Conducting an Online Digital Evangelism Test The Rt. Rev. Scott Benhase Evangelism

Transcription

1 RESOLUTION NO.: 2015-B009 GENERAL CONVENTION OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH 2015 ARCHIVES RESEARCH REPORT TITLE: PROPOSER: TOPIC: Conducting an Online Digital Evangelism Test The Rt. Rev. Scott Benhase Evangelism Directly Related: (Attached) 2012-A024 Recognize Communications as Essential Ministry 2012-D069 Engage in Social Media 2009-A065 Identify and Support Church Evangelists Indirectly Related: (Available in the Acts of Convention database, searchable by resolution number) 2012-A070 Develop a Multimedia Evangelism Guide 2003-A080 Direct Episcopal Church Center to Maintain a User-Friendly Website 2003-A081 Develop a National Advertising Campaign for the Episcopal Church In preparing this report, the Archives researched the resolutions in the Acts of Convention database for the period 1976 through 2012, selecting direct resolutions that have a substantive bearing on the proposed legislation. The direct resolutions are attached and indirect resolutions are available in the Acts of Convention database. Committee members who require other research assistance should contact the Archives at before Convention or at Convention in the General Convention Secretariat. The Acts of General Convention Research report provided by The Archives of the Episcopal Church

2 Resolution Number: 2012-A024 Title: Recognize Communications as Essential Ministry Legislative Action Taken: Concurred as Amended Final Text: Resolved, That the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church recognizes that communications is an essential ministry of the Church that enables and empowers evangelism, congregational development, the building of community, and mission at the churchwide, diocesan and congregational levels; that there should be a trained communicator in each diocese and ongoing communication training for all congregations; that there should be sensitivity to multi-lingual and multi-cultural requirements that may exist; and that communications should be adequately funded to meet the needs of mission and ministry as defined by the diocese; and be it further Resolved, That this convention recognizes that the ministry of communication allows us effectively to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom, the first of the Five Marks of Mission. Citation: General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of...the Episcopal Church, Indianapolis, 2012 (New York: General Convention, 2012), p Archives Research Report, 2012-A024 Page 1 of 1

3 Resolution Number: 2012-D069 Title: Engage in Social Media Legislative Action Taken: Concurred Final Text: Resolved, That the 77th General Convention of The Episcopal Church challenge every diocese and congregation in The Episcopal Church to actively engage social media in its current and future manifestations. Citation: General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of...the Episcopal Church, Indianapolis, 2012 (New York: General Convention, 2012), p Archives Research Report, 2012-D069 Page 1 of 1

4 Resolution Number: 2009-A065 Title: Identify and Support Church Evangelists Legislative Action Taken: Concurred as Substituted Final Text: Resolved, That the 76th General Convention affirm the Church s teaching that all Christians are called to bear witness to Christ wherever they may be and to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ, and that this Convention equally affirm with Saint Paul that Christ has given to the Church evangelists to build up the Body of Christ; and be it further Resolved, That this Convention direct the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life to gather the voices and wisdom of evangelists, and encourage the sharing of information and deepening of relationships among them through all available ways, such as social networking sites, conference calls and meetings at conferences; and be it further Resolved, That all dioceses are urged, through their Commissions on Ministry or other appropriate bodies, to identify and call forth evangelists, and to ensure that there are adequate training programs and materials available for evangelism, including web-based resources, appropriate to the demographic, cultural and theological diversities of their geographic area; and be it further Resolved, That this Convention direct the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life to support dioceses in the training of evangelists by developing training materials and programs; by creating and making widely available resources in different languages, for example Spanish, French, etc., to identify and develop the gifts and skills of effective evangelists; and by establishing mechanisms for sharing locally developed best practices, experiences and resources; and be it further Resolved, That the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life solicit from Commissions on Ministry or other appropriate diocesan bodies information on local programs utilized for the identification and development of evangelists, so that such resources can be widely shared among dioceses; and be it further Resolved, That the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life report on the gatherings, diocesan programs, training materials and resources and on their effectiveness in developing skills of evangelism to the 77th General Convention. Citation: General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of...the Episcopal Church, Anaheim, 2009 (New York: General Convention, 2009), p Archives Research Report, 2009-A065 Page 1 of 1

5 B009 PROPOSER The Rt. Rev. Scott Benhase TOPIC: EVANGELISM Conducting an Online Digital Evangelism Test ENDORSED BY Brewer, The Rt. Rev. Gregory O.; Young, The Rt. PAGE NUMBER(S) FOR REFERENCE Rev. George Blue Book: p. N/A; Constitution & Canons: p. N/A CURRENT STATUS Awaiting Committee Action SPONSORED BY HOUSE OF INITIAL ACTION / LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE HD / 10 - Evangelism and Communications REVIEW STATUS (PB&F, CONSTITUTION, CANONS) not yet reviewed; not yet reviewed; not yet reviewed RESOLUTION TEXT 1 Resolved, the House of concurring, That the 78th General Convention directs the Office of Mission Communications of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society to develop and conduct a digital evangelism test consisting of several campaigns, with equitable representation among the domestic provinces, with at least one campaign per year in a language other than English, for the benefit of the entire church, and for the purpose of meeting the demand online for the gospel of Jesus Christ through the ministry of The Episcopal Church; to build and maintain a database of prospects; to cultivate those prospects via , social media, blogs, and other means as shall prove effective; and to partner with dioceses to refer qualified prospects to local congregations, church plants, or other appropriate ministries; and be it further 2 Resolved, That the budget allocated for the Mission Communications Office of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society be assumed to include funding for creating this digital evangelism test of no more than $1,500,000, and be it further 3 Resolved, That The Episcopal Church Development Office is directed to prioritize raising funds for this digital evangelism test, with the expectation that $1.5 million will be raised this triennium to support this test from dioceses that stand to benefit as well as other interested networks, persons, and entities; and be it further 4 Resolved, That the Office of Mission Communications report back to this Convention in three years' time with the results of this test, and with a recommendation for or against the creation of a permanent digital missionary presence online of The Episcopal Church; and be it further 5 Resolved, That the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance consider a budget allocation of $1,500,000 for the implementation of this resolution. EXPLANATION Having demonstrated "proof-of-concept" during an experimental campaign conducted by the Office of Mission Communication of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society in partnership with the Diocese of New York and Forward Movement from August 15, 2014 to November 15, 2014, we propose conducting a three-year online digital evangelism test in order to reach new people and new populations with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to connect them to local ministries of The Episcopal Church. We propose that this Printed: Thursday, June 18, 2015 at 04:30 PM. B009 Page 1 of 2

6 test should leverage modern internet marketing techniques including: Taking advantage of the millions of "micro-moments" which happen online daily and when people are asking deep and important questions of search engines like Google ("Does God love me?" "Who is Jesus?" "Will I go to heaven?"); Developing the editorial operations necessary to answer those questions in creative and compelling ways, informed by the worship and consistent with the theology of this Church; Developing relationships with key bloggers and social media influencers in target categories (i.e. "Mommy bloggers," etc.); Building capacity (technical and staff) to create and nurture a database of prospects to the point where they are ready to be referred to a local ministry; Working with dioceses to develop a network of local churches, church plants, and ministries to receive these referrals; Funding the advertising needed to attract and build an online audience The $3,000,000 price tag includes several significant pieces of infrastructure that will allow this program to move from beta test to full-scale launch with relative ease. This includes: $525,000 for the creation of long-form, evergreen content available for download (ebooks, white papers, guides for parents and grandparents, etc.) in exchange for names, addresses, and other information needed to build effective prospecting lists ($175,000 per year); $360,000 for daily content (blog posts, cultivation, newsletters, and social media posts, etc.) to cultivate prospects ($120,000 per year); $200,000 for original images and art work (infographics, layout and design, etc., $66,666 per year); $200,000 for original video ($66,666 per year); $360,000 for audience development (Google AdWords, -blasts to subscribers of targeted publications, promoted posts, etc., $120,000 per year); $1,707,750 for staff to support this test (director of digital mission, managing editor, blogger and influencer relationship manager, prospect and lead nurturing manager, and staff writer, $569,250 per year); $20,000 for a strategy consultant (first year only); $150,000 for an editorial and marketing software platforms to manage editorial calendars, workflows, and to maintain and cultivate a prospect database ($50,000 a year) Printed: Thursday, June 18, 2015 at 04:30 PM. B009 Page 2 of 2