You may be in the "flock" of the church, but on your communications team, you're a shepherd. You lead the rest of your team in the church communications strategy, and you provide direction and insight.
Being a leader doesn't mean you have to do everything. The weight of every single task shouldn’t be on just your shoulders. Wherever needed, your team members should be helping you execute the church communications strategy you develop. As the leader of this herd, you need to prioritize, act loudly, and be a leader––not a “follower.”
3 Practices for Great Church Leaders
1. Think Outside of Your Lane
Your main goal in this role should be to drive the growth of the church. You can't just say, "Oh, this is how the last communicator did it." Instead, recognize that you're the driving force behind creating real, meaningful change. No matter what the previous church communications plan was, you’re in this role now. You need to research, adapt, and act in a way that will attract and inspire your team and your congregation.
The first step in “thinking bigger” is to lean into the ideas you have about making a difference. Brainstorm! Ask questions! Open yourself up to creative and innovative ideas that could carry the gospel to more people.
You're a leader, and you are the vehicle of driving this ministry growth with online strategy.
2. Setting Priorities Is Leadership
You also need to move from being a “doer” to being a true leader. A big part of this is capturing and controlling the process of your communications tasks. As you clarify and organize the communications tasks you have, you need to be able to set priorities so that you can manage the expectations of your team.
This isn’t the same as being bossy or commanding. Being a leader means not sitting around waiting for your team to get overwhelmed with to-dos. You need to be the one to set boundaries, workloads, priorities, and give other team members the extra help they need to make your strategy a reality.
Do you see the difference between being a “boss” and being a leader?
3. Excellence and Branding Are in Your Hands
As a church communicator, you should feel like you're the owner of the church brand––and you should be proud of it! Everything from the way the bathrooms look to the way new visitors are followed up with after visiting: this is your brand. You manage and maintain the appearance of the church so that it remains consistent, engaging, and exciting for people.
Because of your role, it's your job to align the perceptions of others with the image the church wants to have. Communicators in other industries might have siloed jobs (like graphic designer, social media manager, or copywriter), but you hopefully have authority within all of those areas. Ideally, you are able to make changes and align those goals within the entire branding and mission of your church.
Depending on your church staff size or structure, you might have full freedom to make these changes and control these elements of your communications at-will.
If your church wants to be seen as modern, proactive, and vibrant––but from a distance you appear behind-the-times––you can bridge the gap with digital action. If there is a disconnect, you need to recognize it and start to ask hard questions in your leadership team meetings. You should ask questions like:
- “What should we do to make our church look as awesome as it really is?
- What do the goals, budget, and actions look like that will get us there?
- What’s the first step and the next step?
