Navigating How We Communicate the Word in Our Community

People are turning away from the church. They are either redefining their relationship with God based on their own terms or claim indifference to the Truth. Not surprisingly, the polls indicate what we are already observing. The startling number is the rapidity of the decline.

God’s Word still works, but it’s causing churches to re-think how to connect with those who have disengaged themselves from worship and the Word.

There are three notable trends that organizations are using to communicate with their community that churches can glean from: 

Create a digital offering for your community that addresses their needs and emotions.

Many churches are either live-streaming their worship or providing video replays on their website. But to reach the unchurched or the disengaged, it’s requiring a different type of messaging to proclaim the truth of God’s Word.

It’s important for churches to understand that they are no longer competing against other churches but attempting to separate themselves from all the noise on the internet. It’s not just reaching an audience but gaining their attention.

What is the mental state of your community? Ask people what bothers them. By highlighting these concerns in your digital platform, you will discover entry points to communicate the gospel or people will scroll right past you.

Increase content and create more on digital platforms.

Preparing sermons requires a great deal of time and effort. Along with providing video replays of your entire message, maximize the content by providing bite-sized segments (or “sound bites”) and utilize them for a digital message.

The creation of this content alone provides a church with credibility and authenticity as a “thought-leader” that is attempting to make a difference in the community. Combined with visually appealing content, congregations can create funnels to gain the attention of people who may ask themselves, “Maybe I ought to give this church a try?”

The most effective calls-to-action that are giving mission congregations new entry points to communicate the Word are invitations to Bible information classes before inviting them to worship.

Build new relationships.

People are avoiding church because they perceive it as being irrelevant to their lives. Relevance can be established through awareness – and awareness helps demolish assumptions that all churches (including yours) are judgmental, uncaring, and out-of-touch.  

These conversations can start by asking members of your community, “How can I help?” People today are willing to be engaged by a local church and seem to gravitate towards partnerships to build trust and credibility. They like to hear, “We are here for you – help us to help others.”

The Bottom Line

In today’s world, it’s imperative to gain an audience before proclaiming to an audience. This provides credibility and a platform to communicate reasons for the hope that you have in Christ.