Montrose Church, located in Montrose CA, has become masterful at innovation. Workarounds are second nature to this well-established, yet dynamic congregation and when it comes to innovation, they lead.
For example, what do you do when your church parking lot has a whopping total of 25 parking spaces and you serve hundreds of people at your weekend services? You heard me right, hundreds. You have multiple services, of course. And you put 60 lifegroups in place so people get their personal needs met.
Likewise, how do you attract the non-religious? Equally simple, don’t overdo the gospel. Check out their web page and you’ll notice that instead of using an overtly religious vernacular, they convert the message into engaging language that those without years of “christianese” can understand. Wise.
And lastly, how do you connect the folks who all attend different services into an authentic community with cellular connections that facilitate organic depth and growth? Use a product designed to do just that.
Unifyer to be specific. Here are just some of the things Unifyer can do for a church congregation:
- connect individuals in real communities like home groups, special needs groups & small groups
- enhance the relationships people have with a safe & simple, instant communication tool
- get people excited about volunteering with need specific connections
- provide an instant set of hubs for communicating and sharing needs
- decentralize communication
Did I also mention Montrose has attached their flickr stream to their landing page just under their RSS feed? Just another couple of my personal measurements of currently innovative ministries.
What tools inspire innovation in ministry for you?
I am a huge fan of your site, and especially love this article.
This is innovation at its best. Unifyer does seem have plenty of promise!
Cynthia -
Thanks for your kind observations. While we have many physical constraints with our Montrose Church campus…we’re very excited to see how God is using technology to help us open new doors.
We rolled out Unifyer as a communication tool to help us manage the logistics for our LifeGroups – but the more important (and unexpected) story is how Unifyer has become its own “venue”…allowing us to connect and strengthen relationships.
Some trends we’re seeing include inter-generational connections, ‘tweens who aren’t quite ready for Facebook and MySpace establishing community with friends/pastors/teachers, and even high schoolers inviting friends outside the church to join our Unifyer community. We consistently hear people say that they see Unifyer as a place where they can really talk about what is really going on in their lives, without it being open to the whole world of other social networking tools.
After using the tool for almost six months, I can honestly say that church communications has become a ministry…not a task. Unifyer is just another door in to Montrose Church…not a replacement to MySpace and Facebook, but a bridge.
Thanks again, Cynthia, for all you are doing to equip leaders in their use of technology to reach people!
Hi Cyndi.
Thanks for your Unifyer feedback and the analogy of Unifyer serving as a bridge. I’m still looking forward attending one of your services so I can experience your congregation first hand. Will try to return emails in early Jan, so expect to hear from me. As I consult with churches who are pressing into participatory media, it’s great to have a local example who can verify how valuable it can be when used strategically.
P.S. – One of the reasons I think you have been so successful is the full buy-in when it comes to new media values – transparency, open source thinking, relationship-driven congregational economy, etc.