Church-to-Church Communications Summit

From June 22–24, Saddleback’s MarCom team hosted a church-to-church Communications Summit to discuss the challenges in the ever-changing world of church communications. With a focus on biblical marketing to reach people for Christ, the three-day event took us one step closer toward our Daring Faith "H" goal of helping take the Good News around the world.

Hosted at Saddleback’s Retreat Center in San Juan Capistrano, the event featured insight from our Communications Team, sharing strategies in marketing, web, social media, creative arts, and storytelling.

Kicking off the conference was instruction on the Purpose Driven paradigm as the heart of Saddleback’s ministries. Attendees were challenged to base all church communications on a healthy, balanced vision for discipleship in the church. Other topics included the ABCs of Marketing, Tools to Organize and Schedule Promotions, and Crafting a Compelling Story. Sessions also Covered Cultivating a Community in Digital Space, Designing for your Target Audience, and Aligning Multiple Sites with the Overall Brand.

Nearly 100 guests were in attendance, from as far as Canada, Mexico, and the east coast. Other than Saddleback’s MarCom team, everyone attending the event was from outside churches. This opened an opportunity to empower others with practical solutions to expand their reach and grow their churches––a key element in our Daring Faith initiative.

Leading the discussion on Marketing was Nebai Cherrick, Saddleback’s Marketing Coordinator, who focused on reaching people where they are, and understanding the importance of biblical marketing.

“God’s hand was truly on the event,” says Nebai. “We witnessed leaders getting equipped to reach people in their communities, despite the different cultures, generations, and languages. It was such an example of God reaching out so much farther than we could ever do ourselves.”

While many concepts were entirely new to some visitors, everyone was receptive to the teachings and welcomed a behind-the-scenes look at Saddleback’s high level strategies.

“The event went extremely well,” says Nebai. “People commented on how much they learned, and expressed their gratitude with a standing ovation.”

Now in its third year, the Communications Summit is held every June and provides an intimate setting to allow for personal dialog and opportunity to connect with other church leaders. For those interested in attending the 2017 Communications Summit, contact Nebai at nebaic@saddleback.com for more information.