Proactive Communications

Proactive communications in a church setting is crucial for ensuring clarity, coordination and consistency across all ministries and activities.

By developing a well-thought-out communication strategy, church leaders can align messaging with key events, seasons and initiatives. This can help to avoid last-minute scrambles and missed opportunities to engage with your leaders, congregation and community.

But it’s not easy to make space to plan ahead! Here are a few helpful tips.

Anticipating questions that will be asked, and providing answers

When a new family or individual attends your church for the first time, what questions might they be asking? What might they be curious about learning?

Think through every moment — large and small — of their initial experience with your church. Consider taking a walk in their shoes, especially from their point of view, on a Sunday morning. 

• Are the visitor parking spots clearly marked in the parking lot? 
• Is your road-side signage easy to see? 
• Are your indoor spaces (classrooms, auditorium, restrooms, etc.) and directional signage accurately labeled?

Proactively making a good (digital) first impression 

With online resources at our fingertips, individuals can quickly get information (and make decisions) about your church. Instead of attending a church service in-person to see if a church is a good fit, individuals often log onto a church’s website or social media channels. 

As the saying goes, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” And, this applies to digital first impressions, too! Your website is your welcome mat. And, your social media is the sidewalk leading up to your front door. It’s important to make sure it’s great!

What are the questions someone might go to your website looking for answers to? Can they easily find your location’s address, service times and ministry offerings for their season of life?

When someone clicks to your website or social media platforms, how is their experience? Is your website laid out in a way that is easy to understand and navigate? How fast is your site’s load time? Is your website responsive, easy to view on both desktop and mobile? 

Are your social media platforms up to date with relevant and timely information? Do your posts showcase not just what you do — but also who you are as a church (the people, the atmosphere, the culture of the staff team and volunteers)? 

Planning ahead and being prepared 

When it comes to content creation, planning ahead sounds great. Finalizing the next sermon series’ graphics while we’re still in the first week of the current series? Finishing edits on several Advent or Lent blog posts before the holiday season begins? Building out a new webpage and being two weeks ahead of schedule? What a dream. 

We know this isn’t always the case. Life happens, things change last-minute and we only have so many hours in the day.

Here are a few ideas on how you can work to stay ahead of the curve of content while managing expectations and daily needs.

1. Begin tracking what you know now, and start building out what you can for each experience or event that your church is communicating out. You might not have all the details yet, but focus on what you do have, and work with what you already know. Begin creating content, prepping blog posts, writing emails, etc.
   
   
2. Christmas is always December 25. The first church service of the new year is always after the calendar turns. Document what you do for your church’s main events. Write down what you wish you could’ve done but didn’t have space to do, or what you did get done but would nix or tweak the next year. Use your notes to kickstart your planning each year, instead of relying on your memory or trying to reinvent the wheel.
   
   
3. Create a document or folder on your computer to drop any and all ideas that come to mind throughout the year. You don’t have to act on all (or any!) of these ideas. But having one, central spot to store them for safekeeping is key. When you find some extra time on your hands or the creative juices are flowing, go back to that list and batch create some content. Once it’s developed from a quick idea jotted down to a detailed piece of content, move it into a secondary spot. 
   
   Build this spare content folder up over time. This is also a great opportunity for trusted volunteers to help create a backlog of content! Having spare content created in a “Ready To Post Whenever” folder will be a blessing to your future self! Being proactive in content creation and creating a stocked library for your church might feel intimidating at first, but is easier to maintain than you might think. 

In what areas can your church work to be more proactive in communications?

What ways might you need some additional support in serving your church and community by anticipating their needs? Let’s chat — we’d love to hear from you!