High-Visibility Action Plan
Last updated: 06.2022
Background
During certain seasons, Watermark Fort STAFF KEY TAKEAWAYS
Worth’s public profile is higher than normal
• You are a minister. Engage everyone
(e.g. times of crisis, media coverage, etc.).
with kindness & respect.
In these situations, we should expect to
• Staff may not speak on behalf of WFW
receive media requests. Watermark FW
or give statements.
members and members of the public will
• Refer statement and media requests
likely want to voice their opinion and ask
to pastoraloffice@fwwatermark.org.
questions. Past experiences suggest that
• Taylor is primary contact for concerns
sentiment will range from angry to
& TK is secondary.
supportive. Due to the high volume of
requests and the sometimes-emotional nature of the communication, it’s necessary to
create guidelines for how to engage with the media, our members, and the public.
Principles of engagement
• Be kind, keep calm, and seek guidance from the Lord. We count it a privilege to be
the ministers of reconciliation that Christ has unleashed on a hurting and lost world.
• Prioritize opportunities with anyone that indicates they are open to healthy dialogue –
even if they disagree with our point of view. It’s not necessary to engage or follow-up
with those who seek only to voice angry sentiment (e.g., they post an angry comment
or leave a heated voicemail with no indication of hearing an alternative point of view).
o If someone indicates they are open to healthy dialogue, pass the request on to
pastoraloffice@fwwatermark.org. They will respond or ask an appropriate
staff member to respond. This is necessary because they keep record of these
interactions.
• If a staff member knows someone personally who has questions or concerns, they
may respond vs. directing them to pastoral office. Before this discussion, staff needs
to engage with their Exec Team member to gather all information. In these situations,
we suggest meeting in person in a public setting and bringing at least one other person
along.
• Staff and Watermark FW members are not authorized to engage with members of the
media or offer a comment on behalf of Watermark Fort Worth. Funnel all media
requests to Pastoraloffice@fwwatermark.org.
o “I want to connect you to the right person who can answer your questions
because I’m not the best person to help. Please reach out to
pastoraloffice@fwwatermark.org.”
• If a message feels threatening in nature, contact Taylor Massey immediately, and cc:
Tyler Kelly. They will determine next steps, including looping in Law Enforcement
and/or Elders.
Key players and roles
Front desk – Receptionist team is the front line for incoming phone calls, e-mails, and
walk-ins. They will forward any media requests or angry comments to Melissa to bring to
Briggs/the Elders. Keep a record of all incoming calls and emails related to the situation
(both positive and negative) done via email or MS Teams if available.
Social Media (Alyssa Cottrell) – processes incoming messages across Facebook,
Instagram, etc. and monitors digital landscape for chatter and press coverage;
responsible for creating a running list of all press mentions or requests and sending to
Elders.
Pastoral Office (Melissa Gose / Tyler Briggs) – responds to emails sent to
pastoraloffice@watermark.com and develops a response plan for any request that is
pastoral in nature.
Frontlines Staff (Jason Cirone) – shepherds volunteers to respond to questions and is
likely first point of contact for protestors or media that show up for weekend services.
Communication Coordinator (Alyssa Cottrell) – processes all media requests;
responsible for drafting all public-facing messaging and content for Elders to approve,
edit, and relay.
Safety (Taylor Massey) – responds to any safety concerns.
Language for intercepting media on campus
“I have to ask you to please put your camera away. While I recognize this may be a part
of your job, we ask that you honor those who are attending our service for their regular
time of worship. If you would like to speak with someone further about this, I am happy to
direct you to our communications team, but again, I must politely ask you to stop now
from recording as it causes a disruption.”
If they don’t comply, we would then communicate to them as we would a protestor with
the following language:
How to respond to protestors
We welcome all people to our weekend services, both our regular attenders, as well as
individuals looking to utilize their right as a citizen to protest. That being said, we want to
honor those who have come for worship. As such, we will not allow any protesting or
media distractions to take place on campus property.
If they don’t comply with our request and are not interested in scheduling a follow up
conversation, the Security Director (Taylor Massey) has authority to criminally trespass.
Directing Protestors & Media
We will direct all protestors to the Southeast Lot across Mary Kay from our property. For
a visual reference, please see the map below.
Most importantly, if protestors are open to a kind and courteous conversation, please take
that opportunity as a chance to engage with them in a winsome way about our faith. If
time will not allow for the proper conversation, point sincere individuals to
pastoraloffice@fwwatermark.org where they will be assigned a staff member or Elder for
a personal conversation.
How to handle public disruptions during weekend services
In an effort to further preserve the spirit of worship for those within our facility, we want to
ensure individuals don’t try and create a public scene anytime during their time at
Watermark Fort Worth. That being said, it will be our goal to immediately engage anyone
if they try to create a disruption. Our role is to, as kindly and as quickly as possible, remove
them from a public place for a private conversation.
You may use this language to engage with those who try to create a public scene during
service: “I would love to talk with you about your frustration in an appropriate manner, but
I have to ask you to step out of the auditorium. Let us have this conversation in private,
as you’re a disruption to others. Thank you for walking out with me.”
Security will also likely be there to assist, but our goal is to engage with them prior to
security.
Unintentional Disruptions
Occasionally someone will cause a disruption to the service that is unintentional. They
may be loud or very mobile during worship and/or the sermon. Examples include dancing,
responding during the sermon, getting up multiple times throughout the service, etc. If
someone is being a disruption and is distracting to the speaker, a conversation should be
had during the service. If the disruption is minor, a conversation should take place
following the service.
You may use this language to engage with those who cause a disruption during service: “I
would like to make you aware of something that seems to be a distraction to others during
worship. While we appreciate your enthusiasm and heart for worship, (action) is creating
a distraction for others in the service. We would like to ask you to refrain from (action)
moving forward (or to relocate to a different area, if applicable). Thank you."