+ mt. calvary lutheran church and school communications audit
TRANSCRIPT
+Survey Response
100% of respondents want to continue to receive weekly email
99% consider Mt. Calvary a friendly church
49% belong to Mt. Calvary Facebook Page
73% feel either very informed or extremely informed about what’s going on a Mt. Calvary
63% feel either very engaged or extremely engaged to the mission at Mt. Calvary
66% feel that The Messenger is less than effective in sharing news needed to participate in the mission at Mt. Calvary
+Survey Response
93% feel the weekly bulletin is at least generally effective in providing needed information
97% feel the weekly email news is at least generally effective in connecting to the mission at Mt. Calvary
60% sometimes or never read The Messenger
71% believe our screen should be used for pre-service announcements
42% receive most of their information about Mt. Calvary from the weekly email; 27% from the Sunday bulletin
+Summary
Mt. Calvary is in a period of change
More than ever: consistent, effective, 2-way channels of dialogue are needed
Messages need to be frequent, on-point, and focused on articulating mission/vision
Mt. Calvary is distinctive: talent, determination, passion, facilities, most of all “hearts that are truly on fire for mission”
+Goals
Assess/realign communications activities to increase current member engagement and to multiply mission to community
Coached in the development and implementation of sustainable, substantial social media plan that complements its larger strategic goals for mission/ministry
Inspired to launch social media communication that ties together passions, energies, interests of member/staff with needs in congregation/community to build stronger, more diverse, and more active membership
+Strengths
Heart of messaging is in place
Consistency in articulating Mt. Calvary’s core distinctive
Leaders firmly focused on mission/ministry
Significant openness to strategic development
Pastor E. as consistent champion for mission (relational/leadership skills)
Positive and welcoming spirit
Diverse membership
+Implementation/Support/Integration of Strengths
General familiarity with digital channels
Weekly email consistently mentioned as a key source of info
Creativity and passionate expression of weekly worship (central “communication” activity of any congregation)
Pastor’s capacity for vision/dreaming
Senior leaders recognize more resources needed to improve communications
General responsiveness to change over a period of time
Digital “savvy” exists across membership
+Weaknesses
“Destination” urban church
Membership divided about Mt. Calvary’s future as urban mission vs. church in urban setting; must be resolved
+Implementation/Support/Integration of Weaknesses Resistance by older/engaged members to changing vision
Website lacks effectiveness in sharing Mt. Calvary story
Messenger not as effective as it could be
Perception of some “engaged members” that it is “all up to them”; newer members use “they” language when referencing church activity/programming
Potentially not enough “person power”
Budget limitations
Some missional discord between church and school
Value for high quality materials
Leadership has clear “head” knowledge of the importance of core values and of the need for better communications
+Threats
Lack of cohesion around mission (are we an urban mission or a congregation in an urban setting; are we focused first internally or externally) must be a prime focus for communications and coalition building
+Implementation/Support/Integration of Threats
“Worn out” core has strong martyr complex that stands to impact the success of new tactics
General lack of awareness in immediate neighborhood
Too frequent use of “they” language by members reinforces leadership’s concern that not great enough percentage of the congregation is actively engaged in the mission
Fragmented cohesion between congregation/school mission will hurt complete success of the church’s total message focus
+Recommendations
Never miss an opportunity to tell the Mt. Calvary story
Clarify SHARED vision of CHURCH and organizational structure
Write/implement communications strategy
Reignite passion/turn attention toward the urban vision of Mt. Calvary
Identify credible messengers
Tell individual stories of Mt. Calvary members (not just school children); people over programs (website!)
+Recommendations
Tighten channels for message delivery; combine messages more intentionally and for greater impact
Deepen weekly email; redevelop The Messenger (recommend abandoning it); use screens to share pre-service announcements; deepen “About Us” section of web site
Match ministries and messages to needs (inbound and outbound)
+Implementation
Develop effective materials
Build valuable partnerships
Train messengers
Conduct steady message outreach
Monitor and Evaluate
+Support and Integration
Integrate communications throughout the organization: plan, train, teach how to use social media channels
Involve staff at all levels: Training of church AND school staff in strategic development and communications strategy/practice that help provide a context for why we message the way we do and practical instruction about how to do this