Local Labs

Meet up with local church communications folks to share ideas, encouragement and horror stories.

Active Local Labs:

• Atlanta, Ga.
• Central California
• Charlotte, N.C.
• Connecticut Area
• Denver, Colo.
• Detroit, Mich.
• Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Indianapolis, Ind.
• Los Angeles
• Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada
• North Alabama
• Northeast Ohio
• Orlando, Fla.
• Philadelphia, Pa.
• Phoenix, Ariz.
• Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Portland, Ore.
• Seattle, Wash.
• Southern Ohio
• South Florida
• Tulsa, Okla. (Facebook Page)
• Tyler/Longview & East Texas
• Virginia/Washington, D.C.

Find a Group:

1. Check the above list or the Church Marketing Lab discussion board to see if anyone is already organizing a Local Lab in your area. If so, join in. If not...
2. Start one yourself! Post a new discussion topic to the Church Marketing Lab with the subject "Local Lab: [your location here]" and invite people to get together. You might want to see who is interested 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 Labs (please include a contact person and method of contact—e-mail, url, etc.).

Run a Group:

Local Labs are just that—local. So what you do and how you do it is up to you. But we do have a few suggestions...

1. Meet somewhere public. A restaurant, bar (gasp!) or coffee shop would be ideal. Less public locations like a church are OK too (and cheaper!), just remember to always be cautious when meeting online strangers in person.
2. Start with quick introductions—who you are, what kind of church marketing you do, your favorite church marketing hero, etc.
3. 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.
4. Pray together.
5. 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.
6. 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.

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.