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It’s finally beginning. Amber waves of change are emerging from the Communications Ministry here at HPPC and folks are taking notice.
Below is our newly designed weekly email. Once a heavy, drab, text-driven email … now a crisp, clean, streamlined, graphic-rich email. Everything you once ignored has now become interesting and clickable. Hats off to Chris Davidson for the design and delivery. He’s now turning his focus toward a complete website re-design.
Just this past Sunday we also introduced an all-new, completely redesigned announcements insert to the congregation. Initial feedback is off the charts. Kudos to Zack House for that little piece of success (subject of the upcoming Part 3 of this series).
Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy … I can’t think of a better way to begin 2009 than to share, over a series of posts, how the HPPC Communications Ministry will be facilitating some radical transformations and rolling out some exciting strategies. Over the next few months, we will be implementing an aggressive plan (over a full year in the making) to enhance and improve a number of key areas.
Below is an excerpt from a memo from our Director of Communications, Jon Zellers, that went out in December introducing the plans to our staff. As the plans get underway, I will reveal more and more of them.
2009 is coming quickly and we wanted to provide an update on the upcoming changes in our ministry that will affect yours. As you read the categories below, you will notice that there are very few areas that will not be affected by the new strategy. The changes come from several sources, including staff and leadership meetings, consultants, communications staff experience and research and general best practices. A maximized and streamlined communications channel benefits everyone:
• Regular weekly space for each life stage (to coincide with new web site)
• Church-wide and Special opportunities listings for EM&O, Music, Stewardship
(Generosity), Personal Discipleship and Auxiliary Ministries
• Unified presentation; all ministries seen in context of the whole
• Increased visual appeal
• Increased user-friendliness
• Increased first time guests (visitors) friendliness
• Increased time to TELL THE STORIES
An updated publications procedures and schedule will be circulated soon. They will include the most recent summary of changes, timelines, and the new expectations and responsibilities.
I wish I could share more with you. But for now, I hope you look forward to following the progress on our multi-phase plan as much as we do. Please pray for us as we move forward. It’s going to be a LOT of long hours of hard work but the results, and ultimately the impact for the Kingdom, will be tremendous.
Can you tell I’m excited? It’s a great time to be alive and an active part of the vital changes occuring, and what God is already doing, here at HPPC. Happy New Year!
Maybe you can relate. There are seasons of experience that are like either moving straight ahead slowly, moving straight ahead quickly, turning to the left or right, standing completely still, sliding backwards, or sliding into a ditch and getting stuck.
If I’m driving along and need to pause and wait at a light, or get stalled in rush hour, I’m usually anxious to get moving again. Sometimes I don’t even care if I need to turn and go miles out of my way just so that I can feel like I’m going somewhere.
Our Communications Ministry, like riding bus with some really awesome people, is about to turn another corner. I can’t tell you any details right now, but some more turns are coming that have me really excited and energized.
Riding this Communications bus is much like riding from one end of town to another. Meetings, conversations, and impromptu brainstorming sessions are generating a lot of momentum right now. We’re picking up speed and about to turn toward the intersection of High Impact Blvd and Effectiveness Lane.
I really love what Steven Furtick said over on his blog, “I’m worrying less about impressing people with my messages, and obsessing more about making an impact.”
Naturally, what this means is needing to navigate the complexities of change. Some areas of change will be well recieved and others may not. Please join me in praying for smooth roads along our journey.
I’ll be posting periodic mile markers. Be on the lookout for my traffic reports and progress updates.
more about “HPPC All Church Day 2008“, posted with vodpod
Home was not an ideal environment for Bethany growing up, but a friend invited her to church. That one friend was “literally all it took.” There, she began her relationship with Christ.
more about “Bethany’s Story (1:43 min.)“, posted with vodpod
Perfectionism was a plague on Tad. Relying on his own strength to measure up only wore him down. But the early influence of a Youth Pastor played an integral part of Tad coming to fully rely on Christ.This video was rolled into HPPC’s 1105 Contemporary service.
more about “Tad’s Story (2:39 min.)“, posted with vodpod
Before I began working here, Highland Park Presbyterian Church entered into an advertising contract with a company that places spots in local movie theaters. The intended campaign was put on hold for various reasons but the company graciously allowed us to postpone our ads in order to revamp.
Admittedly, it’s a generic “we’re all about people” ad. While I would have preferred a more developed and targeted marketing campaign, here is our 0:15 sec. spot to run for 13 weeks before the movies begin at AMC Northpark Mall in Dallas, Texas. Don’t blink. You might miss it.
more about “Going Hollywood“, posted with vodpod
This is “helping the Church matter” at its finest. Every now and then you get to help someone share their amazing testimony of God’s redemptive grace.
Meet Anthony. Anthony was about as far away from God as you can get. As a musician and sound tech, he was on the road for years leading a life filled with clubs, bars, drugs, and alcohol. That is until 1992 … He agreed to share some of his story for our “Relational Evangelism” message series.
Seth Jones and I put together this [2:10 minute] roll-in that was shown just last Sunday in our 1105 (Contemporary) service right after worship, to set up the message.
I survived the first 30 days on the new job. So far I’ve already:
- Attended at least 1,000 meetings. OK, maybe not quite that many. But it feels like it.
- Been taken out to lunch at least a dozen times. OK, maybe not quite that many. But I wish it were. There’s lots of great restaurants around here.
- Read and processed at least 1,000 emails. Yes, I’m sure about that many.
- Developed a financial stewardship fiscal-year-end campaign theme and designed a series of postcards. The art is appearing in mailboxes, the bulletin, newsletters, campus message boards and slides.
- Designed a tri-fold brochure to accompany a new 5-part message series on “relational evangelism.” The cool thing is that the piece will live on long after the series is over as a practical evangelism tool.
- Started a Communications Team collaboration on branding a three-year church-wide strategic initiative plan … yeah, uhm, I’m not sure what that means either. But we’re getting there.
- Assigned to assist in the content management system. Wow. Now that’s a big elephant to chew.
- Learned how to manipulate the website. Dangerous.
- We’re also slated to begin a number of other projects. And that number would be 140 new projects in 2009 so far and counting.
Good times. How are things in your world?
