Church communications is more than just editing the newsletter or making an announcement on Sunday morning. The everchanging complexities of modern communications require skills in a variety of interest fields.
Your church staff can’t do everything. There are areas that escape their vision. That is where your church communications team comes in. It takes a dedicated team to organize your church’s various communications. A unified, consistent, and intentional communication strategy begins with your church’s mission.
Whether you’re currently building your team or you already have one, a team from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and genders increases the effectiveness of your overall church communication strategy. Every team will look different and might include paid staff, volunteers, contractors, interns, or some combination thereof.
If you have resources or means to hire someone, then great, but there are ways of working around this through volunteers and asking for help. If your church is fortunate enough to have staff, make sure you don’t lock out volunteers. Whether you’re recruiting staff or volunteers, intentionality is still important.
Communications Team Roles:
- Project manager– coordinates between ministry leaders, creative staff, vendors, and volunteers.
- Brand manager– checks for continuity and consistency in colors, fonts, and logo usage.
- Copywriter – an excellent writer who understands the power of personal stories.
- Graphic designer – creates compelling graphics to support the messages and promotions of the church.
- Photographer – someone who knows how to tell a story with photographs.
- Videographer – someone who knows how to tell a story with video.
- Social media guru – coordinates and manages social media promotions and pages.
- The Cheerleader – an outgoing, polished speaker who buys into your mission and wants every task to succeed in that mission.
- The Outsider – helps generate messages that appeal to the whole community.
- The Listener – understands how important listening is and also has the magic touch for recruiting volunteers.
Final Recommendation?
Start simple, start somewhere, and work with what you have. While one individual may not be able to take on all of these roles, some team members may fall in more than one role.
Want to learn more?
Sign-up to attend the 2021 Art of Church Communication Workshops on Wednesday mornings in March.
References:
- Gray, J. (2015, October 8). The Skillsets Every Church Communications Team Needs. Retrieved from Ekklesia 360: https://hello.ekklesia360.com/blog/the-skillsets-every-church-communications-team-needs
- Mpofu, B. (2018, February 13). Developing A Church Communication Strategy – The Team. Retrieved from ChurchMag: https://churchm.ag/church-communication-strategy-team/
- Norton, L. (2017, September 29). Why You Need a Church Communications Team. Retrieved from The Aspen Group: http://www.aspengroup.com/blog/why-you-need-a-church-communications-team
- Sanders, T. (2012, October 16). Staffing the Church Communications Team. Retrieved from MainStreetOpen.com: http://mainstreetopen.com/staffing-the-church-communications-team/