C.S. Lewis, the author of “The Chronicles of Narnia, once said that “Friendship is born when one person says to another; “What? You too? I thought I was the only one.” What a lovely truth.
I thought of this quote today while listening to a church administrator discuss the impending merger of 3 small parishes into one large parish. She felt concern about how people would make new connections and form new relationships. The fact that the parish offers weekend mass at multiple times complicates relationship development even further.
My answer to her concerns was this: “Recognition is key to forging friendships.”
First, people recognize the common bond between themselves and others. Then, friendships are formed. This then leads to a stronger, more connected and engaged church family. I encouraged her, as I encourage all church leaders, to create opportunities and ways for your church family to recognize and connect with one another.
Get people talking, interacting, and focusing on a common mission! The best way to get people talking is by setting the example! TALK! Communicate! Interact!
Here are a few key strategies to implement that I believe help churches develop new and effective ways to communicate with and connect people.
1. Develop a technology and communications team!
2. Ask that team to develop a social media/communications strategy!
3. Create an effective, informational and interesting church website! Most visitors will “visit” your website before they “visit” your church! (I encourage churches to hire a website developer rather than depend on volunteers. Although well intended, volunteers often get busy in their personal lives, move away or change churches, leaving the website to maintain itself.)
4. Implement an online member directory, preferably one that provides a mobile app. This allows people to identify members of your congregation and learn each other’s names. You can also highlight the activities within your church and your church’s mission activities. (www.onlinechurchdirectory.com)
3. Utilize Facebook and Twitter. Both are user friendly, and more than likely, most of your congregants already use one of both of these social media tools.
4. Be consistent with the plan. Haphazard behavior leads to haphazard results.
If you want to learn a little more about social media strategies and ways to get started, I invite you to join a great group of people on Twitter each Tuesday evening, 9:00 p.m. (eastern time.) We engage in a social media chat under the chsocm hash tag. Experts, newbies, pastors, lay leaders and social media types all participate in the discussion. It’s both educational and fun! I think you will learn something and meet great people, and at some point, you might even say, “What, you too?” I thought I was the only one.”