Leveraging Digital Media To Connect With Your Congregation

In my previous post, I mentioned how I hosted a few lunch and learns at the Digital Signage Expo 2010 (DSE) in Las Vegas.  One was focused on houses of worship and the topics was on how to leverage Digital Media to connect with your congregation.

Advancements in Digital Media and the advent of Digital Signage have created an abundance of previously unavailable opportunities to reach and connect with your congregations on a much deeper and more meaningful way.  Combine this with control technologies to incorporate the whole environment into the delivery of your message and you create a memorable experience.

8 ideas on how to better connect with your congregation using digital media:

1) NEW COMER EXPERIENCE

Imagine how newcomers feel the first time they enter your parking lot, come through your doors, navigate your lobby, and atrium.  Are they new to the area?  New to your faith?

“Newcomers typically make a decision within the first 5 minutes about whether or not they’ll come back”    – Cally Parkinson, Dir of Comm at Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL

Q:  How can digital signage and digital media create a welcoming, familiar, experience that conveys the spirit of your congregation?

2)  SERVICING THE DISABLED AND ELDERLY

Video On Demand recording of sermons that can be viewed outside of the church, temple, or mosque from the web so that housebound or hospitalized members of the congregation can feel included in the services.  This same video can also be viewed in schools during religious instruction.

Digital Signage can be used to display what’s happening at the altar or podium for those not sitting close enough to see and include the text of the reading for the hearing impaired.

3) WAYFINDING

Using Digital Signage for wayfinding in a large facility can vastly improve the experience for the worshipers.  More and more houses of worship are using digital signage for wayfinding to better communicate to their congregation what is available to them, where it is, and how and when to go there. 

4) MULTI-LOCATION AND MULTICASTING

As congregations grow, many houses of worship grow into multiple building or locations.  Digital Signage along with Video On Demand or Video Distribution can be used to spread the word simultaneously to a dispersed audience.  You can show live or recorded video from regional spiritual leaders to all church members in the region (i.e. a bishop addressing all churches in a diocese).

5) EMERGENCY MESSAGING

Digital Signage used with a control system can automatically turn every display into an emergency messaging system in the event of a crisis.  It can be automatically trigged when a fire alarm is triggered, for example, and direct the congregation to the nearest exit.

6) CREATING THE RIGHT EXPERIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT USING CONTROL

Control systems can also enable you to orchestrate audio and video with other environmental systems like lighting to create the right effect and atmosphere with a single press on a touch panel strategically located at a podium or altar.  You can also automate turning everything on and off with a single button press to simplify preparing the environment before and after an event.

7) GENERAL MESSAGING AND FUNDRAISING

Digital Signage is an efficient way to communicate important announcements, events, and other information is a timely and attention grabbing way.  You can generate ad revenue as well, similarly to how it is done in many weekly church papers.  You can enable your congregation to leave personal messages and well wishing at special events (i.e. a wedding or holiday celebration) for a donation.  You also have the flexibility that you would never get with the deadlines associated with print media.

8) INTERACTIVE KIOSKS

People go to Houses of Worship for many reasons.  Many go for guidance and direction.  Why not have touch screen kiosks that can display relevant bible passages organized by topic in your lobby?  Maybe I’m trying to understand how to handle a situation that I’m not comfortable talking about, but can select the appropriate subject and be directed to relevant passages?  Maybe I’m new to a religion or congregation and want to understand how and when certain events happen.  An interactive kiosk in the atrium would provide a helpful and welcoming experience.

One final note on the Lunch & Learn.  It was very interesting to see many of the attendees where not church staff or officials, but rather lay people from various walks of life that volunteer their expertise to their church and we looking to learn how their congregation could benefit from Digital Media.  One conclusion that could be drawn is that the houses of worship themselves are not necessarily up to speed yet on the topic, so it's probably independent grass roots efforts that will help digital media find it's way in there.

Thanks for reading!