When it comes to communicating with your church, it can be tough coming up with new content and new ways to connect every week. You might even feel a little burnout from the constant content production. It can feel like the classic superhero complaint, “Why can’t the world just stay saved?!?”
But you’re not alone!It happens to the best of us––myself included. It’s totally okay to have those days where you’re feeling uninspired, or downright exhausted, and writer’s block has a fierce grip on your creativity. Talk about frustrating––you’re supposed to be telling the best story in the world, but you just can’t make yourself care right this second.
In times like these, I find it’s best to just take a big step back, brew a cup of my favorite beverage (a coworker swears by jasmine green tea, but I need something a little more hipster: my go-to is a single origin, home-roasted, French press coffee), and soak up some awesome content made by someone else. Taking a break and learning from your peers won’t only cure your burnout and get those creative juices flowing, but it’s fun and it can be relaxing, too.
It’s important to take care of yourself and do what you can to stay motivated and excited. Here are 5 church communications resources that we like here at the Ekklesia 360 offices.
5 Church Communications Resources to Inspire You Today
1. The Rocket Company - “Developing Donors Isn’t a Sin”
Talking about money can be very hard, especially when it comes to tithes and offering. As church staff members, there has probably come a time when it feels like money (or lack thereof) has gotten in the way of your church mission, or that it’s overshadowed some of our core values.
The Rocket Company has great content generally, but start with the blog post, “Developing Donors Isn’t a Sin.” It talks about not only tithing, but how to handle the tension of receiving money from your church members and how to move forward when there’s been a big donation from a particular member or family. The post is thought-provoking and helpful.
2. Desiring God - “Twelve Benefits of Team Leadership”
As a church communicator, there is a lot of leadership wrapped up within your job. When things get a bit stressful or high-pressure, I think it’s important to think about what this blog post discusses.
“Twelve Benefits of Team Leadership” talks about the value in a team with multiple leaders and how the whole group is certainly wiser and more effective together. When I read articles like these, I am reminded of just how valuable good church leadership is. I hope it’s as inspiring for you, too!
3. The Unstuck Group - “7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Church Leaders”
Similarly to the Desiring God post, the Unstuck Group talks about improving church leadership. The title is kind click-bait-y, but I always like it when someone takes that “negative” approach to giving advice on being a better leader.
When we become too consumed with the idea of becoming a better leader, we sometimes forget to hand over the reins when we have to. “7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Church Leaders” is a blog post that points out the signs when we’re not being effective church leaders and when we’re trying maybe just a liiiiittle too hard
4. AndyStanley.com - Any of his awesome videos or podcasts
Andy Stanley offers a lot of awesome content about servant leadership and values-based decision making. He’s an author and a pastor with a lot of impactful insight on how to be a great leader, and he offers podcasts, videos, books, and DVDs for leaders just like us. In addition to his own experience and insight, he takes it a step further by interviewing other inspiring leaders as well.
We’ve mentioned his work in past posts like this, and you could start anywhere. I recommend listening to the episodes, “Bold Leadership” and “The Question Great Leaders Ask” to kick off your Andy Stanley binge.
5. Letters to the Exiles - For the Life of the World film series
You’ll be hooked from the moment you start the official trailer and addicted by the end of episode 1.
“Letters to the Exiles” is a film series that explores the deeper meaning of Salvation, and you get to explore with the cast members as they discover meaning in our everyday lives.
This series shows the challenge of discovering the mysteries of faith in this crazy world of ours in a funny, relatable, light-hearted (yet very serious) way.
