Creating an Echo
18 Jan
Echoes are a great way to communicate.
Echoes continue to be heard even after the message is spoken.
Echoes reverberate.
How do you create an echo?
Communication is a tricky thing. The point of communication is that what is spoken is actually heard. And what is heard, is acted upon. So often the church speaks… yet the message isn’t heard, much less, acted upon.
No matter the age of our audience, from birth to adults, we have a limited amount of time with our audience. We have their attention for a moment. We have their participation for season.
What will we communicate?
What do we want them to hear?
How will we catalyze them to action?
Continuing the conversation about the Orange Philosophy by the reThink Group, yesterday I posted here about step 1: Integrate Strategies. Step 2 is to Refine the Message.
Refine the Message is all about what you teach and how you teach it. You can read some great explanations of this step by Matt McKee, Jonathan Cliff, or my westcoast friend Anthony Prince.
In addition to what these guys explain, here are my thoughts.
Refine the Message is your opportunity to examine your area of influence and consider the outcomes that will contribute to the overall strategy of the church. Each area of ministry defines behavioral/spiritual outcomes they hope to see from individuals exiting their ministry. And then you teach specifically toward those outcomes.
Refine the Message is about adjusting the message you communicate. This is not restricted to what’s taught on Sunday morning or Wednesday night. All functions of the church communicate a message. What do your events communicate?
Refine the Message means examining the overall strategy of the church (the product of Integrate Strategy) and determining how your ministry functions contribute. For example, if a defined outcome of the Small Group Ministry is adults with a heart for community service, then what can kids ministry do to teach kids about serving? What areas of scripture can be highlighted? What creative methods can be incorporated to teach kids that serving is as normal as breathing?
It’s about communicating with laser-focus precision.
It requires the boldness to cut teachings/activities that don’t contribute to the overall strategy.
Refine the Message cuts through all the noise and creates an echo that reverberates as participants progress through your ministry.
Creating an echo isn’t easy to do. But then it isn’t easily forgotten either.
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Hey Gina – So I’ve been keeping up with everyone’s Orange Week posts and I’ve got a question. How are some ways we can implement more orange strategy in churches with an Uber Simple Church structure?
Great question, Cathy. When you say ‘uber simple’, can I assume you have your basic weekend services and maybe a midweek? Possibly staff structure includes you, a youth pastor and the senior pastor? Possibly some administrative staff?
I don’t think the structure has so much to do with it as the message you communicate as a church. Orange is really a cultural shift. I would probably start investing in a team of parents and sew the Orange philosophy into them. As they buy in, they will become your megaphones. The ones in that group that are gifted to mentor and teach… empower them to invest in another team of parents. Begin multiplying yourself through your parents. Given that the majority of your time will be consumed with the weekly “ins & outs” of ministry, let those parents be the one’s that continue to reverberate the message of parent partnership. Sew the Orange philosophy into your volunteers until they bleed it. Eventually what you’ll find is God will raise up volunteer leadership that is as passionate about seeing life-change as you are. You’ll find kidmin volunteers investing themselves into youth ministry. You’ll watch youth ministry volunteers interested in kidmin. I don’t know if that answers your question, but I hope it helps.
We incorporate our FX elements right into the adult worship service on a monthly basis. I think the main issue is getting your senior pastor to buy into the Orange thinking. Then he can help infuse it into your small groups, youth ministry and sermon series.
Love the echo metaphor!!!!