# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2016_S47 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS o Photo archive of more than 10,000 color-corrected, high-resolution curated photographs for our publications Expanded Video Archive—video.lcms.org Since 2013, our two-member video team, lead by an experienced newsroom producer, has gathered video footage from across the globe to produce all manner of videos—documentaries, live-streaming, webinars, missionary biographies, disaster-relief, marketing, curriculum, training, interviews, and news—that help to shape and tell the stories of our collective work, making a case for its support. o o 152 video productions, totaling 2,677 minutes, or 44-plus hours, have been produced and uploaded to our YouTube channel since August 2013. YouTube channel viewers watched for 9,406 hours. • Our strongest demographic is men ages 25–34, an encouraging and desirable core of young viewership. • Our top five viewing countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil. Ministry Support Coordinated by our three-member production team, COMM produces a variety of projects on behalf of the Synod’s offices and ministries. Often, these projects are multifaceted efforts that include combinations of print, Web, video, photography, and extensive graphic design. Many involve marketing and promotional pieces or conference and ministry resources. o o 3,000-plus projects in the last triennium, many of these multifaceted (i.e., involving multiple pieces) Examples: • Life Ministry ultrasound curriculum • Book-length memoir of Papua New Guinea missionary Rev. Dr. Otto Hintze • Missionary prayer cards and giving pages for each LCMS missionary • Disaster Ministry Mercy in Action curriculum for pastors, educators, and congregations • Free to Be Faithful donor events • Coordination of the LCMS exhibit at 35 district conventions • District and synodwide presence at conferences and conventions Undergirding our production team is the battery of graphic designers and writers in the department. Besides designing and laying out a host of other materials, both print and electronic, our graphics people also design every issue of The Lutheran Witness, Reporter, and Lutherans Engage the World. Meanwhile, our small team of writers and editors is responsible for a prolific output of top-quality editorial work. Special Campaigns As the culture continues to drift away from God’s will and Word, the church is increasingly challenged to speak up and out to defend God’s teachings on a variety of social matters. To that end, COMM has collaborated with the Office of the President and the ONM to create a growing number of resources and opportunities for the church to proactively defend the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberties: o Free to Be Faithful—lcms.org/socialissues/freetobefaithful • An education and awareness campaign aimed at inspiring LCMS rostered members and laity to take informed action to protect the freedom of religion. o Social Issues Webpage—lcms.org/socialissues • In an effort to help the people of God maneuver through this earthly kingdom and the many social issues confronting them in their daily vocations, a growing body of resources on topics ranging from domestic violence to religious liberty is being as- 47 sembled to help inform and guide the Christian life, as each baptized child of God lives out the faith. • Multi-week campaign in response to the Center for Medical Research’s undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood: • Multiple e-blasts to inform the church and encourage members to speak out, including resources for individuals and parishes • It Is Time to End Abortion video—video.lcms.org/archives/3187 • 48,000 views on Facebook Future Plans Create a Network of Lutheran Communicators In this age of rapidly changing communication technologies and the growing challenge to be heard, we aim to intentionally connect with communicators in LCMS districts, colleges and universities, seminaries, and partner church bodies to foster a network that shares and encourages best practices through the following: o Direct contact and consultation o Hosting a biennial communicators conference for districts, schools, and partner church communicators to collectively strengthen and sharpen our skills and effectiveness Multimedia Shareable Stories No longer is it enough, in many cases, to provide a single photo and story of running text. Today’s audiences demand robust storytelling that includes audio, visual imagery, infographics, and text. We are currently strategizing and investigating the best ways to present our collective Witness, Mercy, Life Together work in multimedia storytelling formats for easy viewing and sharing online. Social-Media Advancement Social media is a rapidly changing world of many-sided communication. The ability to connect in the moment and share a photo, video, thought, or experience with thousands across the globe and receive their reaction in an instant makes it a powerful communication tool. Almost daily, new options for social media appear. What is the best use of these communication outlets for the church? How can she teach the faith and direct people formerly unknown to Lutheran altars and pulpits where they can experience Life Together in the family of God? How do we wisely engage the culture and speak the truth in love? These are questions we regularly ask and work to answer. In the coming triennium, we aim to do the following: o o o Employ new outlets where people are gathering online Increase our use of social-media analytics to inform content creation and posting Be more strategic in using social media to increase followers and their engagement with our content Challenges Our challenges are perpetual, and we are ever exploring new ways to meet them. Chief among these are the following: o Reaching more LCMS lay members directly through online engagement o Reaching a greater number of LCMS members under the age of 30. This is imperative for the future life of the church, and we are collaborating with our youth, young-adult, and campus-ministry leaders to meet this challenge. o Increasing the trust level of parish pastors so they feel confident in sharing our communications with their members. This can be accomplished only through the use of first-rate, worthwhile communications—content that is faithful to the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions—delivered via an array of media outlets. o Handling a constantly growing number of project requests from ministry areas. The increasing demands for services tax our finite group of COMM staff people and force us to plan more carefully and seek more efficient ways of communicating to our audiences. 2016 Convention Workbook