Identity Resources

Once our members have a grasp of our distinctive mix of attributes, we need ways to make these clear as we connect with those who have not discovered the community we find so meaningful. Invitation from individuals is proven to be the single most effective way to connect a new person to the community, but there are also other ways to help support our members to make the “ask.”

Supporting the “ask”

Order or download the Discover the Disciples brochure | order Chalice stickers

Electronic resources

If your faith community already has a website, make sure you have the following information. People not connected with your congregation can get an idea of whether they might find a home in your group. It also gives members the opportunity to invite others to view the information and/or the other persons can get to know the church online before accepting the invitation to attend in person. Your website is as important as keeping up with building maintenance in making a first impression. (Sample illustration of site was created in WordPress, a free platform.)

Make sure your web site includes:

• Affirmation of Faith (such as preamble of The Design)
• Disciples identity statement or Disciple mission/vision statements supported by scripture (such as Acts 1:8 and Micah 6:8)
• The Chalice logo, preferably on home page toward the top (electronic files available at the link provided)
• Link to Disciples.org and your region’s website; possibly camps or other Disciple organizations like racial/ethnic ministries as appropriate; maybe a page of links to various general ministries that are emphasized in your congregation, such as Reconciliation Ministry or Global Ministries
• Symbols and/or logos and other graphics that convey our identity such as a communion table, open doors, mission projects (Before posting photos of children on the web, make sure their parents/guardians have signed a permission form.)
• What makes your congregation unique in your area, particularly how you move out into the community (your mission emphasis, style of worship, partnerships with other congregations/missions/organizations etc.)
• Current events (that are kept current!)
• Worship times
• Study opportunities (bible studies, women’s/men’s/youth groups, Sunday School/Worship and Wonder, etc.)
• Directions/maps
• Contact information

Help Building and Hosting a Site

Accessibility is important. Screen readers require some special considerations. The tech vendor for disciples.org offers this resource for bringing your website into compliance.

Other sites that may help include:

• Business News Daily article on ADA accessibility
• colorblind design: Vengage
• colorblind testing: toptal
• performance of the site (subscription service): SEMRUSH

Disciple “brand” colors for the web include yellow (RGB 241, 226, 170) light orange (RGB 247, 147, 30) and dark orange (RGB 241, 90, 36) in addition to the chalice red (RGB: 222, 20, 48)

Social and Digital Media

Learn more about how to set up your social media with this webinar.

Facebook is a simple interface to use should you decide to set up a fan page for your church. This works fairly well for your internal audience, but is not as effective as a web page for conveying your congregation’s identity. You will need to make some decisions about how to manage it – primarily as an internal communication tool to remind people of events or if you want to be more inspirational and inviting. Group pages require more monitoring as those are more likely to be spammed. Connect your social media presence to the wider Church with a customizable Facebook cover photo.

Congregations that use projection in worship can add some of this identity information to slides before or after the service to inform visitors and reinforce member learning with customizable PowerPoint slides.

Print resources

Sample Poster

It is helpful to have a printed resource available to welcome visitors to your worship. These printed resources can become outdated quickly, so take a look at what you have to make sure it is up-to-date.

Refer to the website list above for the kinds of information to include in a visitor brochure. Some churches put the majority of this information in the bulletin. Some laminate a card and put next to the hymnal in the pew. For churches that project information such as song lyrics and other worship materials, PowerPoint slides before and after worship can convey the information.

Posters are also a way to continue teaching the congregation and familiarizing visitors with Disciples. 11×17 poster | 18×24 poster  | 11 x 17 poster – Spanish

Be mindful of the visitor not knowing how you do certain parts of worship. For instance, what words you use for the Lord’s Prayer or whether you hold communion elements or take them as they are passed. In addition, make sure it is clear all are welcome to participate in communion.

Advertising

New avenues

If you have funds for advertising, you might look beyond the traditional paper, television or billboards. Facebook offers hyperlocal advertising that can appear on the mobile devices of anyone as close as only a one mile radius up to an entire metroplex. Check into other localized options through cable firms and the like.

Direct mail can be a cost effective method, particularly for specific events and particularly now that print newspapers are less well-read in more urban areas. The United States Postal Service offers the ability to send to specific routes in a given zip code if you’d like to target a neighborhood with a particular demographic makeup. There are minimum numbers of pieces you must mail under these agreements, but the cost is less than you might think!

Conversely, depending on the size of your community, placing advertisements in newspapers and even on local television may be a viable and helpful way of spreading the word about organizations. For example, recent public relations research shows that reaching individuals in rural communities is still best done through newspapers even in the age of electronic communications.

Newspapers

Sample newspaper ad.

In smaller communities (10,000 or less), local newspaper advertisements may still be effective. If the decision is made to use a newspaper advertisement to invite individuals to attend your faith community’s services, make sure you include the time and the address. The chalice and identity statement (“We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness.”) should also be included if your congregation does not have an existing logo and tagline. Also include your website address. This will give prospective visitors a chance to view your congregation’s priorities and make them more comfortable with the decision to spend an hour or two of their time with you.

In medium to large communities, newspaper advertisements are not as effective partly due to the wider geography of the readership. In addition, the majority of people get their news from electronic media (websites, television, etc.) Sometimes newspapers will offer insertion services by zip code which allow you to target people geographically closer to your meeting place, but you also run the risk of being lost in the Home Depot and Macy’s circulars. Prices vary by your community, so a call to the advertising department of your local newspaper will be in order.
Color insert sample | Black & white insert sample | B & W ad sample

Television

Advertising can be targeted geographically through cable packages, but is a fairly expensive project to have a well-produced advertisement and also purchase air time. Every market is a little different, so you will want to investigate that for your context.

Some congregations are using free public access channels to broadcast talk shows and services, but, again, you need to see what is available in your area and determine the viewer numbers.

Billboards

Again, depending on your context, billboards may be a viable paid-advertising alternative particularly if you place them in areas that are on main routes to your meeting place. Make sure the text is minimal so it can be as large as possible. In most instances a graphic (preferably including a chalice), a seven word (or less) invitation or “teaser,” and website address will be about all that will be legible to someone driving by at 55 mph. No matter what, the minimum letter size is 18 inches tall.

Billboard design tips are readily available with a quick web search.

Events

One way some congregations combine mission and outreach is to have events on site, such as a neighborhood block party for a community garden inauguration. An event can give your members an opportunity to invite individuals to a non-worship event so the visitor can feel comfortable in the environment, particularly if their only experience with church is a wedding or funeral.