identical NAP/W information builds trust with this search engine.
These citations are also important because of current trends in web use. The web has gotten more mobile and more locally relevant. You need to make sure that your church is ready to intersect with the emerging habits of today’s society. Do some YouTube research on the new Google maps, or learn about Google Now, which is currently available for platforms outside of Droid devices.
If you don’t feel ready to take on a task like this but agree it is worth paying attention to, consider hiring an affordable outside vendor (specialist) to help. Otherwise, you’ll be counting the cost of lost visibility today and failing to benefit from important emerging technologies.
Author bio: Steven Wolgemuth is CEO of YDOP, Inc, a Christian-owned company dedicated to helping businesses and organizations reach a proximate target audience. Their Near-user marketing approach incorporates local search engine optimization, discovery optimization and social strategies to create phone rings, email dings, and door swings.
Posted on Tue, May 07, 2013
Community Connection Series: Part One
Every week, all across the country, people are searching for a church to visit. Someone might be interested in visiting your church this week. What if God has empowered your church to help them, but they never discover you?
Now, what if you could magically interact with them just at the moment when they’re thinking about visiting a new church? There actually is a way that you can intersect with church seekers precisely when they’re interested: by setting the stage on the Internet to intercept people who are searching.
A web search is the most likely first action of a church seeker. Last year there were approximately 7,080 searches done for “churches in San Diego” alone! These searches are being done in every city across the country including yours, but if you haven’t taken the necessary steps to maximize your church’s web presence, those searchers never graced your doors.
Does reaching nearby searchers sound too difficult for you to achieve? It’s not. By now, you’ve probably heard about search engine optimization (SEO), social media, and the things you do to rank high on Google. But if you’re like many church leaders, you haven’t implemented “local” optimization or worked on developing a strong presence for your nearby searchers. Being visible to a proximate audience—“near-user marketing”—is different from traditional SEO, and it should be your church’s priority today. Why? Because “church” searches are “local” searches, and when local people are searching, you need to capture their interest.
This is even truer when those searches are done on a mobile device. There’s something about mobile searches that yield a much higher ratio of action (church visits, emails, calls, and direction downloads) than searches done on a PC. That’s why mobile searches are extremely important.
And mobile ranking carries high stakes. The difference between ranking 1st and ranking 4th means a 90% drop in click-through rates. In other words, if you’re 4th in a search done on a PC, you’re doing OK. But if you’re 4th in a search done on a mobile phone, there’s a 9-out-of-10 chance you’re never even going to get a web visit. That’s why it is so important for your church website to rank high for local searches.
One factor that helps your church’s website rank higher on search engines is having reviews. And those reviews will have an impact on the church seeker. Investing in a quality website is important, as it helps you put your best foot forward. But you also need to have a big online footprint so people find you. When the church seeker sees you everywhere, it builds trust in their mind, and that influential first impression is reinforced by your quality website along with quality reviews they read on other public sites. These early seeker touch-points are the precursors to church “door-swings.”
If you believe that your church has something to offer—if you really believe it—then you should make it your highest priority to help the people who need you to find you. Near-user Internet marketing is a strategy you can’t afford to ignore.
Author bio: Steven Wolgemuth is CEO of YDOP, Inc, a Christian-owned company dedicated to helping businesses and organizations reach a proximate target audience. Their Near-user marketing approach incorporates local search engine optimization, discovery optimization and social strategies to create phone rings, email dings, and door swings.
Posted on Tue, Apr 30, 2013
It's here! We've released our first e-book focused on the processes of Connect - Grow - Engage as they relate to the church's place raising modern day disciples and the use of church management software to facilitate this process.
We sincerely hope this serves as a useful resource for you and your church. The download is FREE and we look forward to hearing how you apply (or have applied) these principles and continue to expand the Kingdom.
God bless and enjoy the read!
Posted on Wed, Apr 10, 2013
by Ken Stewart
Churches usually see their highest attendance numbers on Easter Sunday, and your church was probably no exception. You might have been blessed with 30% more visitors than usual. Or maybe this was yet another weekend service in an ever-expanding attendance pattern. The situation is the same in either scenario. Many of these folks are looking for a church home.
How will your church reach out to them? Do you have effective welcoming, follow-up, and assimilation strategies that help to ensure that folks don’t fall through the cracks? Are you helping new people become active participants in the life of your church?
Specifically, what will your team do with the information you collected from your guests on Easter Sunday? Remember, this is more than just raw data to enter into a database and forget about. Those names and ages and interests belong to real people whom God brought your way. How can you use this information in meaningful ways? Do you have a timely way to help your teachers, youth workers, hospitality team, nursery workers, and others to connect with new people?
To be effective in drawing recent guests deeper into the life of your church, the church needs to:
- Gather information and use it effectively
- Communicate with your guests and with your team
- Track your efforts
- Track their participation
What tools do you use to easily and efficiently do all of these things and more? Remember it's really about helping these new men and women and teens and children become part of your church family.
Communicate with your guests
With proper communication tools, you can create personalized emails, prepare letters instantly, and set reminders for phone calls to connect with your guests again.
- Thank them for coming
- Invite them to return for worship
- Connect them to events and activities targeted to their interests
- Provide access to small groups/classes/ministry teams
Communicate with your members
Pastors can’t personally provide in-depth follow-up to everyone who visits. Fusion helps you to keep your assimilation team in the loop. You can easily provide them with all the information they will need to effectively connect with recent guests in a timely way. Small-group leaders can get up-to-date details about potential group members. Youth workers can get the names and contact information on teens that have visited a class or attended an event.
Timing is critical
It’s not too late for your church to reach out to your Easter Sunday visitors. But following up with them and keeping track of all those details can be daunting, even overwhelming.
But it doesn’t have to be.
What difference would it make to your church’s assimilation process if you had a tool that pulled all the details together for you? That’s just what Elexio's Amp Fusion does.
If you already use Fusion, take another look. You may discover additional features that could take your assimilation strategy to the next level. If Fusion is not yet part of your ministry toolbox, learn more about its incredible features here. The Elexio team will provide the tools and the training you need to connect with the people God sends your way and help them find a home in your church.
Posted on Wed, Mar 27, 2013
We’re in the 11th hour before Easter weekend. Visual arts are ready; seating has been increased for the overflow of visitors; all satellite campuses have gone through AV testing to ensure connectivity; you’ve prepped the sermon with respect to the season: and your Welcoming team is prepped for the new faces. Same routine as the year before (and every other year before that)? Maybe, but what are we doing differently to challenge the norm?
I was inspired by the story, now viral, regarding a 15-year-old Sierra Leone youth who has made a difference in his region by simply challenging some of the perceived limitations in that area of the world. He emerged with a vision and a creative aptitude that won him the opportunity to visit MIT’s Media Lab and participate in their three-week program as the youngest practitioner in the program’s history.
So what was inspiring about this story, and how does it relate to the Easter season?
Obviously, the story itself is a commendable and deserved tribute to the ability of humanity to overcome situational adversity through the use of God-given talents. However, I found myself equally inspired by the astounding response to this message. As my mind drifted to the personal impact that this week represents, I considered the question - what if the message of Jesus' death and resurrection had a viral impact that touched millions of people's lives in a brief couple of days?
A couple thousand years ago a man came to this earth and changed the thinking of the world. He inspired people with His approach, His message, His unparalleled love expressed through His death on the cross, and His miraculous and life-changing resurrection. The message of a 15-year-old who crafted technological advancements in an impoverished part of the world gained over 4.3 million views. How much more should the message of Christ’s death and, even more impactful, resurrection change people’s hearts today? Have we lost our amazement over events of such monumental spiritual significance? Are we doing the work that we’ve been called to do, in expectation that millions of people will find this message to be life-changing and inspirational?
As you look to this coming weekend, renew the fervor in your heart to deliver a message that pulls your audience from their traditions and expectations. Perform a visually stimulating dramatic representation that stirs the soul of the observer. Share a warm greeting with the disenchanted. Be ready to express the love of the One who loved us even when we were unlovable. Remember, this isn’t just another holiday, and He wasn’t just another man. If we are as eager to share His inspirational message as we are the latest social post, it could very well open the hearts of millions to something that has eternal significance.
I look forward to hearing how God used you and your church to re-tell His story with new fervor!
Posted on Fri, Mar 08, 2013
by John Connell
I recently attended the Verge conference in Austin, Texas, where the concept of missional ministry was addressed. While the concept is far from new, the resurgence of a missional focus has penetrated the minds and hearts of our national church culture. Why? It’s simple. It’s because this is the way Jesus did it. He went to the people who needed him most rather than waiting for them to come to Him. (Matt. 28:19)
Three major questions arise in the minds of today’s large churches. These questions are valid, but not impossible to overcome:
Doesn’t BIG break the missional model of growth?
The reality of the missional movement says just the opposite. Because they have a larger staff base and exposure to more training materials, a large church is equipped to send people out in greater numbers.
Just because a church has an attendance over, say, 5,000, it doesn’t mean the church isn’t focused outwardly. In fact, with the diversity that comes with such a large group of people, it is quite possible to have exponentially more impact when they are equipped and sent to impact their community.
But there’s reason for caution: Just because they’re large, it doesn’t mean they are necessarily doing this right. Sometimes they grow, but it’s a growth model that simply serves to make the worshiping attendee comfortable without ever taking the next step of maturing them and sending them out. The staff and lay leaders must have a heart to develop a missional culture and provide the resources necessary to make it possible.
Aren’t we just talking small groups? We already do this well.
Missional doesn’t always equal small groups, unless your small groups intentionally have a missional focus, where their purpose is to go (as a team of individuals) into their localized community to spread the Gospel. The great news is that, if you are doing small groups well, this means that you are staffed to be able to support, communicate and equip your groups with a missional focus. For some churches, however, this change in culture may be more challenging than one would think.
Today’s church small groups tend to be intimate settings with a connectedness that we as humans are wired to find comfortable and inviting. However, missional means getting out of your comfort zone and reaching people who didn’t seek you out first. Take heart. The intimacy of a previously established small group can be the type of encouragement and support needed when reaching out. The transition to a missional culture is absolutely possible.
My staff is already overwhelmed with on-campus activity. How do we support off-site ministry?
At a Missional Church Planting Conference in Louisville, Ed Stetzer made this statement: “God is a God who is on mission. He is a God who sends; He is a sender by nature. Isaiah was sent by God and for God. John the Baptist was sent to bear witness to the One who would come into the world. Sent is used in reference to Jesus more than 40 times.” (John17:18; I Cor. 9:22; Matt 9:37-38; Matt 10:7-14)
Therefore, if you trust that this is truth, then you can also trust that He will equip you with the people and the vision to make this a reality for your church. It is also safe to say that it quite possibly will shake your church to the core when you realize that the amount your church invests inwardly could—and quite frankly should—be redirected to outward missional growth.
While we were in Austin, we had the opportunity to drop in on the Austin Stone Community Church to observe an example of this model working in ways unimaginable. As you begin to ask the questions of how does it relate to you, we pray that God blesses you in your pursuit of living missional lives as depicted within the biblical church. We love hearing stories of how the body of Christ has been blessed through their commitment to share the Gospel. Drop us a comment on this blog or post on our Facebook page about how the Lord is working in your church.
Posted on Fri, Feb 22, 2013
by Josh Smith
Although I’ve worked in the web industry for 13 years, I’m continually fascinated by all the ways a website can be used by organizations. For churches, there are potentially limitless opportunities to interact not only with members, but with the rest of the connected world. With a myriad of opportunities, it can often be difficult for churches to define what a website should accomplish.
To help churches uncover the path that is most appropriate for their community and culture, provided below is a question worth visiting for churches that don’t yet have a website, and may be worth revisiting for churches that are in the midst of a redesign. Although simple, it may inspire conversations and help to define a church’s vision for how they approach their presence on the internet. Here it goes:
Why do you want a church website?
Yes, sometimes this question is never asked. We have to have a website because we have to have it. Everyone else has a website, and that’s the thing to do. There’s no telling what will happen if we don’t keep current. We hear buzz words like podcasting, social media, blogging, mobile-friendly, and we’ve got to have it all. Wait, what is podcasting?
Although the entire connected world will have access to your website (is that even really necessary?), for most churches – unless their congregation is big enough to declare sovereignty and they podcast all the way to Mars – their primary audience will likely be both current and prospective members. If you want to know why you want a website, it would benefit to ask your congregation. What will be helpful to them is rather important. Why would they want to go to your site and for what reasons would they want to return? How will it add to their collective journey maturing into the unflinchingly loyal, loving and self-sacrificing disciples that God desires?
For instance, social media is a big thing (and by big, I mean evolving by the second and very time consuming). A church could spend hours of time each week pushing out Facebook posts, instagrams and tweets. However, who belongs to the network you are building through online social services? What kind of network and community were you intending to build? How does that interaction add to the interaction your congregation already receives through bible studies, Sunday classes, events and other gatherings?
Posting blogs or video and audio sermons on your website is also rather popular. There are many compelling reasons to have rotating content on your website, especially since it can improve your listing on search engines and ultimately increase traffic. Having more people visit your site means you are influencing more people. However, do you want to expend your resources on visitors to your site who may live halfway across the country (and even halfway across the world), or do you want to focus your resources serving those in your own backyard? If your focus leans in any way to the latter, their voice matters for any feature or content you provide on your site. They may not want to read blogs from your pastor. Does that mean you shouldn’t do it? Not necessarily, but their voice does influence the framework for how to build your site, it helps clarify what kind of content and features should take priority on your homepage and site navigation, it guides how you want to spend your time and resources, and most importantly, it focuses your vision on caring for God’s sheep (both lost and found) that He has, and will soon, put in your trust to shepherd. They are why you want a website.
Posted on Wed, Jan 30, 2013
by Tom Kline
It’s easy to get focused on the numbers. It’s our natural tendency to equate bigger and better. Yet we all know that numerical growth really isn’t what the church is all about. It’s about growing spiritually. Yet even a big church can create a personal, intimate environment that fosters deeper relationships with one another and with Christ. How? By thinking small. Churches tend to focus on their large Sunday morning gatherings, but the seeds of church growth are often nurtured in smaller groups that help relationships go deep.
This is fresh on my mind since I attended a men’s retreat this past weekend. Same routine as normal— average attendance, good messages and great camaraderie. You know—guy stuff. But there was something different. I was pre-assigned to a small group for break-outs, and no one in my group was a familiar face (gasp). So here I am, forced to begin a dialogue with peers I have no perceived connection with, being asked to share a piece of my life.
But by the end of the weekend I found that some amazing things had happened. Because I was forced to get outside my normal ministry group, I encountered some new perspectives. This small group of men represented life experiences that I wouldn’t have learned from had we not been in this situation. I probably wouldn’t have experienced this had I been in a large sanctuary filled with eager souls rather than with my motley crew of four men from different walks of life.
I walked away thinking about how this simple weekend experience could have impact in churches across the world, regardless of their size. Here are a couple points that emerged for me.
Deep and Wide
It’s healthy to want to touch more people’s lives. An increase in attendance numbers is the most obvious measurement of Wide church growth. But don’t discount what is just as significant growing Deep. It’s important to measure church growth in terms of spiritual discipleship—going deeper in relationship with each other and with Christ. This is something that is most easily accomplished in a smaller, more personal environment where you share one to one (or one to a few).
Forget the stereotypes: Men want relationships too!
“What does that have to do with church growth?” you ask. Simple. When men have fellowship with other godly men, they begin to deal with issues more soundly. They are challenged to grow in their faith. And as the man grows in faith and discipline, his family is likely to follow. End result—church growth occurs as each man goes deeper with his family and with his brothers in Christ. And you know what? Men actually enjoy spending time with other men. We were made that way. We were made in God’s image to have fellowship with Him and one another (Genesis 1:27).
Comfort - (synonym: Complacent)
When I got out of my comfort zone with my new Band of Brothers, I experienced the retreat a little differently than had I just been with the same old group of friends. I grew in areas that perhaps weren’t being addressed by my current peer group and that I hadn’t thought to address on my own.
So what’s my takeaway? Going deep requires more organization, volunteer recruitment, planning for thought-provoking content and an atmosphere that’s conducive to sharing, but can you see how thinking small about all facets of ministry—especially your men’s fellowship—can help your church grow Deep and Wide? This retreat was just a small example of that effect.
How has your church fostered Deep and Wide church growth?
Posted on Wed, Jan 23, 2013
Is your church ready to (re)launch a small group ministry?
Download this free resource and see some of the tips we've compiled from our partners, as well as our personal experience within ministry. Simply click the pic and follow the prompts!
Posted on Mon, Jan 14, 2013
What would it look like if today's church management providers engaged with a biblical apostle regarding discipleship tracking?
[Probably nothing like this]
by Ken Stewart
circa A.D. 33. Somewhere in Jerusalem.
Rep: It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Honor. I mean, Your Apostleship. Simon, Peter sir. I’m sorry; what should I call you?
Peter: Peter is fine. Though Jesus did call me Rock that one time.
Rep: Well, whatever Simon says! Get it? Simon . . .
Peter: Huh. Never heard that one before.
Rep: *cough* . . . Well, lucky for you, our software lets you store any number of names and nicknames. I understand there’s another Simon among The Epistles.
Peter: Apostles. Yeah, and two Jameseses-es . . . two Jims. Hey, does your software run spell check? I always have trouble with Thaddeus. I always want to spell it Thadious. Anyway, I don’t know if you heard, but the church grew by 3,000 people in one day, and the Lord’s adding more to the church every day. It’s hard to keep up.
Rep: Actually, Peter, that’s why I’m here. Let’s say you want to baptize all those new folks . . .
Peter: Did that.
Rep: Oh, right. You’ll want to keep track of baptisms, births, deaths, resurrections. We recently added that last category.
Peter: Can you help us track what people give?
Rep: Absolutely! The software is integrated with QuickBooks, so you can keep precise records of all the giving.
Peter: I hope so. It’s always tricky to get the count right when people give loaves and fishes.
Rep: I’ve heard that. Well, if anyone gives it or joins it or attends it, you can keep track of it.
Peter: And we gotta remember to record Matthias’s info—though for a guy who was picked by lot, we sure don’t know a lot! Never mind.
Rep: Whatever Si—sorry.
Peter: Anyway, as I said, we can hardly keep up with the new folks. Right now we’ve got all our information stored in sandal boxes. Had to dump the thongs to keep track of the throngs, you might say.
Rep: *blink* In any case, you can handle all that data with our state-of-the-art church management system. It has everything you need to help you keep up with the church’s growth. It’s a completely integrated software suite for PC or Mac. We do website design, check-in software, CMS. We even have a mobile app.
Peter: You talk funny.
Rep: Oh, sorry. All Greek to you, huh?
Peter: Uh-uh. Greek I know. Geek, not so much. Who did you say you’re with?
Rep: Elexio. It’s Greek for website.
Peter: Okay, I’m sold. Just one more thing: Use any font but Papyrus. That is SO last century.
*******
