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Guest post from J.K. Stevens, Executive Minister, Christian Church of Clarendon Hills 

One of my favorite illustrations of the hazards in church communications is the picture of two cars stuck in a toll both. Obviously they had tried to get through the same space at the same time, jamming themselves into that space and stopping the traffic flow behind them.

Regardless of church size, there is always a lot of information going through a church’s communications pipeline at the same time, and we find it difficult in our church to bring that under control.

As an Executive Minister, my role in solving this problem is two-fold:

1. To make sure all of us are aiming at the same target
2. To empower our communications staff in managing the constant overflow of information

In the first portion of my role, I've been surprised at how hard it has been to keep a local church focused on a shared target. While I think most of our key people can repeat our mission statement from memory, that doesn’t mean they have tied their specific ministry to our goal. I’m finding that the loyalty to a program often trumps the relationship of that program to the church’s main objectives. Therefore, my first task in communications is to consistently “beat the drum” for the reason our church exists in our community. I do this in staff meetings, in presentations to church leaders and in broad ways to our church community as a whole. I have found that these kinds of reminders serve us well in keeping the main thing the main thing throughout our various ministry efforts. 

In my second role, I work to practice my personal belief that leadership at any level is a team sport. In that context, I count our communications staff as a core part of the leadership team and work closely with them, so we are all on the exact same page when it comes to critical versus non-critical areas of communications. I remember reading several years ago that the first thing listed on the week’s calendar is not always the most important thing going on, so we talk regularly about the most mission-critical areas for that week and the weeks to come in order to keep our communications plan focused. Once that focus is in place, I expect our communications staff to be the gatekeepers as requests come for more communications related to various activities. 

Of course, this means that the gatekeepers have the authority to say “no” on occasion, and I’m quick to support them as they make tough decisions about what does and doesn’t get attention in a given week. This is one of the hazards in church communications and is not easily practiced by those who don’t feel they have the authority to fulfill their part in the church’s communications flow. My approach has been to encourage ministry leaders to work with staff early on, so that we can lay their plans alongside the many others in place. I have repeatedly said to these leaders that their early planning allows us to give them strong support in ways that avoid the competition for communications real estate. At the same time, I say to the communications staff that they have the right to say “no” when the timing is bad, a request is not mission-critical or a team just doesn’t have in place what they need for effective communications. 

I would love to know exactly how much time I’ve spent in meetings related to announcements, printed materials and other forms of church communications. It hasn’t always been fun, but it can be a great joy when we watch a ministry succeed because the plan was carefully presented in an effective manner. I love being the cheerleader for our communications staff and the main encourager for those leading ministry in our church. When those pieces are working together, ministry is both effective and fun!