Communicating Clearly Across the Chaos of Multiple Locations
Steve Brewer
Steve is the Communication Catalyst for Community Christian Church (CCC), a reproducing church which has grown from three to eight locations (5,000 in average weekly attendance) in the past two years. He is also the Communications Catalyst for NewThing, an organization offering coaching, resources, conferences and affiliate network facilitation for church planters and churches going to be multi-site. Steve leads function teams for web, print, campaign marketing, strategic insight design and mass e-mail communications.
Community Christian Church’s website
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There are over 1,000 multi site churches in the USA and that number is only going to continue to grow as this phenomenon catches on as a new way to grow churches and expand a church’s ability to reach out to a broader audience by offering multiple locations.
The success of a multi-site church depends on communication. Communication depends on knowing the prioritization of content and synchronization.
Coordinated communication is the strategic difference between those that get ignored and those that get herd. When ministries compete for attention in a uncoordinated manner, we create chaos and we lose the attention of our audience. When every message is treated as equally important, we create confusion. When messages aren’t targeted correctly, people stop paying attention. Providing people with the ability to opt-in to targeted messages for a specific audience or specific interest is important.
The constant barrage of messages our audience gets through advertising, e-mails, newspapers, magazines, books, television, movies – NOISE. Everyone is trying to wade through the spam…
Sending more messages (frequency), communicating more content (more details, more context) or communicating MORE LOUDLY is not the real answer. We need to figure out how to communicate more clearly, compellingly, consistently, and concisely.
We need to prioritize our promotions (A, B, C, and D) and appropriately filter all of our content (the what and why) through our priorities and find the best means of appropriately communicating the message. We also need to appropriately communicate our priorities to our staff, leadership and volunteers.
We need to tell more stories then tell information.
It’s important with multiple locations to keep everything in synch:
one vision and mission
one budget
one eldership
one staff
one spiritual development model
one big idea
one leadership community
one database
one image (I added this)
Ownership
Communication’s team leaders need both horizontal alignment (functional expertise) and vertical accountability (by campus).
In the beginning, have the staff own it.
As you get a location specific volunteer, have them be a generalist.
As the location continues to grow, recruit communication volunteers.
Feedback
The communications system is like a nervous system. Without ongoing feedback the body is going to trip and fall or burn its fingers.
You need to build a method and means for getting feedback constantly, across all campuses.
Hold weekly staff meetings focused on catalyst issues and locational issues and go over the feedback received.
CCC sends a weekly survey that measures the effectiveness of: the Big Idea, effectiveness of hpftwbtG (helping people find their way back to God), moving 3c’s, music, production, media, drama, teaching, First Impressions, nextsteps, facility, small group curriculum.
Print
Not every ministry deserves a logo. Reinforce your CORE brands. Develop A, B, C and D groups. Prioritize your communication. Prioritize your projects.
Use freelance designers when in-house designers are burned out.
Each ministry should develop its own budget sum of money for marketing and promotion.
Know your stock photography options
Create an image warehouse
Recruit photographers
Plan ahead for sermons. At least 10 weeks out before a new series at CCC the entire staff is provided with a ‘1.0 Message’ for the new series that explains the main points and key big ideas for the new series. This enables writers, artists, etc to plan ahead.
Build a style guide. It’s not a rule book but provides for a consistent look and consistent voice.
Build a sustainable process. Make standardized templates for consistency.
hey tim, good to meet you last week. thanks for posting this info. multi-site communications people need all the support they can get!
steve brewer
Posted by: stevo | 11 September 2006 at 04:44 PM