“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
Ephesians 4:2
Being a patient teacher is not always an easy task. Some of us are born teachers and leaders, but it’s not everyone’s strong suit. Whether you feel especially called to lead others or not, being a church communicator means working cooperatively with others and supporting all endeavors of the church.
Having patience and resilience is especially important for those who work together to bring a church website to life. As a communicator, you might be responsible for your website––but you probably don’t work alone. It’s important to empower everyone who works on your team to make sure you’re all driving toward the same goals. You need to teach and support those who turn to you for guidance. Your sanity depends on it.
To help you navigate the waters of leadership and delegation, we’ve gathered 3 effective ways to empower each other to manage and grow a ministry-focused website. See how you can become a smarter, stronger church communications team with these methods:
3 Easy Steps to Empower Your Church Website Team
1. Give them access and permission.
Church communications require lots of tools: ChMS, social media accounts, design programs, internal staff accounts...the list goes on! Make a list of every single tool you might use when working in your church website, and make sure the people who help you have access to all the software they will need. They should be able to operate just like anyone else, with full ability to get things done the right way and right away.
Being introduced to all of these systems can be overwhelming, though! Instead of dropping them in the “deep end,” give them full support and time to ask questions for the first few weeks––without feeling pressure to already be in-the-know. Give them a judgement-free space to say, “I need help.” Where needed, provide them with resources (like blog posts, FAQs, or tutorials) and partial access "permissions" at first to help them ease in. This gives you freedom as a communicator to know that the whole team has substantial training before they begin working on the site itself.
2. Ask for their opinions and input.
No one likes working on a team where they don’t feel trusted or valuable. You help to do both of these things by validating the thoughts and opinions of those who work on your church website. Don’t put them on the spot in their first week with a million questions, but maybe after their first month or so, nudge them and begin to ask questions. Ask them for a casual analysis of what they’ve noticed about how things are working or possible areas of improvement. This is also helpful to you because it gives you a new perspective. You work in the “trenches” of your church website everyday, so it’s always helpful to get a zoom-out perspective.
By doing this, you’re not only gaining a new perspective, you’re empowering that volunteer or employee with ownership. They're helping to create it, and they should feel invested in the process. They're not just a monkey taking orders––and knowing you trust them and value their input will make them more dedicated and responsible team members.
3. Help them learn.
Your co-workers may be helping you with task X and Y, but make sure they know that they can always grow by learning task Z! What skills do they need to know to get better at their job? What are they interested in pursuing? You should be building your church's next online strategy around best practices, of course, but keep the strengths and passions of your team in mind. The sweet spot of success is where your leadership’s passion intersects with the community’s growth.
By helping your team members become stronger, more reliable communicators, you’re also ensuring something else: your vacation time. As a member or leader of a communications team, you should never feel so much pressure that you’re almost indispensable. You need to be able to take personal time off without worrying that the office burned down when you were away! By mentoring and lifting others up, you’re giving yourself more freedom and flexibility, too. Invest in conferences, send them helpful resources, and always be thinking of learning as a next step.
