Friends, welcome to the new UU Growth Lab newsletter, the official publication of the UU Growth Lab and associated member program.
I'm Peter Bowden, a trainer and coach specializing in UU Growth, Outreach, and Media. Let me share how this newsletter and our program work and a little about me.
About Newsletter
The UU Growth Lab newsletter is the primary way I will share what we are working on in the UU Growth Lab membership program, connect members with new content, and link to our member site.
Public posts, which anyone may subscribe to, share public announcements and content for UU leaders.
Members posts will connect program members with monthly gathering invitations (first access to claim seats) and monthly training content, resources, and associated materials.
Members may access our Newsletter archive and our program member area by clicking the LIBRARY menu link from the top of my website's home page. Here's the direct link to your library on my training site:
https://www.peterbowden.live/library
Of course, members will also be able to access via links in the email newsletters you recieve!
The UU Growth Lab Member Program
This is a new program designed to help Unitarian Universalist leaders learn skills and strategies for promoting membership growth, digital engagement, and meaningful community in our rapidly changing world.
How do we handle this rate of change? Only one way, friends. Together!
Our program is combining proven strategies, newer digital tools and strategies, and a collaborative process to learn, grow, and adapt faster together.
Starting in 2025, the UU Growth Lab monthly gathering (via Zoom) will be a space to share new training content, talk UU growth strategies, crowdsource insights and strategies, and accelerate learning. After the gathering, I'll share refined training content and associated resources via our UU Growth Lab membership site and member newsletter.
Guaranteed, we will be smarter, wiser, and more nimble together.
Here are the core components of the program. Note that that after members have a chance to RSVP for the following gathering, I'll open it up to others in my UU network.
1. UU Growth Lab, the Gathering
Every month the gathering via Zoom will have a specific growth, outreach and media/tech related topic.
- We start with a focused training. Q&A will help me refine the content which will be recorded and shared with members.
- We'll move to break-out groups to discuss related issues, strategies, insights, stories capturing insights via shared docs.
- Next, we report back, process, and synthesize!
- I'll use this collaborative process to enhance training, develop associate resources, notes, and tips to share with members.
- Duration: up to 2 hours but designed so you can leave earlier.
Members will chance to RSVP for this session before I open it up to others. Non members will be able to take unclaimed seats. The purpose of this event is to accelerate our innovation!
This is a 100% optional event.
The ultimate benefit of membership is what comes next!
2. Lab Member Area
Every month I'll take the insights from our gathering, my training presentations, and associated resources and share in our program member area.
It will include:
- Video Training Content
- Training Notes
- Resources & Downloads
- Reply / ask questions
3. UU Growth Lab Newsletter
I'll share details of what we are focusing on, sessions invites, new content, download links and more!
- Live Zoom session invites
- Member resources, tips, and insights
- Links to member site content
- Reply / ask questions
The newsletter and member area work together. The goal is to give UU clergy, staff and volunteer leaders easy to access, reference, and implement UU growth strategies, tips, and insights.
That's an overview! I'll be sharing more via my UU Growth Lab communication social media channels: Facebook Group, Facebook Page, Twitter (X), and email list for UU leaders.
About Peter Bowden
I'm Peter Bowden, a lifelong Unitarian Universalists, and a trainer and coach specializing in UU growth, outreach and media. For years I used the social media handle "UUPLANET" but recently shifted to the UU Growth Lab.
Some of you may know me from the video, You're a Uni-What? made with the Rev. Amy Freedman (we're married). I made that video after going to digital film school instead of seminary. I was married to a minister, head broadcast TV experience, and once YouTube hit, I knew we'd need to understand media.
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Some of you may know me from my work with small group ministry. I launched the UU Small Group Ministry Network website in 2001 with the first online resources about small group ministry for Unitarian Universalists. This helped spread this mode like wild fire. In 2004, it was relaunched as an nonprofit organization and, back then, a UUA affiliate.
My work with small groups led to outreach, hospitality, membership development and other growth strategies. Working with online video positioned me to move to training on websites, social media, and using the tools of our time with intention and purpose.
Maybe you've seen some of my online videos, live streams, or other UU social media content.
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The takeaway? I've been working with Unitarian Universalist congregations across ministry areas my entire adult life. Unitarian Universalism is my larger family. As UU clergy, a staff member, or a volunteer leader, I'm glad you're here.
UU Growth Lab Member Only Content
Members of the UU Growth Lab, issues of the newsletter with content for members only will include a paywall. As a member, you'll have access to everything!
Non-members will see public posts and post content up to the point of the paywall marker. This will allow people to follow what we are working on together and discern if they want to join.
For non-members, the member-only paywall will look like this:
