Local church communicators hear 'creativity is a must'
Rev. Jim Ozier inspires a capacity crowd of local church communicators at the annual Robert L. (Bob) Robertson Awards of Excellence luncheon.
Communications Commission Chair Joe Dan Boyd presents the Best Newsletter award for churches 750-1999 members to Flower Mound UMC editor Meredith Butterfield.
JOE DAN BOYD
Special Correspondent
"Church communication is often an afterthought, when it should be the driving thought of every church," declared Rev. Jim Ozier, pastor of the 3,900-member Trietsch Memorial UMC, Flower Mound, at the 2007 NTC Communication’s Luncheon June 4 at Plano Centre.
To Rev. Ozier, communications is just another word for marketing, for branding Trietsch Memorial, a church that has tripled in size during his 17-year pastorate.
"Our passion is to reach the unchurched, and we rely on communications excellence to do that job well," explains Rev. Ozier, who cites four keys that he considers essential for church communication:
Creativity. "Everyone responds to creativity," insists Rev. Ozier, who believes that we are called to be co-creators with God. "If we are not creative, we are not living up to the potential given to us by God, nor are we what He needs from us.
"At Trietsch, we partner with a professional creative firm, and believe that every church should consider doing that," he explains. "Doing so helps me to think creatively, and to think thematically, which is the way most people think. This approach is responsible for a recent direct mail program we launched: Called Velocity, its theme is that life comes at you fast!
"Creativity is a must," emphasizes Rev. Ozier. "The only thing worse than the blind leading the blind is the bland leading the bland, and if we are not creative, then we essentially give up on a young generation audience that is being sucked away from Methodism by mega churches, Bible churches and nondenominational churches.
"The communicator sets the stage, establishes the model for all the other staff members of a church," he adds. "When they see their church bursting with creativity, their spirit and morale is boosted. As the Apostle Paul said: By God’s grace, we have this ministry; let us not lose heart!"
Effectiveness. During a question period following Rev. Ozier's presentation, he was asked how he measures the effectiveness of a communications effort.
"We find that every direct mail program, each of which costs us over $10,000, brings a lot of visitors to our church and four or five families as new members, with an average annual pledge of about $2,600," Rev. Ozier explained.
"Our conclusion is that this kind of communication pays for itself.
"To be culturally relevant, we must speak the language of our culture, dress it properly and powerfully," he adds.
"You may take some heat for your aggressive communication efforts, as we sometimes do at Trietsch," concludes Rev. Ozier.
"But, as the late, great church communicator Bob Robertson once told me: "The only deer that gets shot at is the one that sticks its head out of the brush pile.
“You may get criticized, both from outside your church and from inside your church, but never give up on communicating the relevance of Methodism, creatively compellingly, consistently and contagiously, to this generation."
