In this UU Planet Facebook live session, I share a brief case study on tweaking congregational website text to help people have that “these are my people!” experience.
Recently I visited two UU congregational websites back to back. The difference between them was staggering.
One was “Eh….” The other? I was instantly drawn in, inspired, and had a deep sense that “Ahhhhh, these are my people….”
There are lots of little adjustments we can make online which can impact whether people stay on your website or immediately bounce. We don’t want potential visitors bouncing off your site, we want them to stay, to learn, to connect, and eventually, to visit.
Well, not quite. But it is time to start planning. That’s why in this session we’re talking DECEMBER HOLIDAY SERVICES and things congregations do that keep holiday guests from returning. I’ve included some take away points below. If these ideas inform your planning and you have a related story to share, I’d love to hear from you. Happy planning! ~ Peter
1. SERVICE CONTENT
During holiday services, if your approach and message don’t represent what your congregation and Unitarian Universalism is like the rest of the year, you’re making your congregation less compelling to your guests.
YES! Holiday services should be about the holidays, but do your service planning knowing that there will be many guests. What does your service communicate about Unitarian Universalism?
2. SERVICE LENGTH
For holiday services, think twice about going long. During the regular course of the year, our services tend to be an hour. We don’t want people leaving apologizing to their guests saying, “I’m sorry. It isn’t usually this long. Services the rest of the year are very different.”
Instead of going long, consider going short. I consume a lot of church growth and outreach books, articles, and other material. Again and again, I see recommendations for Christmas Eve to stick to the regular service length or be on the shorter side. Instead of going long, deliver a fantastic service in 45 to 60 minutes so people can celebrate, have a great experience with their guests, and leave to continue their celebrations.
I sometimes joke that the only time a service should be longer than an hour is when someone is being ordained, or someone has died. That’s a little cheeky and kind of harsh, but I say it in defense of the people who are regularly subjected to poorly crafted services that go too long.
The majority of the time I see or hear about UU services going long, it is by mistake, not by design. In most cases, I think the overtime has a negative impact on your message. Of course, there are exceptions! Just be intentional. And if it is designed to be longer than an hour, include the start and end times in your communication.
3. VISION CASTING + INVITATION
When guests come for holiday services, plan on offering them more than just the holiday message. Offer them a vision for what you can accomplish as a community. Think about the mission of your congregation, the impact it can have on their lives, your community, and invite them to participate.
I encourage you to make designing corresponding January worship services, public events, and other programming an integral part of your planning. Plan for December Holidays + January.
I DO NOT recommend pushing announcements during the holidays. But you can deliver a message that speaks to the state of our world, upholds the challenges we are facing (in the context of appropriate holiday message), how we are called to action, and explain that is WHY your congregation is committed to _____ and over the coming month you’ll have services and programming on ______.
You can do that in a way that supports and amplifies the message of the holidays and upholds the mission and vision of your congregation.
4. AFTER THE SERVICE FLYER
How do you communicate with guests attending holiday services? My favorite strategy is a print flyer. When people leave, hand out a well designed high-quality flyer that is an invitation to upcoming services, programs, special events. You can minimize talk of announcements during the service but have ushers, and other volunteers hand out a flyer as people leave.
Is your congregation’s ministry team in the holiday planning stage? Know someone who would appreciate this conversation? Share this post with them.
UU Leaders – I’m offering a live training (webcast) on social media and membership growth for congregations, sponsored by the Canadian Unitarian Council, on Saturday, Dec 8th, 2018 at 12:30pm EST.
We’re talking congregational social media strategy, outreach, and membership growth!
Can’t make it? Register and I’ll send you the recording.
Grounded in core concepts from my congregational Social Media and Membership Growth trainings, this webinar will be customized based on a review of CUC member congregation websites and social media channels.
Sponsored by theCanadian Unitarian Council
Social Media and Membership Growth
for CUC Congregations
Presentation by Peter Bowden, a Unitarian Universalist consultant specializing in congregational growth, outreach, and media. Peter has trained thousands of leaders across the United States and globally through his online programs.
Social media is fundamentally changing how people connect, learn, and make important life decisions. This includes how digitally oriented people are trying to connect with, research, and join congregations. This challenges us to integrate social media with our membership development efforts. On December 8th, Peter Bowden is offering a free webinar for Canadian Unitarian Council member congregations based on his popular Church Social Media and Membership Growth trainings. Peter is a Unitarian Universalist consultant specializing in congregational growth, outreach, and media. Over the past 15 years he’s trained thousands of leaders across the United States and globally via his online trainings. This program will include a 45-minute presentation followed by 30 minutes for questions. Everyone who registers will receive a link to the recording of the presentation.
Join us for this free webinar for CUC congregational leaders!
Known for his work with congregational growth, outreach, and media, Peter is a popular Unitarian Universalist speaker, trainer, and coach. He has lead trainings across the United States and globally through his online programs. In addition to his work with congregations, Peter frequently consults with denominational leaders, nonprofits, and independent justice leaders.
SAVE THE DATE: Dec 8th I'm leading a special webinar for Canadian Unitarian Council congregations, sponsored by the @uuCanada. We're talking social media strategy and membership growth. https://t.co/u0tiFA96q2
The valve turners were acquitted today, which means the trial will not move forward with expert witnesses being able testify on the impacts of climate change and urgency of our taking bold and immediate action.
Watch live stream videos below for statements immediately following the verdict.
Wow. We didn't see that coming: All charges dropped at the #ClimateTrial! Even before #climate scientists and health professionals got to testify to the impacts of climate change, the Judge ruled that the state did not have sufficient evidence to prosecute. More soon.
In this Facebook Live session, I discuss UU congregational social media management and why a collaborative spirit and team approach are critical to success! This 23-minute session is for all congregational leaders including religious professionals, staff, and volunteers. Parish ministers and ministry leaders: A special message (cheer leading!) for you is included starting at 14 minutes into video. Unitarian Universalist leaders are invited to join my UU PLANET Facebook group. In this group I hold weekly live sessions on themes related to leading and growing UU congregations.
Friends: I just added closed captioning for this video. Make sure to hit the CC button if you want it displayed. ~ Peter
Prefer to watch and share on Facebook? Here’s a public Facebook Post from my UU PLANET page.
Friends, this is the recording of my Facebook Live session from Thursday, September 13th. I discuss ways we often MAKE IT HARD TO JOIN OUR CONGREGATIONS. Many UU congregation are hard to join not from a policy perspective, but due to a range of barriers we create. I cover 8 barriers in this video, 7 plus a whopper of a +1 bonus barrier.
7. Not sufficiently communicating who you are and answering peoples questions online. Online instant access is the preference of digitally oriented people. Instead many congregations expect people to visit and bumble around and figure things out over time.
6. Related to number 7, not using the tools of our time, especially video, to eliminate the mystery around who your minister, staff, and key leaders are. You should be showing members, staff, and your minister(s) in videos. This can be simple smartphone videos or videos filmed in Facebook Live sessions.
5. Waiting for potential new members to appear before scheduling or announcing orientations, new Unitarian Universalist, and related gathering.
4. Expecting newcomers to go to and survive coffee hour.
3. Not enough physical space. People don’t feel like there is room for them once the worship service is 70% – 80% full.
2. Not having enough relational space. If all your groups are full and there aren’t people with the relational capacity to connect and form relationships with newcomers, peopel coming into your community can fail to make meaningful connections. This can happen even if you are a warm and friendly congregation. We can use growth oriented small groups to address this, a special kind of group led slightly differently than the average groups in your small group ministry program. I’m working on a new online training related to this. More on that to come shortly!
1. Making joining feel like insignificant, instead of celebrating and making it a special milestone.
⭐ And the BONUS BARRIER — not encouraging (or allowing) youth raised in our congregations to become members! For the love of coffee, how can we keep doing this?! Well, perhaps it just comes down to the finances of it. Fortunately the way the UUA calculates fair share is shifting. See the NEW APF page. Reminder, I don’t work for the UUA. I did once upon a time, but I’ve been 100% independent since 2002. Though our association is periodic client of mine.
Peter Bowden 