You know those mornings that just start off on a great, positive note? Today was one of those days for us here at Ekklesia 360. We woke up to find an email from one of our favorite #churchcomm leaders, Steve Fogg––announcing his new podcast!
I was ready to dive into the hour-long episode right away, and thought I'd share my initial thoughts on this great new resource.
Congratulations to Steve, and happy listening to our readers who share our love for all things church communications!
Steve and his guest, Justin Dean of That Church Conference, open with a conversation about fish tacos and palm trees. (As a fan of both food and trivia, I can already tell I'm going to like this!)
This opening episode starts with a hefty topic, but it tackles the subject of crisis communications perfectly. No church wants to be in the midst of a tragic event or heavy fire, but this discussion brought to light many things we can do to prepare for such an event before we ever face it. You should build strong relationships and rapport with the public and our own neighborhoods (press, media, your town, etc.) before the crisis, and celebrate "good news" events.
Steve and Justin talk about advertising, marketing, PR––and how that all intersects for a church.
Usually, churches spend LOTS of time crafting the message of a sermon and little to no time crafting the message that "the rest of the world" will see.
Which is a much bigger group, when you think about it!
This sure seems like a promising podcast kick off. Steve seems focused on actually discussing practical things to do, with detailed examples and good pointers. Many people will say "developing relationships" is the answer, but this podcast goes into details about how to actually do that. I appreciate both Steve and Justin and their insight to social media tactics, weathering the storm of complex crises, and the passion they have for helping your church succeed.
But you don't have to take our word for it. Give it a listen, it'll be an hour well-spent!
