Learn

By , business & communications manager, Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, Bloomington, Ind.

It has been just a little over a year since we started taking communications a little more seriously at Sherwood Oaks. And, in that year, I’ve learned a lot about what church communications really means, what it can look like, and how even the failures are chances to make something better. So, here is what I’ve learned over the last year. If you are going through a re-branding project, web project, or just doing life with imperfect people, hopefully you can glean something from this.

Change is hard.

No matter how tired you might be of a logo, color-scheme or website, it was something that was created with love and passion by someone. Take time to acknowledge what came before the new look and appreciate it for what it was. You wouldn’t be where you are now without the ideas that came before, so it’s okay that some people will want to hold onto that.

I had been living and breathing our new communications strategy, brand and website for months before it was rolled out to the staff. When they didn’t immediately love it and get behind what we were doing, it was disappointing. What I’ve since realized is that it’s hard to take a system, no matter how flawed or imperfect it used to be, and spin it completely on its head.

Believe in people.

Church communications feels like a juggling act sometimes. There are always going to be missed deadlines, items sent out without your approval and an outdated event lurking on your website. As frustrating as those moments can be, remember to believe in the people around you, no matter what. They aren’t out to get you or destroy what you’ve tried to set up. They will make mistakes (and so will you). They will be under a deadline and have to rush things to the printer before you give the final okay. They will make decisions inconsistent with your style guide. If it becomes a habitual problem, you’ll need to address it. But, remember to believe in the people first. They want to do their jobs just as well as you want to do yours.

No one is an island.

You can’t do this alone. You might think that you can manage a dozen spinning projects and do it all yourself, but you can’t. Whether you’re a one-person communications team or one of many, you’re going to need help. Asking for help and advice doesn’t make you a failure, it makes you smart. If you rely only on yourself, you will end up exhausted, burnt-out and over-worked. Learn to work with your team. If you don’t have a team, find some skilled volunteers to help. All your creativity doesn’t match the creative force of several minds.

Keep your focus.

At the end of the day, your job is awesome. You get to communicate the life-changing message of a risen Christ to a world that needs to hear His name. No matter how much stress, no matter how many times you see the wrong font or color, no matter how often you want to sigh in frustration, your job matters. Because, in the end, what you do is a tool, a powerful tool, that tells an even more powerful Story.