Effective Church Communications

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and Biblical Inspiration to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and a Biblical Perspective to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission. Our tools constantly change; our task doesn’t; we can help.

Effective Delegation—The Ultimate Balancing Act, part one

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Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: There are many misunderstandings about delegation in the church office and I love it that Gayle starts out this article with sharing what it is not. We so often make the mistakes of believing these misconceptions and it keeps us from getting all the work done that needs to be done. Read her advice and learn to delegate with joy.

In church offices there are very often more tasks to do than hands to do them. As the ministry assistant you may see every job as yours alone. But, no matter how sincere the effort, so doing is seldom the best use of your time. Whenever you perform work that someone else could do, you are keeping yourself from the very important responsibilities that only you can do. One good way to multiply your time is through delegation.

Successful delegation involves more than assigning tasks. Success actually starts with the mindset of the person doing the delegating. It is essential to understand delegation is not:

• shirking your own responsibilities
• dumping unwanted work on another
• abdicating accountability
• taking advantage of anyone

Today’s wise supervisors recognize delegation as an indispensable management skill that allows assistants to balance the many demands of ministry with a realistic assessment of what can be done personally. Alleffective

managers delegate.

• Delegate? Who to?
If you are the office manager and supervise assistants, most often you delegate to them. If you are an assistant, volunteers are a good choice. Actually, recruits is a better word—you want to choose your helpers.

• Be clear about your goals.
The process begins by writing down very specifically what the job is, deadlines involved, and any necessary instructions. I hear you thinking, “I could do the job myself in the time it takes to do that.” If that is truly the case and this is a one-time task, go ahead and do it yourself. Otherwise, follow through and invest a little time now to save big time later.

• Choose personnel carefully.
Issuing a blanket announcement for volunteers is not the best idea. It may take more time (that again!) but it is better to match the tasks you have in mind with specific people suited for those tasks. Everyone can do something, but not everyone can do everything.

Many churches distribute annual talent surveys. Members indicate interests and skills they are willing to share. Surveys are a great tool to use when considering who might do what.

• Give adequate instruction.
The amount of guidance necessary varies with the task, but short written directions are advisable for all but the most basic. Even for simple jobs, give a demonstration and leave a sample of what the finished product should look like. Folding a brochure correctly is second nature for you; it may not be for your willing helper.

• Assign authority.
While you as supervisor are ultimately accountable, as much as possible let the recruit “own” the job and have the authority to manage it. On complex jobs where multiple volunteers have areas of authority, plan to avoid gaps or overlaps. The idea is to retain your position as leader while demonstrating your respect for the efforts of others and your trust in their abilities.

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To go to Part Two, CLICK HERE

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FREE Ebook: Divide your communication team into 2 production levels

Want to text your congregation, but don’t know how to text?

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If you want to text and don't have a phone or skills to do it, this company can help you do it on your computer.

As the Apostle Paul told us, we need to learn to be "all things to all people that we might win some," and today that often means making use of new communication technologies. Texting is one of the most popular ways to communicate today, but few church offices make effective use of it.
I just discovered a company, (actually they discovered me, more about that later) call-em-all that will text for you with a system that allows you to create text messages on your computer and then broadcast them to the people who on your list. They also have broadcast phone systems that you can do from your computer or a toll-free number.

Though I personally haven't tried them, I don't have a use for this service presently--I like them. I know that is a subjective opinion, but they contacted me because they wanted some material to help their church customers communicate in different ways to churches. I liked it that they weren't pushy in thinking that they had the only answer to church communication.  I talked to one of their staff--very nice, helpful person and I then spent some time on their website. They have great little instructional videos that show how to use all aspects of their system--take a look at them to understand the process.

The prices are reasonable and the products definitely worth checking out as an additional way to communicate to your congregation.

One more thing--they have a free trial so you can see how it works. Here is their website, check them out:
http://www.call-em-all.com/

In the Church Office: What to delegate and why

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Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: this article was inspired by a comment from an ECC reader: "I was wondering what you determine can be delegated?  I guess I'm afraid that if I delegate tasks....or ask volunteers to help....that I will cause people (both those who hired me and others) to think "that's why we pay her---why are others doing her job???"  So how do I get around this?" Gayle's extremely practical answer follows.

WHAT TO DELEGATE AND WHY

Freeing your time for tasks only you can do is a primary reason to delegate. But, it is not the sole valid reason to share responsibilities. Your purpose may be to involve members in the work of the church, create appreciation for the administrative functions of ministry, provide opportunities for teamwork, increase general productivity, or to develop useful skills in paid and volunteer recruits.

Toward that end, consider delegating:

• Jobs someone might do better than you.
Perhaps creating flyers is not what you do well, but you know a person who absolutely thrives on layouts, fonts, and graphics. Ask.

• Parts of bigger projects.
Producing a church directory is one example of an assignment you may not want to turn over in its entirety, but smaller slices of it might be assigned to a few well-chosen assistants.

• Tasks you just don’t like doing.
Yes, that is an acceptable reason to delegate. You do best that which you enjoy—and, someone else could gain satisfaction from doing well that which you would just as soon not do at all.

• Assignments that will challenge others.
It can be to your advantage to turn loose of even some tasks you enjoy and handle well. Giving others opportunities to increase their abilities motivates and encourages.

• Tasks that increase the team’s strengths.
The old joke about the secretary having job security because she is the only one who knows where things filed is actually no joke at all. The office team is stronger when more than one person can do each vital job. Train someone to do the things that must be done. One never knows when an emergency will arise or when you will simply find yourself with too many priorities.

• Projects that allow you to move on to another level of responsibility.
This kind of delegation gives others the opportunity to take on skills you have already mastered so you can gain experience in even more advanced pursuits

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For more advice on how to effectively use volunteers in your church communication ministry, check out:

FREE Ebook: In the church office, to save time and your sanity: Divide your communication team into 2 production levels
There is never enough time to get all the work done that needs to be done in church communications. One way to solve this problem is to have volunteers do some of the work. However, many church office administrators and church leaders aren't comfortable doing this because they are concerned about the level of quality that volunteers product. Or they worry that they won't really be able to control what volunteers do.

 

Six Strategies BookEbook: Six Strategies for Effective Church Communications
Free for ECC Ebook and Template Club members, available for purchase and immediate download, all e-reader versions and in print at this link:

In your church office: Keep It Simple, part one

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Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

A cell phone’s ring tone during a meeting of ministry assistants sparked a conversation about how complicated life is today as compared to just a few short years ago. One of the youngest of the group remarked, “Even I remember when multitasking was something computers, not assistants, did. I think I was more productive then. For sure, I was less stressed.”

Experience in the church office leads many assistants to believe the key to achieving the maximum joy from work lies in keeping things as simple as possible. The process starts with making wise choices—decisions designed to manage your job and your life effectively.

• Delegate what you can
Volunteers can take over many hours of your work week to free your time for the kinds of tasks that cannot be delegated. Granted, enlisting and training volunteers takes time and effort. And there are some obvious disadvantages to relying on unpaid help. But, done well, delegation will simplify your days.

• Identify avoidable negatives
Worrying about the future, ruminating over the past, being involved with gossip, remaining in outgrown friendships, indulging in harmful habits, setting unrealistic standards for yourself and others—imagine the tranquility you could gain by discarding these life-complicating behaviors.

• Trim your tasks
Today’s alternative to delegate is eliminate. What do you habitually say yes to that you could say no to?

Ask yourself:
• Does it really need to be done?
• Does it need to be done right now?
• Does it need to be done this way?

We tend to hold on to old habits and notions even if we are not satisfied with the results. Most likely there is a better way. Look for the most simple technique to achieve the desired outcome. Moving beyond the “we’ve always done it this way” syndrome is a huge first step toward implementing new techniques.

Get even choosier about how you spend your time. Take a serious look at your week’s agenda. Identify things which give you a low return on your time and effort investment; cut them from your routine.

• Seriously unclutter “stuff”
Church offices can be collecting places for all sorts of (is there a better word for it?) stuff. Gain control by having a proper place for each item that belongs in the office and a system for moving things that don’t belong there to more appropriate places.

Ask yourself:
• Do I need to keep this item?
• Does it need to be kept in the office?
• Where is the best place for this item?

Every office needs a workable policy for ditching things. If you have one, use it. If you don’t, see what can be done to get a policy in place.

Unclutter your personal space as well. The more things one has, the more time and energy must be devoted to caring for them. Go for quality rather than quantity. Having fewer possessions—only what you use, need, and enjoy—allows you to appreciate each more fully.

 

Conquer Easter season time stress, part two

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Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: the Easter Season is one of the busiest times of the year, but this advice will help you make the right time choices all through the year. At the bottom of the article is the link to Part One.

Unless you take the time to think through these issues, your time problems will only increase.

• Make yourself a priority.
Never shortchange yourself in an effort to get more done. You need a 15-minute break each morning and afternoon, no-work lunch hours, and a yearly vacation not taken one day at a time. Don’t settle for less.

• Know what matters. And what doesn’t.
Life, even life in the church office, is most often unfair. Expect criticism. Be careful not to get drawn into interpersonal conflicts or petty grievances—all of which sap time and energy and contribute nothing to your personal or professional wellbeing. Stay above and out of it.

Focus on what is positive about your work, what matters to the ministry, what matters to you. Take a stand to bring about change when you choose, but learn what not to care about too. Every issue need not be a crusade. Spend your time constructively.

• Be aware of your inner clock.
Are you a morning person or one who hits stride later in the day? Make intelligent use of your body’s circadian rhythm. Match your most challenging tasks to your most energetic times; you will perform them faster and more accurately. Use lulls in energy for routine jobs. All time can be used constructively.

• Set realistic goals
Too often in the church office the source of time problems is not that hours are poorly used, but that work expectations are poorly calculated. The most effective assistant could not possibly accomplish all that is routinely expected in some offices.

Typically, as the church grows and numbers of members and staff increase, it is taken for granted the single assistant will take on these added responsibilities. Sometimes, though not always, there is a change in title or even an increase in salary. But the fact remains that what is expected of the assistant is well beyond what any one person could reasonably deliver. Still, most try.

Placing a person in this position is not to the credit of the church. Allowing oneself to remain in an impossible position is not to the credit of the assistant. Such situations can be changed.

• Communicate.
Saying you are in over your head is never an easy thing to do. But staying in that position isn’t easy either—and is a frustrating waste of time. We don’t do our best at anything, not even ministry, when we are constantly rushed and running behind schedule.

Honest communication can transform an impossible wish to “get everything done and keep everyone happy” into doable goals. If your problem is not a lack of time but an overabundance of responsibilities, show your supervisor this article. You could say, “This is where I am. What can we do about it?” The wise supervisor listens.

If the bad news is that you already have all the time there is, the good news is that these techniques will help you use your hours wisely and well.

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For part one of this article, CLICK HERE