Four Churches Win A 'Juicy'

Members of Willowdale Christian Reformed Church in Toronto, Canada have won a “Juicy” for updating their website and making it more user-friendly.

Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport, LA, has won its “Juicy” for creating a “Text Ready” program that allows people in church the option to text a message to a pastor during services, letting that pastor know that the person is in need of spiritual counseling or if that person is ready give their lives to Christ.

Both of these churches won "Juicy" awards for how they have found ways over the last year to better communicate with their members as well as with people who don’t attend their churches.

The awards — four in all for 2012 — have been given out by Church Juice, which is part of Reframe Media, the English ministry of Back to God Ministries International.

“The Juicys” are awarded every year as a way to recognize and reward those churches who’ve worked to improve their church communications during the last year. The award also includes giving the church a grant to jump-start their next project, says Jerod Clark, team leader for Church Juice.

Besides handing out the “Juicys,” Church Juice focuses on providing branding, marketing, website development and/or social media strategies to churches to help them communicate better in this digital age.

Also, Church Juice is one of several ReFrame Media ministries that offers evangelism and discipleship resources for churches and individuals.

“The world of church communications can be overwhelming at times for everyone,” says Clark, who serves as the guide for the Church and Web sections of the CRC's The Network.

“If you're just getting started or have been at it for a long time, we want to provide you with the resources you need to be strong communicators. We're building a library of resources to help push your church communications forward.”

Broadmoor Baptist won in the larger church category. The runner up was Long Hallow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn.

Long Hallow, a church of 6,500, found success in the past using traditional marketing tactics like mailers and mini-websites.  

While they were known in their community, they wanted to do something new that stood out. The idea of using people’s love for a  mystery led to the creation of Phillip Randoll, a fictional character, and a multi-media dramatic production called “the Fortunate Death of Phllilp Randoll” for Easter Services.

The winner in the smaller church category was Westbury United Methodist Church  a 350-member congregation in Houston, Texas.

Westbury decided to stop publishing its regular newsletter, believing that it filled no real purpose, since people didn’t read it.

Instead, they launched a full-color magazine published six times a year. Unlike the newsletter that was mainly written by the pastor and staff members, the magazine has become a collaborative effort relying more on the congregation finding and telling each others stories.

Willowdale CRC, a 140 member congregation, won the runner- up award in the smaller church category.

At Willowdale CRC, church members realized that having a good website is key, since people usually visit a website before attending the church.

To come up with what was needed for the upgrade, the church put together a team including three staff members and two other church members who helped in the redesign. They structured the team so that it could do its job without having to confront too many hurdles.

That approach, cutting through the red tape, impressed one of the judges who said, “Too often websites die by committee, especially in small churches. I’m glad Willowdale avoided that. When entering a new communications project, it’s always important to set expectations and identify possible stumbling blocks. This church is proof that is a needed step.”

Past winners of “Juicys” include a community church in Alaska that created a Smart Phone App people can download to learn more about the church; a Mennonite church in British Columbia that developed a storytelling project, and a Baptist church in Nevada that underwent a complete rebranding.