And here are the different options we considered and explored:
Content We Could Add Stories & Results Every missional community, huddle, group, and individual at MCC is a story. These stories tell the bigger story of what makes MCC different and what’s happening because of MCC (and God’s work). If MCC wants to do more storytelling on their site to help visitors get a feel for what’s happening through the community, here are a few options:
People profiles - Brief snapshots that feature smiling faces and a few words that get at who they are and what they’re up to (find a place to feature 3-5 people and rotate them out every so often).
Community stories - Brief highlights of specific partnerships, missional communities, or projects that are happening because of MCC people (find a place to feature 3-5 projects and rotate them out every so often)
Communities and projects section - We could add a section to the site that focuses on providing a quick look at the different missional communities and other projects/initiatives in motion (The Sheridan Story and others)
Photography - Simply adding more imagery of community members living out the mission could tell this story. An option would be to determine a budget for photography and create a plan/schedule for capturing a variety of "living out the story" shots.
Training & Resources We’veheard the word equipping a lot. It seems important to MCC to provide more resources to help community members live out the mission of MCC and join God's work in their space. A couple options:
Blog -A blog might be a good platform for providing tips, training info, and resources.
Training section - Maybe we add a Training section to the website that offers the most important resources (not overload) and provides info on classes, trainings, or mentorships offered by MCC.
Content Vehicles We Could Use Blog We’ve heard the blog question come up a few times. A blog is a vehicle for addressing a specific content need. So, if a blog is something the team wants to devote time to, the first step is to figure out “what’s the goal?” What’s the purpose of the blog? What content need does it fill?
Here are a couple examples of how a blog could fill a content need:
Communicate to members what’s happening right now - Regular updates about upcoming events, classes, what’s happening as well as recaps of what’s happened. This could be the focus of Steph’s email - an email could still go out and direct people back to the blog. It might also help prospective visitors get a feel for the community.
Offer training resources - Tips, advice, training info, and resources that help community members live out the MCC mission and make connections. The audience for this could also extend beyond MCC. Other churches and communities could make use of this info.
Pros of a blog: Content feels more real-time, not so static. Has a personality and voice that reflects real people. Cons: It takes a lot of dedicated time. Contributors need to be able to write on a schedule.
Video A few people mentioned video. Like a blog, a video serves a specific content need. So the first step here is determining what content need MCC has that would be best delivered in video format?
For example, a video might be a good vehicle for giving people a quick, big-picture look at what MCC is all about. Or it might be a good tool to highlight the work of something like a specific missional community or The Sheridan Story and tell one specific story that embodies the overall MCC philosophy.
Pros of videos: They showcase people and action.
Cons: Good videos are expensive. They have a short shelf life for the price. They need to be short and meaningful in order to engage, so it can be hard to do them well.
Photography We might determine photography is a must. But I'm including it in this list because it's something you will likely have to plan for and perhaps budget into the project. So it's good to include because planning for and acquiring new photography takes resources.
They key for getting good photography is highlighting and prioritizing what your imagery needs are:
People (smiling)
General atmosphere and space (helps people know what to expect)
Community involvement and action (people out doing stuff)
Relationship building (groups, huddles)
Fun (events, retreats, etc.)
Staff photos (if you want new ones)
And then creating a schedule and budget over the next 3-4 months for how you're going to fill these specific photography needs.