Local Meetups
Get local with these independent gatherings of local church communications folks to share ideas, encouragement, and horror stories. What you do is up to you, but we’re proud to help people connect face to face.
Learn more about local meetups and the impact they’re having.
Find a Group:
- Look for an existing group: Check the list below to see if anyone is already organizing a meetup in your area. If so, join in. If not…
- Start one yourself! Find some local communicators and start a group. It can be as simple as meeting for coffee once a month. You might want to test the waters, find a few committed folks, and then nail down a time and place that works for everybody. Once you get a group going, let us know and we’ll add you do the list of local meetups (please include a contact person and method of contact—e-mail, url, etc.).
Run a Group:
Local meetups are just that—local. So what you do and how you do it is up to you. But we do have a few suggestions…
- Meet somewhere public. A restaurant, bar (gasp!), or coffee shop would be ideal. Less public locations like a church are OK too (and cheaper!), though sometimes it’s easier to connect with new people in a public place. Just remember to always be cautious when meeting online strangers in person.
- Start with quick introductions—who you are, what church you work at, your role, favorite church marketing hero, etc.
- Have everyone share what they’re currently working on. Spend some time helping each other—share ideas and encouragement liberally. You might ask everyone to bring one project or question they could use help on.
- Pray together.
- Come up with a plan for the next meeting. And let us know how it’s going. We’d love to spread the word about your local meet up if we can.
- Remember that you are the church—tip your waiter, don’t leave a mess and consider inviting the homeless guy on the corner to join you.
Some groups are casual meetups for coffee and conversation. Others are more organized with speakers or critique sessions. It’s all up to you.
Disclaimer: If this seems loosely organized, that’s because it is. We’re happy to help any way we can, but all we can do is facilitate this process. Making it happen and making it productive is up to you.
The List of Known Local Meetups:
Since this is such a loosely-organized collection of people trying to connect, trying to keep a current list is a challenge. Some groups are active, some aren’t. If a group in your area is inactive, consider getting involved and breathing some life into it.
- Central Illinois [no online presence, but managed through email list; contact Crystal Kirkman]
- Charleston, S.C.
- Charlotte, N.C.
- Denver, Colo.
- Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Houston, Texas
- Indianapolis, Ind.
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
- Nashville, Tenn.
- North Texas
Digital Meetups
In some ways a digital meetup defeats the purpose of a local meetup. There’s something powerful about getting together in person. But sometimes the in-person meetup just isn’t possible, whether you don’t have an active group in your area or you can’t get to it. Either way, here are a few active online church communication groups you can check out:
