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Communication Takes Two
Management of information and media is becoming a key role in just about every organization. A communicaions team that's effective will pour itself into the total ministry of the church, becoming a nexus of intention, imagination, innovation, integration and involvement. It will add to the effectiveness of ministry. It will give the church a tremendous amount of control and consistency in its message. It will raise the standard of excellence across all forms of media. But for all this to happen, it will require two things of its leadership.
Trust. A communications team must have the trust of the leadership, the rest of the staff and the congregation. Trust means that all those who come into contact with the Communications Ministry do so knowing their information will be heard, managed and disseminated without distortion, and hopefully with a creative flair that will garner added attention. If a communicaions team is to serve as a media "hub" for the church, everyone must have confidence the hub will take them where they want to go.
The most powerful communications tool in a church is the pulpit. It's the Pastor's domain, and his word in this arena has no equal. It is the place from which direction, vision and authority flow. It is the voice of the church as a whole. Even in a congregation with "weak" preaching, there is no doubt that the Pastor sets the tone--and yes, it can be a weak tone. If you want to know what's important to a church, what's happening and where the church is going, you can find those answers in the preaching.
Second only to the Pastor's voice is the communication leader's. Not because the communications leader is a key leader or speaks with authority. It's simply that the communications team has more weapons for interaction with the congregation than any other leadership team within the church. Print media, website, video media, displays, advertising, graphics, mailings, press relations--all of these are avenues for the voice of the church. Wielded properly, they can be a tremendous asset, boosting the reach of the church's message and adding immeasurably to the effectiveness of a church's ministries.
But if there is no trust in the communicaions team, then ministries will simply find workarounds. If leaders feel their message and ministries will not be handled properly, presented professionally or improved on through good communication, this lack of trust will cripple a communicaions team. I talk with communications people in churches around the country, and I often hear, "I have a tough time getting information from ministries, even when I ask" or "Ministers would rather deal with someone within their area than with me." The cause usually includes some measure of trust that is lacking.
Trust is built on relationships. Know those you work with. Know your church. In every project and in every ministry, know what is being attempted, where God is moving and how you can be involved in that. Ask yourself, do you have the trust of your pastor, your fellow ministers, and your congregation? Are you a good steward of information? If not, you will never really be effective as a Communications Minister, because the most important tasks involving media will never reach you.
Throughput. I learned this lesson the hard way: Nobody will care how great your material looks, how effective your communications campaign is, how perfectly fitting that web page is, if it's late. Timeliness is everything for a communicaions team. It is far better to manage your time well and complete tasks on deadline than to let dates and milestones slip by. It erodes confidence. It destroys trust (and we need trust, remember?). It hurts the ministry.
For several years in my early days of ministry, I had a reputation for being late. People would tell me, "I know it won't be on time, but it's worth the wait because it will be good." I actually took that as a complement. Imagine, people willing to wait on my work. What a disservice I was doing to their ministry and the Kingdom! Not to mention the horrible attachment to my own reputation: the "late" guy.
I had to find a way to increase my throughput. To get projects from beginning to end against the clock. For me, this meant doing less work myself, and building projects in a way that relied on others (servants and staff) to get it all done. It meant having to say "no" sometimes because I couldn't be Superman on Friday at 4:00 p.m. It was a tough adjustment. Creative folks like to be the superhero, but that's not the way God intended ministry to be carried out.
Ask yourself, do I get things done on time? Do I make promises I can't keep? Can people rely on me and my word? Is somebody waiting on me right now? If throughput is an issue in your ministry, you will never reach your full potential. Be willing to commit to less initially, until you find a balance of workload that will enable you to meet deadlines and finish tasks. It is far better to have someone waiting to get on your calendar than waiting for you to finish what you started. The former will cause your ministry to expand to meet the need. The latter will cause your ministry to fold in on itself as eventually few people will be willing to work with you.
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