As you lead with your church and with communications/marketing, I pray that you are clarifying and leading first with these items.

As we work with various churches, ministries and even in our own work at Fishhook, I see how easy it is to get so busy or distracted with the details, pressing deadlines or emergencies of our work. You miss the big picture and higher purpose or strategy because you're so busy with ...

  • The deadline that is staring you in the face

  • The worship service or event that is just a few days away

  • All the meetings ... and emails ... and meetings

  • Someone always needing your help

  • Print pieces, social media, deliverables, oh my!

  • Sound familiar? All the details, deadlines and distractions can have you in the weeds as you strive to lead and support your church's communications and marketing efforts. 

The reality? The weeds of your work will always take up as much space as you give them. 

We have to be intentional to think first about the higher purpose of our churches and organizations. We have to think mission, strategy and team first - then we can dive into and dedicate our time to the details. 

So as you lead with your church and with communications/marketing, I pray that you are clarifying and leading first with these items:

  • Mission: What is the mission, vision and values of your church? In other words, WHY do you exist? And what is your calling or priorities for achieving your WHY? Your communications priorities and work should align to support these items. Even if you think you know them by heart, go review them today. Reaquaint yourself with your church's calling. 

  • Key audiences: Who are you focused on connecting with? Identifying who is already at your church and who you are trying to reach moving ahead is key. We call this knowing your key audiences and/or identifying personas. As with mission, as you know who you are striving to connect with, your communications work can be a support to help the church reach its goals. We recommend writing down at least 5-7 characteristics of your key audiences/personas. See if you can get to know them better today. 

  • Team: How are you encouraging and supporting your team (throughout the full staff and specifically in the communications area)? These relationships mean everything as you move forward in your work. Knowing each other, praying together and organizing the work from both a strategic and tactical perspective with your team is imperative. Who do you need to reconnect with today?

We all get stuck in the weeds from time to time! And with Easter coming up, we know those weeds are going to feel like they grow rapidly each day. But keeping your mission, audience and team in mind will give you a strong foundation to stand on.

What details or distractions are the biggest challenge for you?