I’d like to say I came in with this plan that reaped huge payoffs, but I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I had plans and we’ve implemented many of them. However, this communication thing came more as a reaction than something intentional.

After just a week or two of getting to Gateway, I was picking up the vibe that many people didn’t know what was going one. Actually, people were telling me that they didn’t know what was going on. 🙂 It wasn’t really with anything huge, just the little stuff. When do kids promote? When is the next child dedication? When is camp? How can I volunteer? I remember getting bombarded with all kinds of questions, questions, questions. Unfortunately, I also started responding to emails and phone messages of people who had been seeking answers to questions for weeks or even months. No one really to blame, just questions that had fallen through the cracks.

It didn’t take me long to realize that these people needed answers. They needed communication. They needed to be connected to an information outlet. Within a few weeks I implemented a three stage plan to nail this communication thing. I’d say that of all the positive feedback I’ve gotten since being at Gateway, the most is about how we’re communicating now. Many described it as a breath of fresh air. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about stage one.