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.

Tell me what you think.  Please post your comments below

Want to know when my next post is coming out? Follow Communication Ministry by clicking the FOLLOW button above.

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.