Operations 102 Communications, Class 6

Operations 102—Communications 1.Strategy: The Culture of Your Church. 2.Strategy: Parsing the Preaching Pastor 3.Web 4.Hardware & IT 5.Productivity Tools 6.Multisite & Cutting Edge Issues 7.Advertising 8.Policy & Practice 9.Policy & Practice 10.Communications Team

Today’s Topic The first part will deal with the unique communications challenges in multisite churches. Multisite churches need to determine centralized services versus campus-provided services. How will sermon streaming be done—by sneaker-net, internet or DVD? Will there be video announcements or live? Shared bulletins or unique to each campus … or will you “go green” and have none at all?

Rick Clapp Rick Clapp is the Executive Pastor for Mountain Springs Community Church in Colorado Springs. Previously, he served as Executive Pastor for nine years developing the staff and leaders of Vanguard Church in Colorado Springs.

Multisite Issues

Issue #3: Central vs. Campus Specific Centralized shared services-vs-campus provided. When is there a need for central support? Is there a certain number of campuses before implementing central support? How to make sure each site is getting quality? Is there a `hybrid' model?

Research  Churches recommend developing a central support when you launch your 3rd site.  However, with two, now is the time to begin building the structure and what you think you will need. Implement when you have 3 or more.  In the meantime, lead your staff and communication according to services. For instance, if you have 3 services at one site and 2 at another, your church has 5 services it needs to cover for it's ministries, greeting, announcements, etc.

Morale  Central support helps you get to a place where you are more multi campus verse a church with another venue or one campus.  Helps with mentality and morale. With 2 campuses there can start to develop the `us' and `them’ language. The second campus feels left out and not priority.  Helping staff make the mental shift from one campus to a church with many campuses helps get beyond the two campus mentality.

B2/M2  Building and Brand is Central; Missions & Ministry is campus specific (uniqueness in the community)  Size of campus may come with different dynamics, example, 250 in attendance verse 2500 at another campus.  Helps reinforce the reality that the 2nd site is a campus verses a new church plant. Some staff may have a tendency to place expectations on the smaller site that it should function just like the larger one.

Flexibility & Control  Control is correlated to consistency, flexibility is correlated to variation.  Defining what matters most, and why, gets more and more challenging.  What is non-negotiable? Where can there be flexibility?  Some staff may feel the church becoming too `corporate' and less like a `family.’

Finances  Knowing where the money is being spent.  Is it for all campuses or just for one specific campus  How do you budget for two campuses?  Do all campuses feel valued?

Time  How much of the staff's time is spent on central responsibilities and how much of their time is spent on campus responsibilities?  Is the staff clear on where they should spend their time?  When first getting started most staff will wear two hats and both will suffer to a degree.  This tension helps reveal the need for some type of `central support.'

Facilities  How will we keep up with building usage such as weddings, policies and procedures, cleaning?  The volume of work begins to feel overwhelming. The ramifications of losing a person or changing the cleaning crew are felt differently.  You feel as if you are in `discovery mode' realizing the ramifications of decisions after the fact because decision-making is not communicated organizationally or in some type of `central' conduit.

Advocate  Each campus needs an advocate who is communicating the needs of the campus.  Often times this is the campus pastor or admin. Then campus needs should be communicated in a consistent venue for care and consistency.

Value  Communicating value to all campuses. Verses the 1st campus trumping when it needs something. Worship pastor at Campus 1 goes on break and pulls the 2nd campus to come fill in for Campus 1.  Staff meetings. How often is everyone together and included?

Issue #4: Communication Sermon streaming, bulletins & announcements. What is campus only vs. organizationally wide? How do you determine?

Bulletin  Our ‘West’ campus is a week delayed in the message, we us ‘G’ drive for campus specific announcements, sermon notes on the correct weekend, etc.  Mistakes: Announcements for Woodmen in West bulletin that doesn't apply. It felt like two different campuses doing their own thing. Baptism was announced at one campus and not at West but baptism being on the same day.

Announcements  Called `Family News' at MSC.  Typically is done live by the one teaching that day.  If a video message, the campus pastor will give the news. All announcements are listed in the bulletin.

Streaming  Woodmen campus is the recording campus currently. Only that campus is online streaming live.  Podcast of service goes up a week delayed.

Collaboration  Systems/Software: We need everything to run through one location/system.  Purchasing: We get a better price because of volume when purchasing. Helping others stay on the same page and a central support mindset.  Coordination: Someone, centrally, is always thinking of all the variables for everyone at all campuses

Multisite Issues & Cutting Edge Issues

Technology It’s not about the technology ….it’s about the story

Technology  Audio  Video  Theatrical Lighting

Next Generation  Millennial Generation … prepare for impact

Culture  Who are we reaching  Who are we not reaching

Culture … what is the “AVL” for this generation

Q & A Send Questions via Chat to Tami

Chapter 6, “The Catalyst of Chaos” Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code by Sam Chand 1.A healthy culture celebrates success...what are we all doing to celebrate successes throughout our ministries? 2.To create a new culture, you have to destroy the old one. And, you must have a consistently high sense of urgency. Creating (and maintaining) healthy culture is hard work! John Boyle

Chapter 6, “The Catalyst of Chaos” Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code by Sam Chand