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The United Church of Christ No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey . . . Come to the party!. Isaiah 56: 3 – 8 Luke 15 Luke 16: 1-8 John 10: 14 – 16 (Participants stand and read from a physical Bible, not a computer print-out.). Overall Objectives. Brand the UCC
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The United Church of ChristNo matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey . . . Come to the party! Isaiah 56: 3 – 8 Luke 15Luke 16: 1-8John 10: 14 – 16(Participants stand and read from a physical Bible, not a computer print-out.)
Overall Objectives • Brand the UCC • Define its mission • Put people in the pews
Key Insight: Alienation . . .Still The Bad News: Focus group testers say people more alienated with the church than any other product with which they have worked • The Good News: They want to return if … Invited and made welcome • Given good information . . . without judgment
Key Remedy: Our growing understanding of the reach of God’s Love We did not add multiculturalism to our brand. We took multiculturalism as a living breathing example of God’s love and made it a brand.
Challenge: Leadership or Management? • Leadership without easy answers • Helping our people deal with the shame of telling others who we are • Living in the costs and joys of discipleship • Creating expectation of discomfort • Why some people feel the ad is talking about them – even though it’s not
Deal with the rumor mill proactively • Stillspeaking is not a half-way covenant for ONA • Using United Church (pause) of Christ does not diminish of Christ, but enhances it • The comma is not replacing the logo, it’s a hook to generate interest – the UCC logo is more in use now than ever before, not by chance but by decision • The Stillspeaking Initiative has nothing to do with same-gender marriage • Other than in isolated examples, there is no ecumenical tension, but widespread ecumenical support and admiration • Stillspeaking is about helping churches “be who they is” no matter who they are or where they are on life’s journey – a covenant of co-existent difference in Christ
The Campaign • Consistency of message and brand • Substantive message of welcome • Delivering welcome at the door • Follow-through and tracking
Results • Over 7.1 million website visits since campaign launch (Only 950,000 annual visits was typical) • Over 662,000 find-a church visits (50,000 typical) • In the first 6 months of the campaign: • 3.2 million website visits (+ 572% change vs. year prior) • 359,666 accessed the “find a church” function (+ 1,399% change vs. year prior) • Churches actively participating with the campaign reported significant attendance/visitation increases
Results at Country Club Congregational UCC – Kansas City, MO • Summary Statistics • Mean 107.30 • Median 102.00 • Mean (Pre-Publicity) 91.23 • Mean (Post-Publicity) 127.88 • Median (Pre-Publicity) 92.00 • Median (Post-Publicity) 123.00 • Typical Attendance Range 78.30 to 135.75 • Data collected from April 18, 2004 to May 15, 2005
Results at Country Club Congregational UCC – Kansas City, MO Mean Monthly Attendance May ‘04 May ‘04 In the pew On the dais
Review of UCC Heritage - Chapter 1 (15 min.) • Core values emerge from your history and culture. In the United Church of Christ we often celebrate our autonomy and differences, but have you taken time to consider the ways our history binds us together – as if by genetic code? Even those of us who are new to the United Church of Christ are either consciously or unconsciously attracted by those traits. What are they? Compare and contrast leadership versus management approaches with each innovation. In what ways does it take both? • What light and truth needs to break forth into the world today? • How is God still speaking in your life?
Creating an Identity Brand - Chapter 4(30 minutes) • At its core, this is a branding campaign. • The more consistently we use “the brand,” the more impact our message will have in the marketplace.Don’t make people work too hard to make the connection. The public “learns” through the constant and repetitive use of brand phrases, colors, and symbols. Stillspeaking churches that used the brand consistently and had a team or person who found creative ways to connect to it dynamically experienced the greatest impact from the commercial. • What is distinctive about your church’s brand? Is it consistent with our denominational identity and the Stillspeaking brand? • How are you connecting to the brand? • How does the symbol of a comma complement the traditional United Church of Christ logo?
Becoming a Welcoming Church - Chapter 6(30 Minutes) • You won’t magically turn your church into a welcoming church overnight. However, with organization and planning, you can make it feel that way to visitors and seekers. What you are planting today will eventually transform your congregation into a welcoming place . . . expect it to take time. • Does your church actively invite others into its worship and ministry? • Do visitors feel welcome in your church? • Avoid the perfection trap, often a mask for fear. • Learning from the success of Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ, are there things you can do better to be a visible witness and active presence of God’s radical and all-inclusive welcome? • Tracking progress
What Now? (15 min.) • Ejector ad ran nationally spring 2006 • Viewers saw ad 3.3 times / 4 weeks • On general cable, reached 44% of adults 25-54 • Eyector – our first ad TV in Spanish • Viewers saw ad 2x / 4 weeks • 30% Hispanic adults 25-54 saw Spanish ad • If Telemundo & Univision had carried Eyector, reach would have been 50% • Discuss FAQs
Connection strategies • “Media with a Mission – matching grants • Continuous training/Continuous Improvement • God is still speaking, Ready Set Grow – spring 2007 • Never too late to join movement of extravagant welcome • Spanish edition www.stillspeaking.com
Connection strategies • 16 ways to say, “I love my church.” • Take the quiz – invite your neighbor to church • “Elevator speech” • Celebrate the UCC’s 50thwww.ucc.org • Brainstorm – your ideas for your setting
E-mail Responses to the Campaign • “I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your message and your courage…I am a spiritual person who identifies with the Christian religion even though it doesn’t identify with me…” • “…Thank you for having the guts to include rather than exclude. Thank you very much for restoring some of my faith…” • “As my own church does not accept homosexuals, my girlfriend and I are thinking of joining a new church as we proceed in our life together. Your commercial has just about made up our minds.”
E-mail Responses to the Campaign • “I have not been a member of a church for about 20 years and we attended church today because of your commercial.” • “…A good example of what I believe Christianity is SUPPOSED to be about. I thought it was so beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes. Thank you!”
View/download posters View/download commercials Listen/download radio ads http://www.stillspeaking.com/media/
