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The USS Enterprise was the world’s first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, launched in 1960. It remains active today. TheEnterprise is 1,123 feet in length and 257 feet wide. The crew of approximately 5,500 is responsible for all operations, including the about 85 different jets.

Among the jets on board the Enterprise is a squadron of F-14 Tomcat fighters. Each Tomcat fighter has a gross weight of 76,000 pounds. I’m not sure how much the Enterprise weighs, but a 76,000 pound Tomcat must be considered ‘light weight’ by comparison. TheEnterprise is built for the Tomcat.

Imagine trying to land the Tomcat on a sea-going vessel not built for such an aircraft. Imagine trying to land an F-14 Tomcat on  . . . a raft. Imagine landing an F-14 Tomcat on a sailboat. The fighter pilot would obliterate the raft or sailboat upon impact. In addition, the Tomcat would be lost, too. It would be a costly mess.

On the other hand, it is possible to land a remote-control airplane on a raft or a sailboat. While the scale is much different, the outcome is the same - an airplane lands on a boat.

And, so it is with church communication. Churches must choose the communication strategy that best fits the church and its community. The smaller membership church that tries to engage a massive, aggressive strategy in a short timeframe will be overpowered and frustrated. The larger membership church that engages a smaller, patient strategy over the long haul will be bored and experience waste.

The goal of this paper is to help churches understand that a communication strategy is available for every church - it’s just a matter of finding the best fit for the church and its community outreach goals. The goal is to create a strategy that improves internal and external communication, which improves relationships, which enables evangelism, ministry, missions and discipleship.

Know your church. Every church needs and deserves an audit of its existing communication. An audit includes an evaluation of the church logo and brand, website, newsletter, worship bulletin, new member packet, and all other communication streams designed to build internal and external relationships.

Every church needs and deserves an understanding of its internal membership compared with its external community. Does the church reflect the community? Does the community reflect the church? What is necessary - in terms of ministry - to connect the internal church with the external community? <You can purchase the audit and demographic analysis at a package rate through my website at www.shopsvministry.com. It’s the featured ‘Demographic Analysis’ package on the Home Page.>

This information is crucial for your church. How well are you communicating in the 21st Century? Who will manage your communication? With whom are you communicating? How much does it cost? That depends on how much you can do yourself, with a little guidance, and how much you need to pay someone to do it for you. It depends on the need and value placed on ‘outside’ eyes giving your church an examination.

A customized solution. Drawing back on my aircraft carrier analogy, we have determined what ship you have at sea. Now, it’s important to understand what type of aircraft we can successfully land on your ship. What communication strategy is the best fit for your church? This often comes down to a careful combination of manpower, budget and time. How much can you afford, financially; who can accept the responsibility and accountability to manage the process; and, how aggressive is your timetable?

Budget. Personally, I believe you start this spiritual journey asking God to help your church introduce people to Jesus and to help your church assist people in their spiritual journey. If communication strategy is going to advance the Kingdom, God will ensure the resources are available to fund the strategy budget. Having said that, I also know we are called to be good stewards and to ensure time, talent and treasures are spent wisely.

I’m often asked, “How much do we budget on communication?” Most successful businesses will budget in the ballpark of nine percent to attract and keep customers. That’s probably a good goal for every church. The nine percent takes care of your communication activities.

Another budgeting formula is to take your total membership plus 15% and multiply that number by $75. A 250 member church would need to budget around $22,000 per year. Again, this number is for both internal and external communication.

Neither of these formulas, and they are just formulas, includes the personnel cost of managing the strategy - these formulas strictly address strategy development and implementation.

Management and Time. Many churches can afford to increase or better focus their communication, but are stalled by assigning the responsibility for communication management. Who will manage this journey for us? That’s a legitimate question and the answer is found in how aggressive your church wants to engage communication. If you are overcoming crisis, if you are overcoming a negative church image, if you are faced with a fast-growing community, if you are faced with rapidly changing community demographics - you will need a strategy with an aggressive pace. An aggressive pace is typically managed well by full-time attention. On the other hand, if you can move more at your own pace, diligent but not aggressive, a laity-driven management style using work teams might be appropriate. If you are a community with no growth and communication is about maintenance, it’s possible for existing staff to incorporate communication work into existing job descriptions. Volunteers may be called upon to help staff members who have multiple assignments.

In summary, a checklist:

1. Engage a communication audit with community research. This will help your church understand how to begin its communication journey.

2. Examine your communication budget. Ensure an adequate amount is budgeted for the journey.

3. Examine your communication management. Based on your market area, ensure you have the best system for management. Your options include paid communication staff; lay volunteers; paid non-communication staff assisted by volunteers.

2. Based on the audit findings, make improvements to your communication system: Website, newsletter, bulletin, new member of guest information, greeter ministry, welcome center, and follow-up system with guests.

3. Based on your market area, effectively advertise ministries that connect with your community. Engage a pace that is manageable through your budget and by your management staff.

 

(Copyright © 2007, Scott Vaughan Communications, LLC. Copies permitted for sharing among church staff and leaders. Permission is required for publication. For permission, please contact Scott Vaughan at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by telephone, (803) 808-7555.)