Sometimes overseeing church communication can be frustrating. Wrestling with how to communicate everything effectively can feel overwhelming. Which medium should you use? When is the right time to get the message out there? And how can you ensure that the right crowd hears your message? Then, to complicate things even further, it seems like every ministry leader thinks their particular announcement, event, or program, should get top billing. As the person in charge of overseeing communications, you’re bound to upset people. The role you have is not an easy one!
But, let me encourage you a little bit. What you’re doing matters. Sifting through the noise; following the plan; communicating well; it all makes a difference. Great communication in the church matters.
And that’s because church communication is about the gospel. Sometimes we lose sight of that, I get it. But let’s take a step back and look at what we do as communicators, and how it matters.
In what is best-known as the Great Commission, Jesus tells his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). As the Church, this is our mission: to make disciples, and to teach them to become more Christ-like. But how does this play into the role of church communications? I’m glad you asked!
Everything you do as the church communications leader, team, director, czar, pastor, or whatever role you’re in should come back to the Great Commission. Our goal is to help reach more people with the gospel, and to help the body of Christ grow to become more passionate, educated, and obedient to the things of Christ. Our primary objective in communicating toward this goal should always come back to 1.) who we are reaching with each message, and 2.) how we are executing that message.
The Great Commission must be primary in everything we do. From how we design materials, to what we decide gets communicated from the stage versus the bulletin, our reasoning should always boil down to how to reach the most people, the best way, to have the most Kingdom-influence.
We all struggle with wanting to design the perfect advertisement, or with how to best enforce a communication plan. We’re frustrated when things don’t go as planned, when we can’t seem to get other staff to use the style guide correctly, or when the person on the stage just announced 12 things, instead of the 2 he was instructed to. During these times, it is important to remember that God is still at work, even in the mess. And with your efforts as a communicator, your church can make progress each day toward greater influence in your community for the Kingdom of God. God has invited us to take part in his bigger plan; that’s worth being excited about!
What you do matters. Through quality communication, more people are able to hear a message that resonates with them. Whether that’s information about an outreach event, where the gospel will be clearly presented, or it’s an internal advertisement promoting discipleship, good church communication is a vital part of God’s great commission.
