Securing Faith for the Next Generation
Challenge:
The world is changing quickly and bringing with it new questions of faith, spirituality, and beliefs. How does a 400-year-old institution reimagine faith in a world of constant information and disintegrating borders? The answer was a joining of old-world beliefs with new world access and fusing the two in a manner that provided validity and credibility to both.
Solution:
When the Episcopalian Diocese of Southeast Florida approached Gilead Sanders to hold a strategy facilitation session for its executive team and congregants, we approached this task carefully, as it was a project with deep ramifications. The Church had embarked on a journey of transformation as it looked toward fulfilling the needs of a new generation of parishioners with very different habits and needs. Gilead Sanders provided participants with a rich environment to “dream” about “the church of the future” and how to best respond to the changing needs of its congregants. The result was an amazing flourish of ideas involving the integration of social media, mobility, the Internet of Things, and live casts serving as platforms for an ecosystem that could reach believers and prospects where and when they needed it the most. It was an important project for Gilead Sanders because we understood the magnitude of getting it right for future generations.
Impact:
The Anglican church has begun to reach out to a new generation of parishioners by adopting new means of communication such as social media, live webcasts, and online giving. As more individuals search for meaning in their lives, they now have access to more ideas and opportunities to share with others no matter where they are in the world.