5 Lightbulb Moments That Could Change Your Communications Strategy

Here’s the top quotes and key points from Phil Bowdle at West Ridge Church.

• What’s your one job?
• Be an advocate for your audience.
• Start with questions before answers.
• 3 questions:  What do you want to accomplish? What’s the problem to solve? What are the barriers?
• WATCH: Lights at West Ridge: A Christmas Light Experience
• Sometimes you can get clarity from your pastor by asking him what it is he wants it to accomplish. @philbowdle #ThatCC
• Quit doing announcements. Start doing next steps.
• The model we have for church announcements right now has been the model for 30-40 years. We’re assuming we have people’s attention. We often don’t.
• Create standards for what is communicated during services.
• Tip the sacred cow. Quit doing announcements.
• Ask these questions: Does this announcement reach 80% of our audience? Is it a key on-ramp to a ministry? Does it connect to the pastor’s message?
• If you have to be able to answer the question, “So what?”
• Stop sharing bullet points. Start sharing stories.
• Get creative with your methods.
• Get proactive with a communications plan
• What are the next 1-2 steps you want your audience to know?
• If you’re sharing more than 1-2 things, your message is going to get muddled.
• “Your audience has a limited bandwidth. What are the 1-2 next steps you want your audience to know?” – @philbowdle #ThatCC
• The number of people who are associated with our church is increasing, but church attendance is down.
• Our church is not competing with the church down the street. We’re competing with soccer practice.
• Are you healthy and sustainable?
• Don’t let the fear of being disliked cripple you from being effective.
• Create standards so you don’t have to be the bad guy… the standards can be the bad guy.
• If you are not willing to say no, you are not being an advocate for your audience. You are being a staff member. – @philbowdle #thatcc
• Thinking like a staff member=overwhelming your audience. Saying no and strategically communicating=serving members. @philbowdle #ThatCC
• “During my first year, I deleted Papyrus from a couple people’s computers.”
• We have to prevent people from tuning out
• Stewardship > Excellence
• Ask God that you will be a good steward of everything He places in your hands.
• Stop trying to be the church down the street. Embrace what God has given you.