Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Industry: Large organization
Practice Area: Crisis communication
Challenge: Calvary Chapel is the largest independent Christian congregation in New Mexico, with more than 12,000 attendees. The two weeks following the Elder-driven leadership change, significant media coverage favoring the ousted leader created a split within the congregation and threatened community ministries. The Garrity Group was brought in to provide crisis communication expertise, to help the church leadership to tell the full story in a way that would help to reunite the church body.
Approach: The Garrity Group developed messages with the church leadership team, established a news bureau, and posted a variety of documents to help tell the Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque story in a way that would re-establish and re-unite the church body. Our team deployed positive and correct information through new and traditional forms of media.
Results: Focusing on transparency and consistency of messages (and messengers), the two week furor was quieted in less than 48 hours. Approaches created by The Garrity Group resulted in dissemination of accurate information and rapid de-escalation of intense two-week media coverage. Today the Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque family has regular weekly attendance surpassing 15,000 people.