Can You Read Me Now?

Posted on July 15th, 2008 by Cynthia D'Amour

  Yes you can.

More than 50% of members of a local church are under age 35.

  • What makes them attractive to younger members?
  • Many traditional religious organizations are aging out.

I took a peek at their website to see what was different. I found…

  • Diversity in offerings.
  • A multimedia experience - both online and in person.
  • Gourmet coffee offered before, during and after services.

I also found a unique twist I haven’t seen before. The church offered some key materials in a variety of formats.

  • “Printer-friendly” (10 pt)
  • “Boomer-friendly” (14 point)
  • “iPhone-friendly”

It’s interesting food for thought.

  • They meet members where they are.
  • The fairly simple to produce options create a customized experience.
  • Plus, people who appear hipper than their eyes feel can download readable information in the privacy of their home. ;-)

I wonder what an in-person visit would be like… (nice job!)

Makes me think of chapter leaders…what message does your website give to prospective members?

 

Filed under: Recruiting New Members, Savvy Leadership

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3 Responses to “Can You Read Me Now?”

  1. Tony Rossell, on July 16th, 2008 at 2:10 pm Said:

    Good insights. I am sure that the majority of my church’s members are also under 35. I am sure that the web site helps. Another powerful element might be giving younger members a chance to lead and carry major responsibility at a very yound age.

    You are correct, getting a handle on this is an important question for associations to consider. Tony

  2. David M. Patt, CAE, on July 16th, 2008 at 4:45 pm Said:

    Great observation! I’m sure the church endured a huge cultural change to market like that (and it probably had a tech-savvy member to set this stuff up).

  3. Cynthia D'Amour, on July 18th, 2008 at 10:57 am Said:

    Hi Tony and David!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Tony: You are correct - they seem to really share the involvement opportunities.

    David: I actually think this would be easy to do. It looked like a word document saved as PDF. Just have to change font size to create Boomer edition. Links to website are pretty basic.

    The hardest part was thinking of creating the options.

    I am toying with checking out the church in person to see if the experience matches the promise. If I do, I’ll let you know what I find.

    Cynthia

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