During the summer many United Methodists pastors find themselves moving into new parsonages, undertaking the slow but steady process of packing and unpacking boxes. It seems appropriate that Michigan Area Communications would also use the summer to make the move to new web-based digs at MichiganUMC.org.
In January, Michigan Area Communications launched a strategic communications initiative called MIUMC (My–UMC). The three-year effort will create a new connectional web and database system to better equip and strengthen local churches in Michigan.
MIUMC follows more than a year of research, conducting over 400 hours of interviews with local church secretaries and administrators, pastors, conference and district leaders, and district offices to determine how data and web information is being utilized. The interviews also provided an opportunity for clergy and laity to share what web-based tools would help them move ministry forward in Michigan.
“We learned a great deal from these interviews,” said Michigan Area Director of Communications Mark Doyal. “We discovered that local churches are spending more than 40 hours a year completing forms and paperwork for the district, conference and General Church,” he said. “We were also not surprised to learn that finding information on our current websites can often be a daunting task. We can do better.”
On August 1st, the current West Michigan and Detroit Conference websites will be replaced with one site, MichiganUMC.org. The new site will be much easier to navigate than the current sites, but Doyal adds, “Before the site is fully functional, there will still be ‘lots of boxes’ for us to unpack as we move in over the coming months.” MichiganUMC.org will expand with sub-sites and easier to navigate pages. “Our goal is to make MichiganUMC.org a user-friendly, one-stop site for all things United Methodist in Michigan” said Doyal.
At the same time, the Michigan Area will move to one centralized integrated data-base system, replacing nearly 50 individual, unconnected databases in district and conference offices. The innovative process behind the MIUMC initiative is being driven by Grand Rapids based consulting firm Lanio. Lanio and Michigan Area Communications approached the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) on creating a new standard of data management in Michigan. It is a model that ultimately may become the “gold-standard” for data management within the denomination. The new system is expected to provide significant improvements in how data is entered and shared with the local church.
For now, local churches do not need to be concerned with learning anything new. Doyal says area staff are currently training weekly on the new system to prepare for the switch and to support local churches with any changes. “This is an enormous project that tracks incredible amounts of highly detailed information,” Doyal said. “I can not thank our District and Conference Administrative Assistants enough for their tireless commitment to the design and move to the new data system.”
NEXT WEEK: MIUMC efforts in 2016 and 2017.
Last Updated on February 2, 2024