Imagine you are out for an afternoon walk (hopefully with a cute pup in tow) and you pass by this house. 

What is your first impression? What do you notice?

What thoughts did you have about the owners of this property? 

Looks a little unloved and messy, right? 

Just like a physical location, your digital presence leaves an impression, a feeling with those passing by. 

Whether people “walk by” your website, Instagram reel, or email newsletter, we want to avoid any feelings of chaos or confusion so that you can inspire them to take action and engage with your organization. 

You can do just that through a consistent, personalized visual identity. 

Below are a few reasons why a visual identity is so important to the success of your organization. 

1. It’s more than a logo. 
   Your organization is more than just a logo. Yes, the logo is important, but what truly allows your organization to stand out and be seen is the accompanying color palette, imagery, fonts, patterns, and layout that transform someone from a website visitor to a donor or worshiper. 
   
   “But what about Nike?” you might ask. Their branding is simply a logo and tagline.
   
   Yes, but also….Nike is a multi-billion dollar organization that spends between $2.5 - $3.5 BILLION PER YEAR on marketing and advertising so people quickly recognize the swoosh. 
   
   You don’t have that monster of a budget. Or global presence. So you cannot solely rely on a simple logo to be understood by the surrounding community. 
   
   You must be consistent in your visual presence in every communication channel, every day, year after year for people to begin to recognize your identity and thus your organization and what your mission is.
   
   
2. Visuals capture more attention. 
   Regardless of the communication channel you use, visuals (i.e. photos, videos, graphics, etc.) are proven to garner more attention, likes, and follows.
   
   The adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” still rings true today even in the age of AI-written content used by billions of people monthly. 
   
   Imagery and colors can evoke emotional reactions while also showcasing the personality of your organization. 
   
   For example, check out these two church websites. 
   Goserve.net
   Oslcrockford.com
   
   What is the mission and personality of each? What emotions do you feel when you visit the church’s website? 
   
   The visual difference is intentional even though they are both Lutheran churches. 
   
   Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is located near Washington, DC and has a large, traditional congregation that is reflected in the rich jewel-tone color palette and kaleidoscope-like patterns. 
   
   On the other hand, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church highlights movement through organic patterns and vibrant colors, reflecting the church’s focus on future generations and growth in the heart of the suburban Midwest. 
   
   
3. Perception is reality. 
   People want to support organizations that look like they have their stuff together. Period.
   
   Human beings highly value order, convenience, and simplicity. 
   
   If your communications are disorganized or confusing, people will start to question how well the organization is internally managed. And large donors will not make that much-needed online gift if we make it too complicated for them to do so.
   
   Yet, organizations continually forget to prioritize their visual identity and online presence. Understandably, we get distracted by the daily tasks that require immediate attention.  
   
   You rarely have time to “test out” the online or in-person visitor experience to identify the loopholes or pain points. 
   
   ​We highly recommend doing an annual digital assessment of your communication channels so you can better understand where your visual identity, communications, and processes may need some updating! 

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Every interaction with your organization needs to offer a quick and easy introduction to the mission of your organization, what you value, and how others can get connected.

A visual identity is crucial to making a great first impression.  

With overall church attendance continuing to decline year after year, many congregations are searching for ways to better their visitor engagement and get new folks connected into ministries.
 
As we look to the summer, usually a high visitor traffic time for congregations, we wanted to share the top three common pitfalls we see in church visitor engagement as well as solutions to overcome these pitfalls. 

It is easy to point out the problems—we are committed to helping you find solutions to the communication and engagement issues you face every day!  

Okay, let’s get into it! 
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According to a Barna study about the new Sunday morning as a result of the pandemic, more than one-third of practicing Christians attended online worship with churches they do not normally attend and 42% listened to/watched messages from other religious leaders!

Although this study was completed in June 2020, you can assume this practice of “virtual church shopping” and finding spiritual guidance from various sources continues today. 

Just like the front door of a church moved to a digital space in the 2000s in the form of its church website, Christians now have more sermons, choir anthems, devotions, and online worship services at their fingertips than ever before. 

It would be negligent to assume Christians are not using these resources to help them have a better understanding of a particular congregation, who is welcome in the church’s physical space, and what the church values are prior to walking through your physical front door. 

Why prioritize the online experience? 
At Evoke, we have seen a shift from prioritizing the online experience, back to an acute focus on “butts in the seats” under the lens of “rebuilding community.” Because churches are no longer required to maintain an engaging online presence, some have let it fall to the wayside. 

As budgets have taken a hit over the past three years, along with the constant comparison of “before the pandemic” numbers, we understand the human reaction to revert back to what we understand best.

Yet, there is a lot we were forced to learn about how technology can be used to enhance worship and engage more people in ministry. 

However, these important learnings seem to be lost in the fearful shuffle of what comes next for churches in a post-pandemic world and how to get people “back in the building”. 

Instead of believing the ways of doing ministry during the pandemic were temporary, how could your congregation utilize your learnings and integrate technology into your processes long-term to feed your in-person ministry opportunities? 

When your visitor processes neglect God’s beloved who may prefer online worship, families that are praying and reading scripture together in their living rooms, those who travel often for work, and those who cannot physically visit our spaces for a variety of reasons, we limit the power of God and the work of the Holy Spirit to only the righteous in-person few. And the God that I believe in will and can not be limited by our human view of how church must be done. 

Solution: Establish an Online Greeter & Prayer Team
Just like your in-person greeter team, an online team of greeters should engage with those who are worshiping online, many of whom may be looking for a church home. 

This team should be trained on the dos and don’ts of how to effectively engage with folks online and how to get them connected to digital resources. 

Online greeters should be familiar with upcoming ministry opportunities and events, the church website (and necessary links they can share like a prayer request form), and service/volunteer opportunities. 

“Where are you joining from today?” is a great introductory question to ask during online worship.

Notice we did not say “Where are you joining us from?” -  stay away from “us” language (learn why here!) to help create a more inclusive environment for online worshipers. 

Consider this chat scenario: 
Greeter: Good morning church! Where are you joining from today? It is a wonderfully sunny day in Fairfax, VA today.

Lisa: Myself and my three kiddos are still in our pj’s this morning. The time change kept us away today—sorry! 

Greeter: So happy to have you and the kids in worship today, Lisa! Here is a link to the faith formation resources for today, including some coloring sheets for the kids to enjoy during or after worship. 
www.churchname.org/faithformation

Lisa: Aww, thanks so much! Super helpful for my 3 and 6-year-olds.
 
Greeter: Glad I could help! Hope to see you and the kids for the upcoming Easter Egg hunt on April 8, too. 
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This team can also take it a step further and provide an opportunity to pray over those in need of prayer while the service is taking place. There are a few live stream systems out there that provide an option for private prayer--like Church Online—or use the Messenger feature on Facebook so the person can privately chat with you. 
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Online engagement is more than a friendly “Good morning :)”! You want to proactively provide opportunities for others to share a bit about themselves, their spiritual needs, and connect with others in the congregation.

As you grapple with how to reach out to church seekers and the surrounding community, congregations are trying out new approaches to connect with visitors or looking to other communities of faith for good ideas (copying is the sincerest form of flattery!).
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Yet, the approach to your research and development usually goes something like this:

1. Gather a group of people together
2. Discuss all the new ideas the team has
3. Select the best ideas from the brainstorming
4. Implement a few ideas (usually all at once)

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We like to call this the “spaghetti dinner approach”—throw some spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. If it sticks, then it must be good. 

A critical step missing in the “spaghetti” approach is to first establish a few goals for your visitor process. What are you trying to accomplish with a visitor process? How do you want a visitor to feel when they come to your church? What does your congregation provide to those in your community that may be different from the church down the street? What is important for a visitor to know on their first, second, or third visit?

If the team of people doesn’t have a common goal for visitor engagement, then the ideas generated will feel scattered and disconnected, leaving it difficult to prioritize them. 

The “spaghetti” approach can also lead to conflicting processes, confusing actions for the visitor, or a plethora of take-home materials that rarely get used and quickly become outdated.

Solution: Utilize the Tools You Have & Follow this Implementation Process
After you have set goals, the next step in your process should be to review and assess the current tools and processes. If you don’t have current processes documented or know how they should work, then how can you identify the areas that need the most improvement? 
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This step should include a review of the available tools, communication channels, and information collected to understand what you already have, what is missing, and what tools may not be fully utilized. 

Ultimately, your implementation process should look like this: 

1. Gather a group of leaders in respective areas affected by visitor processes (worship, new members, office staff, communications/media, etc). 
2. Agree on 1-3 goals 
3. Review and analyze current processes and tools 
   1. What is working/not working based on your goals?
   2. What is missing based on your goals? 
   3. How can processes be streamlined? 
   4. How are tools currently being used? 
4. Discuss ideas based on areas of improvement identified in step 3
5. Prioritize ideas and set a timeline for implementation
6. Implement the improvements (not all at once)

When you set your goals for visitor engagement, we highly recommend you do not include gathering contact information as one of them.

Is it helpful to have contact information from a visitor for future follow-up? YES!
​Does focusing on gathering contact information put the needs of your church above the needs of the person in your midst? Also YES! 

Don’t get me wrong, you should build processes that help you gather contact information! But the request for contact information needs to come at the right time—which is usually not within the first five minutes of meeting someone. 

When you solely focus on gathering contact information, you can easily forget that you might be just a stop on someone’s faith journey. And that’s okay. Your congregation is not going to be the church for everyone. But you should make it a priority to share the love of Christ with everyone in your midst. 

Solution: Put the Visitors' Needs First 
Have your team use their brainstorming power to come up with a list of reasons WHY visitors would come to your church.

Your list may include: 

• Because they are new to the area, they want to meet people
• To connect with other parents with kids similar in age
• Because a friend invited them and they haven't been to a church in years
  
• To be spiritually moved by the same hymns their grandfather sang
• Because their parent forced them to come along for the holiday
• Because they are struggling with faith after a terminal diagnosis of a loved one
• To hear an inspiring sermon that connects with world events and their daily life
  
  

Your team can then build an ideal experience at your congregation for each of these potential visitors.

Asking a young adult who has unwillingly accompanied their parents to worship to fill out a connection card and share their email address with you is not going to be fruitful, most likely. 

But providing a warm welcome, engaging them in conversation, and inviting them to the next young adult gathering might be what it takes—at least they will feel seen as a separate being from their parents and welcomed authentically into the community.

Share any other ideas or solutions you may have for better visitor engagement in the comments below!

I know, I know....many of your just made it through Holy week and you are in need of a break. Please, take some sabbath time! But also, pass this fundraising resource on to your treasurer, director of development or finance team to get their wheels turning. 

We have put together a Generosity Campaign Communications Plan tool which outlines the many steps it takes to pull off a successful stewardship or fundraising campaign.

There is no way to put this lightly - it is a LOT of steps/tasks if you want to be successful and have clear communication with your donors.

We have seen many hiccups happen when:

• expectations aren't clear
• one person is tasked with managing everything themselves 
• various staff are not included in the planning at all or only at the last minute 
• goals of the campaign are not clear or keep changing 
  
  

Which is why it is so important to use a plan/tool like this so it is easier for your team to feel empowered and equipped to do this important fundraising work. 

And for you spreadsheet lovers - this can easily be copied and pasted into Excel. 

​Check it out and let us know what you think!

One of my favorite TV shows was “Mad Men,” a period drama about an advertising agency in New York in the 1960s.  One of the things I found so compelling about the show was how strictly it adhered to every detail of the time period — from the costumes and set design, to the cultural norms of the time.  This included the discrimination and harassment the women in the office endured, not to mention the fact that (at the beginning of the series) not one of those women worked outside the secretary pool.  

Eventually in the storyline, one secretary, Peggy Olsen, had the courage to show her creative skills to the men in charge and was promoted to copywriter, the only female one in the company.  By the end of the seven-year series, Peggy was on her way to being an executive at a top advertising agency.

Peggy was based on real-life copywriter and advertising genius Jane Maas, who became only the second woman officer in the history of advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather. In 1964, Maas landed a job as a junior copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather, writing ads for everything from Dove soap to American Express. She rose to become a creative director before leaving in 1976 to join Wells Rich Greene, where she created the iconic “I Love New York” ads and wrote the classic book, How to Advertise.

I’m grateful for the trailblazers of my industry who had the courage to aim high and succeeded in breaking into what was a men’s-only world in the mid-20th century. Having more women in design has only made the industry better.

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Do me a favor and go to your website and pick a random page to read. 
How many times does that page say...
"we",
"us", or
your "church name"?

Now count how many times it says “you” or “your” "you’re"....

My dad did not share with me his genetic disposition for placing bets, buying weekly lottery tickets and then winning 80% of the time even at slot machines - but if he had, I would bet my retirement funds that the "we's" out pace the "you's". 

"For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” - Luke 14:11

Although not always intentional, we have fallen into an unhelpful habit of talking about ourselves, our church, our ministries all too often. 

Why is this a problem you may ask? Let's think about this scenario as real people having a conversation. 

If your best friend were to only talk about themselves, their experiences and their hardships, you would consider them self centered and hard to be around.

If they fail to ask you any questions about your life or your perspective on the topic at hand, you would find it hard to continue to be in a relationship with this person. Frankly, the title of BFF would most likely be revoked. 

Potential worshippers, visitors or guests - whatever you wish to call those not yet connected to your congregation in some way - are doing the same thing.

Walking away. Not engaging. Not taking the next step in relationship with a congregation. 

We need to live into our call as Jesus' followers and humble ourselves in order to garner trust with new-to-us folks. We need to reframe how we speak to those looking for a church community.​

Here are some steps you can take now: 

1. Throw out the list of ministries. 
We regularly see a list of ministries or committees on church websites. Yet, these lists only glorify the amount of work these teams do rather than how lives and relationships are being impacted in the midst of these ministries. 

From a new person's perspective - they don't care much about how busy your teams are and frankly, they aren't looking to join another team, so it is a fool's errand to continue to list ministries as if they are products that a consumer can add to their cart. 

A new person wants to know:

• ​what they can expect if they participate
• what your congregation values
• if they and their loved ones will be accepted into the community. 

Instead, highlight the values of the congregation (i.e. gathering for worship, building relationships, radical welcome to all God's people, serving those in need in the community and world...). You will find when you center the values of the congregation on the website, that sharing about ministries happens naturally. 

For example, if serving the surrounding community is a value, you will find it easy to share all the ways that a person can get connected to feeding the hungry, supporting the unhoused or using their knitting skills to make baby blankets for the newest saints at the women's shelter. 

2. Change every "we" statement to a "you" statement. 
When writing content for any communication, especially your website, try putting the reader/visitor first with every statement you make. It is easier to talk about ourselves first so this will take a concerted effort to change your focus each time you go to write. 

Some examples of how this reframing will change your language:

• "Join us for Easter worship" >>> "You & your loved ones are invited to worship the Risen Christ on Easter Sunday at 10:00 AM."
• "Our church offers Sunday School" >>> "Children from 3 years old to 5th grade learn about God's love for all people during Sunday School." 
• "Every Saturday we serve the homeless at the local shelter" >>> "Serve your unhoused neighbors by packing lunches on a Saturday at the local shelter."

3. Use storytelling more than advertising.
When we adapt our thought process to sharing the good news about what God is up to versus advertising the next food drive - it’s hard to make the church the center of the conversation. God and the lives changed becomes the focus.

Here are some good storytelling examples: