11 Lessons From Facebook That Pastors And Church Leaders Can Learn About Designing Better Services And Ministry

In the April 2012 edition of Fast Company magazine, E.B. Boyd takes us inside the design process of Facebook.  After reading the article I was able to identify several key leadership principles pastors and church leaders can use to better design their ministry and services.

1. Proximity To The Pastor – For the past year, web design superstar Nicholas Felton has been at a desk located approximately 15 feet away from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.  Pastors must be deeply invested in the design process of services and gatherings for vision to become reality.
2. Competitive Advantage – Zuckerberg is one of the few corporate leaders who understand that design provides a “sustainable, competitive advantage.”  Church services have become the primary tool for growth for local churches.
3. Talent Acquisition – Felton oversaw the development of the updated timeline.  They acquired Felton’s services by purchasing his startup company Daytum.  Pastors and church leaders, do whatever it takes to add the most creative people to your design team.
4. Constant Communication - Zuckerberg, Felton, and VP of Product Chris Cox spoke daily about the timeline’s design.  Effective services and ministry cannot be delegated to staff.  They must be prioritized by all in executive leadership.
5. Competency – Zuckerberg, a programmer, has what is called “design sensibility” and adds tremendous value to those conversations.  Pastors must be continual learners and highly competent to work effectively with the artists on their staff.
6. Creative Freedom – “There’s a lack of attachment to the way the company  has done things previously” says Felton.  The people attending your church do not want to see the same things week after week.  They want to be wonderfully surprised.
7. Ease Of Use – While many websites are obsessed with the beauty of their site, Facebook is highly committed to getting out-of-the-way and making things easy for their users.  Experiencing God, experiencing community, and volunteering at your church must be an easy process.
8. Grow Your Design Team – Since 2009, the Facebook design team has grown from 20 people to 90.
9. Social Design – Most design groups focus on helping humans interact with computers.  Facebook is focused on helping humans interact with humans.  Ministry is all about facility relationships.
10. Focus On Positive Emotions – Facebook is more interested in catalyzing positive emotions than just human interactions.  The effective use of real-life stories in baptisms and video testimonies attaches people to vision like nothing else.
11. Serotonin – Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that brings about feelings of happiness.  Design Manager Julie Zhuo says, “It’s the science of things you can’t reason about, that you just feel.  So when we’re off to create something new, it’s important to be iterating in that mind-set.”  Simple question – Do people leave your services inspired and with hope to face the next week’s challenges?  If so, they will come back…and probably with their friends.

Pastoral Proximity, Competitive Advantage, Acquiring Talent, Constant Communication, Competency, Creative Freedom, Ease Of Use, A Growing Team, Social Design, Positive Emotions, and Serotonin.

Focus on these 11 practices and watch the quality of your services and ministry go to a higher level.

What things have you recently discovered that improved the quality of your gatherings?

Enter your email address here and start receiving future posts from this site.

Download your FREE copy of my new eBook The 2011 Year In Hollywood Movies – Leadership Edition today by clicking here.