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A Captive of Routine

Before I arrived at Fishhook, I was on the communications team at a multisite megachurch. I was responsible for all of our digital spaces/media and keeping those platforms moving each week. After several months in that role (I had moved over from a writing position on staff), I began to fall into the routine of the ministry calendar. 

While that can be helpful in some instances, routine and comfort are often the enemy of innovation. New ideas and rhythms were scary to me, as it caused me to stray from my normal routine. And while I was always open to suggestions and things to research, I devoted very little of my time to moving the needle and dreaming of what was possible.

Truthfully, I did have the time and margin to pursue new things and execute exciting updates. But the idea of adding more to my plate sounded unpleasant. I could handle it, but I honestly didn’t want to … because it made me uncomfortable. And boy, do I hope that you can feel uncomfortable in your role (in a good way of course)! 

Growing can be painful but still worthwhile.

As someone whose job title is “Digital Specialist” I pretty heavily advocate for digital solutions. Any time communication problems arise, my immediate thoughts all revolve around the most effective digital methods to solve them.

I definitely understand that more … traditional communications solutions are still floating around in the church. I won’t call them out by name, but they often need to be printed and cannot be updated on the fly. Oh and they’re expensive to produce, too.

Here’s one analogy to help explain how I feel about a church’s digital space:

Would a church ever leave their lobby looking messy, dysfunctional and abandoned? Probably not. So why would they ever let their digital spaces—website, social media profiles, etc—look that way? I’m a little more critical of these things than most (because it’s my job to be), but that leaves the impression of a church that is struggling, behind the times or allocating time and resources in the wrong places. 

No matter what your communications goals are, I can almost guarantee that there’s a digital tool that will be more effective than the alternatives.

Here are a few reasons you SHOULD be going all in on digital communication tools:

Every church and every campaign has some kind of budget connected to it. So, the cost does matter in every situation. The cost associated with digital advertising is much more effective, per dollar, than other methods. With just $20, you could potentially reach thousands of people in your target audience.

All digital tools have a connected set of data that comes with them. So, for everything you do you can analyze the return on investment of time or money. You can also learn from how your target audience interacted with that content and how you can improve it. If you are using tools that you can’t measure the performance of, then how do you know if you’re accomplishing your goals?

The church needs to be where the people are. And I don’t believe the goal of most churches is to reach the … older generation? The next generation is usually the target. So, you should be leaning into digital spaces because that is where people spend their time. Most sites you check out will suggest that—on average— Americans spend between 3 and 5 hours a day on their smartphones. Even if an individual does come to your building on Sunday, you have them as a captive audience for somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes. That means there is so much time left in the week where you can reach and disciple them.

Have you ever had to change things at the last minute? Probably not, right? And yes, that was a joke.

Thankfully, digital tools allow you to update things on the fly without much resistance. Adjusting event details, copy and more are as simple as a click of a button (or sometimes a few buttons). Trying to edit a print option at the last minute … good luck! 

You can also reuse digital project elements including copy, photos, videos and more for future projects. Why work harder when we can work smarter?

Perhaps the best reason to explore and utilize digital tools is that you NEED to. The church cannot theologize communications methods or it will be left behind (even more than it currently is). The things today that may be considered “pushing the envelope” could be on the way out in 5 years. 

For instance, Artificial Intelligence language and learning models can help you save tons of time on repurposing content and doing research on any topic. And while it may seem bright and shiny now, many of these tools will become common quickly and adopting them early will get you ahead of the game (or at least not behind). Shouldn’t the Church aim for that, anyway?

Don't be afraid to go for it!

I want to finish up by simply encouraging you to try some new things and push your communications ministry forward, no matter what context you find yourself in. 

Start by taking one step forward, not five. Just innovate a little here and there where you can. You probably have a few ideas already, so here's the OK you need to get after them. 

I know what seems like 'the urgent' now may overtake your capacity to dream, but take the space you can to grow your church's digital capabilities to reach this generation and the next.

If you need some help or encouragement, Fishhook is here.

We've worked with hundreds of churches in our 20 years and would be happy to chat more about moving your communications forward.