Lent is a season of reflection, sacrifice, and renewal, a natural journey toward Easter’s joy. However, many modern churches miss a significant opportunity to engage their communities during this sacred period. In today’s digital age, effective church communication strategies can transform Lent from a routine observance into a dynamic, community-building experience.
By integrating daily video content and encouraging user-generated contributions, your church can create a journey that resonates deeply with members and reaches new audiences.
In this article, we will explore how embracing communication strategies during Lent honours tradition and revitalises your congregation’s connection to the message of hope. We will discuss the significance of Lent today, why many churches have abandoned its observance, and how you can use authentic, unpolished video content to make a lasting impact—all while implementing actionable church communication strategies.
Understanding Lent and Its Hidden Potential for Your Church Communication Strategies
Lent is traditionally a time for spiritual preparation, characterised by fasting, prayer, and self-reflection. However, many modern church practices overlook this season, favouring more contemporary and flexible approaches. By not embracing traditional practices like Lent, churches may miss valuable opportunities to foster community and deepen faith.
Effective communication strategies can help bridge this gap by reimagining Lent as a meaningful journey. Rather than viewing it as a strict set of rituals, churches can use these strategies to invite members into a personalised and engaging experience that connects daily life, worship, and digital media—something I am particularly passionate about.
Embracing a Themed Journey Through Lent With Church Communication Strategies
A key component of effective church communication strategies is having a unifying theme. This theme serves as the foundation of your campaign, ensuring that all content is interconnected. Here are several themes you might consider for Lent. Feel free to create your own as well; this list is intended to provide a helpful starting point:
- Deeper Prayer Life
- Intimacy with Jesus
- Spiritual Reflection & Repentance
- Serving Others & Acts of Kindness
- Fasting & Self-Discipline
- Journey to the Cross: Following Jesus’ Steps
- Breaking Chains: Finding Freedom in Christ
- The Power of Forgiveness
- Spiritual Renewal & Revival
- Encountering God in Silence & Solitude
Let’s explore a few themes that highlight effective church communication strategies:
Deeper Prayer Life: Imagine inviting your congregation to share their personal prayer experiences through daily videos. Each short clip can showcase tips for creating a quiet prayer space or recount transformative moments in prayer. Integrating these authentic stories is a powerful strategy that fosters community and encourages a sustained, deeper prayer life.
Intimacy with Jesus: Focus on real-life stories of how members experience a personal connection with Jesus. Daily videos can highlight how congregants find intimacy with Him—through activities like: journaling, walking in nature, or even sitting by a lake fishing. Explore what intimacy means for different individuals. When paired with a thoughtful communication strategy, this theme invites your congregation into a more intimate relationship with Jesus by providing real-world examples of how others cultivate this in our busy lives.
Spiritual Reflection & Repentance: Encourage honest reflections and moments of self-examination. Invite your members to share videos discussing their struggles and spiritual breakthroughs. This vulnerability fosters authenticity, strengthens bonds within your community, and emphasises the transformative power of repentance when promoted through well-crafted communication strategies.
Implementing Daily Video Content with Church Communication Strategies
I understand you may already feel overwhelmed by your current media demands and lack of resources. The last thing you want is more work and additional content to create.
I get it—this scenario sounds all too familiar. However, I encourage you to keep reading, as I aim to make this process easier for you (or at least alleviate some of the pressure).
A key element of effective church communication strategies is incorporating daily video content. This approach not only keeps the congregation engaged but also helps extend the conversation beyond Sunday services. Rather than suggesting you take on all the work yourself, I propose considering User Generated Content (UGC) as an effective way forward for your church.
Here’s how to get started:
1. Establish a Central Hub for Content Sharing
- Platform Choice:
Use a shared Google Drive folder or a similar cloud storage service. This will serve as your digital “submission box” where community members can easily upload their videos. - Clear Guidelines:
Provide step-by-step instructions on how to submit content. Specify file naming conventions (e.g., “Day3_DeeperPrayer_JohnDoe.mp4”) and organise folders effectively. Although these may seem like simple tasks, they are crucial for maintaining smooth communication and campaign strategies within your church.
2. Create a Detailed Brief for Contributors
A well-crafted brief is a cornerstone of all successful church communication strategies focusing on user-generated content (UGC).
Here’s what to include:
Video Specifications:
- My suggestion is aim for videos that are 1 to 3 minutes long.
- Authenticity is essential; the content should feel genuine rather than overproduced.
- Technical Tips for the UGC Contributors:
- Audio: Use an external microphone if available for clear, crisp sound.
- Lighting: Choose well-lit spaces and avoid filming directly in front of windows.
- Framing: Make sure the subject is centred, and the eyes are positioned roughly one-third from the top of the frame.
These are just a few components; you can create your own based on your needs. However, I strongly recommend keeping things simple to avoid overwhelming those you want to involve.
If your church has talented videographers, this project could be an excellent opportunity for them to showcase their skills. This initiative might also help you discover amazing talents.
When it comes to the editing process for these pieces, I have three suggestions for you:
1. Develop a simple style guide and apply it to all your pieces.
2. Add a graphic overlay or lower third with your church’s logo and the campaign title (as well as the contributor’s name) to reinforce your church’s communication strategies.
3. Incorporating music and enhancing the audio will significantly improve production quality.
3. Encourage Broad Participation
To ensure that your church communication strategies resonate with the congregation, invite as many members as possible to contribute:
- Call for Submissions:
Emphasise that every submission matters and that you seek genuine, heartfelt reflections. While not every video may be used in this round (you want to select the best to support your overarching strategy), each contribution enriches the overall journey. Consider creating a website where all submitted videos can be accessed and viewed so every contributor feels valued. - Prompts Tied to the Theme:
Provide your contributors with thoughtful prompts related to your theme. For instance, if your focus is on “Intimacy with Jesus,” you might ask, “Can you share a moment when you felt a deep personal connection with Jesus?” These prompts will help ensure that every piece of content aligns with your church communication strategies.
4. Sifting, Sorting, and Scheduling Content
After gathering a collection of videos, it’s time to curate and schedule them:
- Review Process:
Form a small review committee or collaborate with your media team to assess the submitted videos using a straightforward checklist. Choose videos that best align with your theme and church communication strategies. - Flexible Posting Schedule:
Consider this sample schedule:- Monday: Kick off the week with a video that introduces the theme, possibly featuring one of your church leaders who embodies that theme.
- Tuesday to Thursday: Share daily user-generated videos.
- Friday: Post a recap or highlight reel of the week’s content, again maybe featuring a leader or elder from the church.
- Weekend: Consider hosting optional live Q&A sessions (possibly on Zoom) where people can discuss their experiences with the week’s content. You can also facilitate reflective discussions that connect with your weekly services.
Organising your content this way ensures that your church communication strategies remain effective and adaptable to your congregation’s needs.
5. Integrating with Weekly Services
I recommend integrating this overarching strategy into your regular church activities rather than viewing it as something separate. One effective way to do this is to incorporate content from the campaign into your weekly gatherings.
You can enhance your traditional worship experience by using selected videos from the campaign during your services. This integration can become a crucial part of your church communication strategies.
One approach is to use snippets of user-generated content to reinforce the theme during the weekly sermon. Additionally, you could dedicate a specific time in the service to play one or more videos that establish the theme for the week.
Maximising Reach with Multi-Platform Church Communication Strategies
You need an innovative and targeted approach to extend your message beyond the church walls. Here’s how to effectively use church communication strategies across different digital platforms:
Know Your Audience
- Identify Where They Are:
Understand where your congregation and potential new members spend their time online—whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or other social platforms. - Focused Approach:
Instead of spreading your efforts too thin, choose one or two platforms to focus on initially. This targeted approach is strategic for your church communication efforts and helps prevent resource overload, ensuring your content reaches the right audience. It’s all about setting priorities.
Platform-Specific Tips
Different platforms have different requirements. Here’s how to adapt your videos as part of your church communication strategies:
- Aspect Ratios:
- Instagram Stories/Reels: Vertical (9:16)
- YouTube: Horizontal (16:9) Shorts (9:16)
- Facebook: Square (1:1) often works best
AI programmes can do much of this heavy lifting for you now too.
Engaging With Your Community Online
Here are some options to consider for extending your church’s communication strategies beyond your immediate community:
Creating a Campaign Hashtag: Develop a unique hashtag that encapsulates the theme of your Lenten journey. Encourage members to use it when sharing your videos to help amplify your message.
Encouraging Sharing: Ask members to share the videos on their social media channels. This peer-to-peer sharing is one of the most effective church communication strategies for increasing visibility.
Monitoring Engagement: Track likes, shares, and comments to understand what resonates with your audience. Use these insights to refine your church communication strategies for continuous improvement.
Using Videos as a Vehicle for Ministry and a Journey to Easter: Remember that social media is an excellent platform to connect with new people and initiate conversations with those you haven’t met yet. Don’t miss this opportunity. When new individuals engage with your content, be sure to respond and have a conversation. Ask if they have any needs you can assist with and invite them to your church, particularly to your Easter services. This is a great way to leverage Lent as a journey toward Easter.
Conclusion: Embrace Church Communication Strategies for a Transformative Lent
Lent presents a fantastic opportunity to reconnect, reflect, and renew. You can turn this season into a vibrant, interactive journey that energises your congregation by implementing thoughtful church communication strategies, such as themed daily videos, user-generated content, and multi-platform engagement.
The beauty of these strategies lies in their simplicity and adaptability. Whether your church is large or small, with extensive resources or just a few dedicated volunteers, these strategies can be tailored to meet your unique needs. By establishing clear guidelines, encouraging authentic content, and thoughtfully integrating your videos into both digital and in-person worship settings, you create a rich tapestry of spiritual engagement that extends far beyond the traditional boundaries of Sunday services.
It’s time to take that first step and transform Lent into a season of genuine connection—one that resonates with the heart of modern church communication.
By harnessing the power of these communication strategies and embracing a fresh approach to traditional practices, your church can embark on a transformative journey toward Easter. Let’s make this Lent more than just another season; let it be a celebration of renewed faith, unity, and digital engagement.
Embrace these church communication strategies as your roadmap for a transformative Lent journey. Let this season serve as a testament to how modern technology and timeless traditions can unite to create a vibrant, faith-filled community.
About the author
Graeme is a pioneer in Christian Media with over 25 years of experience. With a particular skill in live television, he has produced and directed some of the largest Christian events over the past two decades. Having worked in the USA, UK, Europe, Africa, Israel, Hong Kong, India, South America and Australia, Graeme is highly regarded within the industry as a Christian media professional. He has produced thousands of hours of world class Christian television, won numerous awards and worked with some of the best-known Christian ministers. Before founding Media Mentoring, Graeme was the Chief Operating Officer of GOD TV. You may email him at graeme@cloakproductions.com.
