Playfulness and Shameless Self-Promotion
Christ Church, Savannah, gained in Average Sunday Attendance from 91 in 2009 to 108 in 2010. This increase of 19% makes the church one of the faster growing ones in the Diocese of Georgia. I like to ask the question of churches where we see growth, “What is happening here that another church might want to consider replicating?”
Obviously, the answer isn’t always helpful. We anticipate growth at St. Patrick’s, Pooler, and St. Luke’s, Rincon, not merely because they are great worshipping communities, but also because Gulfstream has added 1,200 new jobs, which is increasing the population on the northwest side of Savannah. That is great to know, but doesn’t help other churches as they consider how they might reach out to new people.
There are several things happening at Christ Church, Savannah, any one of which is easily replicated elsewhere:
- Branding,
- A Sense of humor, and
- Internal self-promotion that is practically shameless.
Branding comes from the congregation having a clear image in a logo created by Louise Shipps used unfailingly with the blue and red colors of the Episcopal shield. I have written previously about this here: Branding Your Church. The seal of the church is now travelling around the world with parishioners who send photos of themselves with the familiar image taken in far flung places. These photos are shared on their Facebook page and in weekly emails.
The sense of humor comes in playful touches like the Feast of Saint Seersucker, covered in an earlier From the Field and members of the congregation wearing socks according to the colors of the liturgical calendar.
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Dear Communicants and Friends of Christ Church Episcopal,
Has the world turned upside down?! Tiger Woods missed the cut at the PGA championship with five (yes, five!) double bogeys; the Falcons lost to the Dolphins; a freshman will start at tailback for UGA (and his name is NOT Hershel Walker); Joseph rises to power in Egypt…and has his brothers arrested (read tomorrow’s lesson from Genesis); and Texas A&M wants to join the SEC! It’s enough to make one want to read our bulletin at http://www.ccesavannah.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/CCE-Bulletin-08-14-11-Pentecost-9A.pdf and cry out, “Have mercy on me Lord, Son of David!” (read tomorrow’s gospel lesson from Matthew).
Thankfully, tomorrow is another day (in the words of the South’s immortal sage Scarlet O’Hara), Dan Uggla’s hit streak for the Braves is alive at 32 games, and The Rev. J. Sierra Wilkinson will be our preacher!
As you can see, the tone of the publication is fun. Parishioners can count on receiving the email every Saturday and it leaves the reader both laughing at the content and looking forward to what’s happening next at Christ Church. Included are birthdays and anniversarys, bragging on church familys with some news, such as a son getting a scholarship, or daughter being accepted into a prestigious ballet program. The writing style is tricky and is not within everyone’s ability to pull off well. The initial email is prepared by Mills Fleming, who was until recently the Senior Warden. He then sends a draft around for a few more eyes to review the text before it is shot out into cyberspace.
Any of these ideas-branding, a sense of humor, and shameless self-promotion-can be exported to other churches. When borrowing these, or any other ideas from other churches, you will need to make the idea your own, so that the end result fits your congregation like a glove.
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary
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