LC Communications SOP

Our event work flow is three basic steps: Plan, Post, and Perform. The main goal of this Event Work Flow is to make sure all events are communicated and approved by the leadership team at Lake Country. Our desire is that the calendar would manifest the mission of Lake Country to make disciples through the power of the gospel. Events that do not serve this purpose or conflict with events that do serve the mission of the church will be discussed by the leadership team on a case-by-case basis.

Planning is critical to the success of anything great. We’ve provided some simple steps to get the ball rolling. The earlier you can communicate your event plans the better! Help us help you.

1. Complete an Event/Facility Request form online.

• You will be asked for the event title, date and description.
• In the event description include who it’s for, why you’re planning it, and price if applicable
• There may be other details you may want to consider like deadlines (e.g. Registration closes 1 week before event), items to bring (e.g. gift for baby shower), or a specific room in the church where your event is meeting (e.g. Family/overflow room).
• If the event is not a church event (Funeral, wedding, Sewing group, etc.), once you complete the form above you are finished and will hear from us shortly. The remainder of the Workflow won’t apply to you.

2. Pastor Tyler is the director of Communication and he will reach out to you to schedule a quick event prep meeting. This will take place after the leadership team has reviewed your event request form and approved it.
    1. Confirm dates and times for event.
    2. Share any special requests or needs for the event.
    3. Discuss communication needs.

At Lake Country we have several established communication methods already in place. However, we use discretion when choosing what to share with the entire body, more on this in foot notes.

With that being said here is our regular communication tools at your disposal.

- LC App — including push notifications events, lists, links, sign ups, and payments.
- Email — including graphics, links, pictures, etc.
- Video announcement — Personal invitation on Sunday mornings done by someone (like you, the organizer) who cares for the event and understands the value of it.
- Socials — including Facebook and instagram posts, stories, links, etc.
- Print — including bulletin, posters, postcards, banners, etc.

We use a combination of these tools to post your event. Pastor Tyler will work with you to publish details and sign ups.

This is the fun part when you get to implement all your planning and posting. It’s the big day when those you have planned, prayed, and posted to reach have come!

A few things to keep in mind for executing well:

1. Is there any set up work and if yes, who will do it? Can you include or delegate someone? There’s always opportunities to make disciples!
2. Do you have a key to get in? If not who can assist?
3. Are you personally prepared to minister to the people?
4. After the event please leave the church better than you found it!
    - Seating and table arrangement
    - Vacuum
    - Bathrooms and floors are cleaned weekly by our janitor.
5. Take some notes for your future self, or the next leader in your position:
    1. What could I have done better?
    2. What went well?
    3. What did you learn?
    4. What stories from this event do you want to remember? (Personal wins, discipleship, leadership development, new guests?)

Footnotes
1. We want to make sure the church is hearing relevant announcements. We use the 50% rule to decide whether or not to share an event on Sunday mornings. If the information doesn’t apply to 50% or more of the people, it would be better to share it outside of the Sunday morning service.