Every organization provides something of value to survive. Some organizations create products or offer experiences. Other organizations deliver content, relationships or offer services. Some organizations offer combinations of all of these.
What’s interesting to me is how the Church is unique in it’s delivery approach. We’re really not a product industry. If anything, we are a services, content, relationships and experience industry. Product and experience institutions are still primarily location-centric. We have to go to a certain place at a certain time to process transactions. Of course, with Amazon and Ebay and Craigslist, even product delivery systems are becoming less and less place-specific.
When it comes to organizations that deliver services, relationships and especially content; however, most institutions approach decision-making very differently. For example, here’s the way that the Church processes content delivery. We have teaching or training or learning opportunities we want people to engage, so we ask these questions first:
- What do we need to tell people?
- Who’s available to teach it?
- When are we going to offer it?
- Where are we going to offer it?
- What are we going to do with their kids?
- How will we promote it?
The way most other organizations process these decisions is very different. They’re asking these types of questions:
- What are people interested in knowing?
- Who is a trusted voice on that topic?
- How can we get the content available online?
- Will people love it and want to share it with friends?
- Who do we know who will be willing to share this in their network?
Same thing goes with relationships. The church asks: Where do we want people to meet? When will they meet? What are we going to have people do together? The way other organizations encourage relational connections is they ask questions like this: How do we create environments where people will want to gather (either online or offline)? Are those environments encouraging people to connect with each other? Is the relational network growing?
When I watch television or view a movie, I watch it when I want to through sites like Hulu and Netflix or by using my DVR. When I want to learn something, I learn it when I want to by going to websites I trust and searching for the answer. When I want to connect with other people, I connect when I want by using Twitter, Facebook, texting and email.
When the Church wants to teach or train or connect people, we immediately ask: how do we get people to an event or class? When most other organizations need to teach or train or connect people, their first question is this: how can we create great content and deliver it online?
Is it just me, or are we asking the wrong questions?
I can only speak for my church on this one. Having been in a lot of these program meetings over the years I can safely say that my church thinks of the second set of questions and tries to build off of them. I’m not saying we’re perfect in this way, but it is on our minds when we’re programming.
The first set of questions, although I agree shouldn’t be the primary questions, are necessary for logistical reasons. I think too often we gloss over the ‘important’ questions and skip right to the ‘logistical’ questions. Maybe this is because we think that without being able to pull it off… we shouldn’t even discuss it in the first place?
I don’t agree with this for one big reason. If we never discuss what COULD be… how will we ever get to a point where it CAN be?
Feel me?
I’m not sure if it’s a difference in generation’s or a control thing, the whole on-line thing has some churches completely in the dark. No presence, no urgency, no plan to move in THAT direction. It’s very strange, I wonder if it’s just some older leaders with strong hands haven’t let go yet to our generation and the way we are doing life these days. It’s staggering. Great content promotes itself, the means by which people seek information are always changing and we’ve got to evolve with it.
GREAT, GREAT QUESTIONS! Thank you for provoking thought.
I think these questions raise other questions about the motives and goals of the Church as well.
for instance, the “how can we create great content & deliver it online” – that raises the question, does the Church translate well via online content delivery format? Does delivering great content online accomplish the goals of the Church? What are those goals?
Great timing..these questions have been swirling around in my head lately..and i just had conversation today with our lead pastor about this very thing..we are interested in learning more about church online and delivery methods for teaching, training, networking, small groups, etc. in the 2000s..
thanks for the post..forwarding now..
Wonderfully said, how does this message become integrated into the churches current program? I think the church should be just as concerned about building their online community as they are their in person community. Where does it begin?
I find it remarkable how similar ministry is to business/marketing. I know some people will disagree. But there are many similarities between customer focused, value driven marketing and kingdom minded, Jesus focused ministry.
Don’t misconstrue my message. I’m not advocating ministry taking direction from the people, but understanding the people and communicating/interacting with them appropriately.
As far as the ‘online church’, look at the how traditional service based businesses have communicated/interacted with people online. What are the similarities between their model and the new effective church model?
Great, thought provoking post. Thanks!
I agree, Tony. The problem is that not all content the church has to offer is “great content.” We are, after all, preaching a message that isn’t popular. I do feel that churches have to catchup to the online thing and social media, but we can’t forget that sometimes when we preach the truth–the kind that’s not watered down–people aren’t going to want to hear it. So then the question becomes “how are we going to get people to understand and embrace this harsh truth without them running for the hills?”