Is your church answering the call?

Rev. Jack Balgenorth.  Photo courtesy Glenn United Methodist Church

Sheila sat at the conference table with me and she was frustrated. "I phoned and emailed every one of the churches on my list." She said, "Of the 50 that I called, there are still 28 that have never responded."  Sheila was puzzled, "What if I was someone trying to attend their church?"

Sheila is a member of a conference level committee that I consult with.  The group sent out an important electronic survey to access the communications capabilities of each local church in the conference.  The plan was to use the data to help better equip those without good communication tools.  Half of the churches responded immediately.  The remaining were split equally among the committee members to be personally contacted to complete the survey.  Of the 400+ churches, approximately 25% of them failed to call back or return an email.  The committee was now less concerned if churches had websites, than if they would answer a telephone call from a seeker.*

In a time of declining membership, we need to ask; can 25% of our churches afford to discourage anyone who has finally worked up the courage to call a church by getting a recorded message or a phone that rings forever?  

Let me make clear, I am not trying to throw stones.  Everyone, myself included, fail to return phone calls or emails from time-to-time. Balls get dropped.  But the failure to return phone calls does raise a critical issue for every local church.  Churches are in the "people business."  To succeed they must connect on a very personal level. It is a big step for people to call a church.  We must be prepared to answer that call.


What message does it send when a potential visitor calls and their call is not answered?  What does it say when a caller can only get a recorded message?  One church a committee member called still had its July events announcements on their answering machine. Many churches may want a website or social media, but when seekers call, everyone needs a telephone that gets answered by a human being.  How do you staff for that, particularly in a church that has no regular office hours, or perhaps, no office staff?  There has to be a solution.

"My cel phone number is on both of our church signs." said Jack Balgenorth, our newest committee member,  "I take the calls personally and I usually get 2 or 3 a month."  Jack is the pastor at two United Methodist churches, Ganges UMC in Fenville and Glenn UMC, in Glenn, Michigan. He noted that seekers truly appreciate having a pastor that answers their calls and many end up attending his church. "My churches are located in rural areas," he explained, "Most people will never pass them.  So If people find me, I can't afford to miss their call."

• How accessible are you by telephone to someone wanting to learn more about your church?  
• Would a call to your church be a personable experience? 
• Are your calls routed to a general mailbox? If so, could you offer a cel phone number for the pastor? 
• Do all calls get returned?  

These are important questions every church, small or big, needs to take time to discern and then act upon. Hey, got to go!  I think my phone is ringing.



*Seeker:  An individual searching for a place of worship to attend.

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Playing nice on Facebook

Facebook recently welcomed the arrival of their 1-billionth user.  While this can be a powerful evangelism tool, many fret about what might happen if they open their church to the world-wide-web and social media.  What if someone writes something bad?  Says something untrue? Throws mud?  Not to worry, there’s ways for dealing with that.

We wouldn't tolerate unkind or un-Christian behavior in your church (at least I hope not!).  You don’t need to tolerate it on your Facebook site either.   Experience has taught, even the kindest person can sport a wicked tongue on social media.  People can be really passive-aggressive when not looking you in the face. The best way to nip this bad behavior in the bud is to set up some playground rules.  Yes, the same simple rules that kept kids from calling each other names and throwing sand can also help you keep order on your social media site.

Playground rules for Facebook

First, here’s the best part, you get to make the rules!  Any post on your social media site can be taken down by the page administrator (you) or Facebook.  However, people, just like kids, need to know the rules first, before you kick them off the monkey bars.   It helps to add your Facebook Post Policy to the site so everyone knows how you are going to roll. 

Here's a typical statement that you can modify for your own use:
"Greetings and welcome!  We are glad to have you visiting our Facebook page.  This is where we hold discussions about topics of interest to those who attend Anywhere Church. This page is designed to help keep people informed, share ideas, debate topics, and find resources to create disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Our etiquette for posting is pretty straight forward. This is not the place to post products or services.   We’ve been able to keep this group vibrant by preventing it from becoming a dumping ground for spam and promotion. Please don’t be offended if we delete your post. Just know that we're working to keep it as a vibrant forum for our readers.

Conversations on issues important to our faith are also welcome. We just ask that you do so with Grace.   Language that is profane, harmful or abusive are reasons to have your post removed. 

If you have questions about our guidelines, please let us know.  We want this to be an open and welcoming place, and also expressive of God's Love." 

Before you remove a post, remind everyone in a heated exchange that they agreed to a set of rules and where to find them. When things are headed south, post something like, “Friends, we work very hard to keep this Facebook community as a safe and open place to post.  Please refer to our posting rules.  Let's share our thoughts with one another with Grace.”  It has been my experience that 95% of the time people behave when they are reminded.  

Freedom of speech

While tempting to take down anything that even remotely smacks as negative, refrain from hitting the delete button.  Social media prides itself on being transparent and fair to all voices.  If you start deleting posts it will be considered censorship and you will lose followers.  However, abuse is never acceptable at anytime.  Having a difference of opinion is another matter.  You may fear seeing an open discussion of conflict on your church Facebook page, but keep in mind, that discussion is going to happen whether it is on your social media site or not.  Better to know what people are saying and have the opportunity to respond than have it show up in a place where you have no voice. That is also why I recommend having both a public page and a private group Facebook site.  

Finally, if you think someone is just trying to pull you into a fight, don’t take the bait. Privately send them a message inviting them to in-person face-to-face dialog.  If they refuse, remove them or report them to Facebook.  Sometimes you have to take your ball and go home.  Then pray to God for forgiveness.

Tell me what you think.  

One billion reasons your church should use Facebook

Last Thursday, Facebook announced the arrival of their 1-billionth user.  Yes, that's billion with a very big B.  And while 45 percent of Americans report being on Facebook at least a few times each week, according to a study by the Public Religion Research Institute, only about 5 percent follow a religious or spiritual leader’s posts or have joined a Facebook religious group. What's up? Facebook is perfect for faith-based organizations.  It's free. It's designed to build and share communities and it's a two-way conversation.
For many churches, Facebook causes a lot of hand wringing.  What do we post? When do we find time to keep it going? What if people post bad things? The first step to effectively using Facebook is changing how you think about Facebook.    

 

Facebook = E

Facebook is a form of evangelism.  Yes, the "E" word. A tool to expose people to the word of God.  When you treat social media as a serious ministry you will bring new faces to your church and keep current members connected.  Just remember that it’s serious ministry and not the church bulletin. 

Get the right people involved

You would not send random people out to bang on doors to invite people to your church. The same holds true for Facebook.  Form a solid church Facebook evangelism team.  Having a team, instead of one person, keeps the page actively, lively and engaging.  Your pastor and outreach committee need to be actively involved, then add adult, youth and young adult education leaders, mission coordinators, camp coordinators and more.  Train them carefully.  If they all post in an organized manner, you will never be short of content again. 

 
Keeping Facebook from becoming an all-consuming burden comes down to brief but regular planning.  Facebook is not time consuming if you plan out a 16 day editorial calendar.  Why 16?  The four most read days of Facebook are Monday through Thursday.  The best time to post is between 1:00PM and 4:00PM.  The highest readership is Wednesday at 3:00PM.  Now it is time to learn a critical mantra....

 

It's not about you!

Say it often. "It's not about me."  Print this phrase out and post it on the wall for your editorial team to see. Facebook is about your readers and what they need.  Especially for those outside of the church.  Every post needs engage, urge conversation, invite and affirm. For example; a post that reads, "We're having a church rummage sale Saturday. Come and support the church" is an outbound message.  Try this; "Want to do some good in the world?  Live out your faith?  Come to our rummage sale.  Cool stuff for your home and all the funds support our city homeless shelter.  It's a win for you and for everyone in the community! Saturday 10am - 4pm.”

Here is another example; "Ever wonder if there is a God?  You might feel relieved to know others feel the same way.  Come join us Sunday,  or if you would like to have a private conversation, give me a call and we can talk about it.  My phone is 000-0000.  -Pastor Jane"

By the way, don’t use church terms.  "The Candle Holders Group meets tonight" won't mean much  to someone outside your church, nor is it very welcoming. 

Dive in!

At a recent gathering, a United Methodist Pastor told me she had taken the Facebook plunge after we spoke at Annual Conference.  "I just wanted to let you know it worked!" she said excitedly, "My church is seeing 2 or 3 new people on my Facebook site every week and most of them come from outside my church."  With a billion people connecting on Facebook, a majority of them seekers of faith, it's time to discern if you need to be there too. Pray on that one.  Then go and "LIKE" God.

Tell me something good: Haiti interview

Viewing Haiti through a new lens

 Haiti seems like a dream now.

My back pack and equipment are unloaded.  My clothes no longer smell of the sweet cooking charcoal that wafts over the mountains.  I sit at my desk, editing hundreds of photographs. It is hard to believe our West Michigan Conference mission team was in this magical place.  Yet I know we were.  We were transformed by it.

Nothing feels quite the same after Haiti.  Each time you touch a light switch, get water from your tap, drive the kids to school, shop at the grocery store, you are reminded you live in a privileged modern world.  You are also reminded of the precious gifts that no longer surround you.

Before the trip, I viewed Haiti like most.  My mental images came from media reports of political unrest, crime, earthquakes and hurricanes.  No more.  Media coverage is fleeting and sensational.  It is not intended to bring people closer.  It is time for Haiti and other parts of the world to be seen through a new lens.   

My view is now shaped by the experience of seeing the beauty of their land and of their people.  I have heard the laughter.  I have seen the smiles.  I have been welcomed into their faith-filled homes.  I have witnessed their resilience and creativity in carving life out a life on a sometimes treacherous mountain.  I have listened to their hope and dreams.  I have seen the face of Christ in Haiti. 
  
Could life be better in Haiti?  Certainly, if judged by American standards. But the Haitian people live this life as it is.  Nothing is wrong.  Still we need to pray that Haiti will see better education, clean water and vastly improved medical care. We also need to pray that the God's gifts on this mountain are not lost to our efforts to "fix." 

Before I left, I had a hard time understanding why so many of my colleagues had returned to Haiti, sometimes 10-15-20 times.  Now I know.  You can shake the red soil from your boots, but you can never shake Haiti from your heart.  

EDITORS NOTE:  View Haiti through a new lens.  View the slide-show at http://www.flickr.com/photos/wmcumc/sets/72157631667066180/show/

Want to see more?  Take a ride on the wild-side.  Join the mission team on a Moto ride through Mizak at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLRMtoFHtV4&feature=plcp