One of the most important tasks any communications role has is to gather information.  Let's face it, before you can promote and support a church, a ministry or any organizational communications need, you have to know what's going on. The means and process by which you collect information can make or break your communication efforts.  Here are a few tips to get your information gathering organized.

It's your job to gather, not theirs to give. Know first that it is the job of the communicaitons team to gather and present information. You can put out all the emails, deadlines and mandates you want to, but in the end, the responsibility to know what is happening and present it clearly falls on the shoulders of those in charge of communication. 

You could take the attitude that a peer that fails to give adequate notice or provide information can just fall flat on his or her face. You would be wrong to allow that attitude to drive your thinking. The ability to communicate well is not born into every member of a staff or group. Within the church organization, the communications ministry is, in part, a compensation for that weakness, as well as a clearing-house for the flow of information from planners and doers to participants and guests. Don't just be the shelf on which information sits.  Gather it, organize it, own it. Use it to make a difference for the Kingdom.

Keep a calendar. A good working calendar for communications and promotion is a must.  Work at least a year in advance, looking 12 months ahead at all times.  When one month ends, add another month a year out to your calendar. 

Your calendar should be separate from a facilities calendar or event management calendar.  Many North American churches use tools like EMS or Event-U to coordinate their facilities usage.  Unfortunately, these processes only give you a portion of the information you need to effectively promote a ministry.

For a church, its promotional calendar should give you a broad overview of a season of ministry. Looking at key events, you should be able to see where ministries will overlap. Always consider community events on your calendar as well. It is advantageous not to let a key ministry event fall on the evening of a high school graduation, or a long school break, or a state or regional holiday. 

Look ahead. If you are planning for next weekend today, you are way, way behind. Look ahead at least 4-6 weeks at all times.  As much as possible, allow your congregation to know what is going on at least a month in advance. They will appreciate the forethought. Plan even further ahead for summer activities--3-6 months, at least. Families will plan summer vacations and trips early in the year. Give them the opportunity to plan around summer church activities by letting them know far in advance.

Ask lots of questions. Often ministries simply will not volunteer all the information necessary to promote your event.  Ask questions--lots of them. Who, what, when, where, why, how, how much, how soon, what if?  Make a form or question list that you can draw from as you gather information about a ministry or event--not one for others to fill out, but one for you to fill in as you gather information.

Push for answers.  Many churches live off of "to be announced."  Poor planning makes for poor execution. A communications ministry must push for answers to vital questions as key dates draw near--especially for events. Rain plans, childcare needs, cancellation issues, security and other areas must be addressed.  If you are promoting an oudoor event and the answer to "What happens if it rains?" is "We'll see," then you're in trouble. 

Share only what you know.  Sharing tentative information is dangerous.  It's far more difficult to retract an announcement than to wait until the information is clear. Be especially sensitive with personal information--sharing things like prayer needs or staff transitions must be handled with utmost care. Separate the personal information from the simple facts of who, what and when, and treat the two types of information with differing levels of decorum.

  For Further Reading On This Topic...

A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative	Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step (Perennial Library)	Aha! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas
Creative Sparks: An Index of 150+ Concepts, Images and Exercises to Ignite Your Design Ingenuity	The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential	How to Get Ideas

> Click for more books and periodicals on dreaming (imagination).

About the Author. Eugene Mason has more than two decades of experience in ministry communications and technologies. More...