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; Effective Church Communications can help.

Online Video, Foundation: The Uniqueness of Church Communications

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Welcome to the Video: Foundation: The Uniqueness of Church Communications, including the Five Steps of Effective Church Communications and Marketing and why marketing is not evil

If you are serious about wanting to create communications that will not only look professional, but will make a significant impact on growing your church in numbers and your people in spiritual maturity, this video and the other videos on this site will enable you to do that. It is not quick or easy, but it will be effective. This video sets up the important foundation for what we do and why we do church communications.

Below the video is a PDF of notes and one for more resources.

PDF of the Notes

Click on the image to download the PDF

Foundation Handouts PDF

Welcome to the first of our Online Video, Foundation:  The Uniqueness of Church Communications, including the Five Steps of Effective Church Communications and Marketing and why marketing is not evil

If you are serious about wanting to create communications that will not only look professional, but will make a significant impact on growing your church in numbers and your people in spiritual maturity, this video training series will enable you to do that. It is not quick or easy, but it will be effective. This video sets up the important foundation for what we do and why we do church communication

PDF of Additional Resources

Click on the image to download the PDF

Additional Resources Sheet PDF

When you are the supervisor

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Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: As if a supervisory position was not difficult enough, Jesus reminds us that becoming a leader in the church means becoming servant of all. This wise article by Gayle Hilligoss provides great advice that will help you not only do a good job, should you need to step into that position, but do it in a way that will be pleasing to the leaders of your church and to our Lord.

Church office professionals often must step into the role of supervisor or project manager. Sometimes there is very little—if any—notice before the opportunity arises. Be prepared. Whether your task is to guide volunteers, interns, or paid staff, build on your administrative expertise to develop your leadership skill set.

• Pinpoint your goals.

Exactly what are you to achieve in your supervisory position? What is it your team is to accomplish?

• Communicate those goals.

Through team and individual meetings firm up these goals with your team. Allow for their input, but keep the goals specific.

• Appreciate each person’s individuality.

Get to know your people; understand the differences in their personalities and abilities. People are more productive and more enthusiastic about their work when they know their supervisor cares about them as individuals.

• Give clear instructions.

If it is important a job be done a certain way, be sure to give specific how-to. Supervisors make a mistake in assuming workers can read minds or that people will be offended by being told what is expected. For some projects it can be helpful to have each team member write her own brief job description. During a group discussion make any revisions necessary.

• Get team members started.

Obviously, how the process works depends on the type of project. Generally, you will demonstrate what you want done, allow the team member to take over the task, and then check back to see how things are going and if there are questions.

• Trust. But, verify.

Once workers are doing their tasks, respect their ability to perform well. Let them know you believe in them. Make sure they know they can come to you with any questions. Schedule regular checkup times to be sure all is going according to plan.

• Really listen.

Get input from others on decisions affecting them. As the project progresses encourage them to give feedback on projects and to give suggestions on how things could be done.

• Be a role model.

The effective supervisor sets a good example and has credibility. One cannot expect workers to perform with excellence if the supervisor lacks personal commitment. If you handle your time well, are pleasant, and produce quality work, it is likely your team will emulate your style.

• Be supportive.

Workers deserve the support of their supervisor. Look out for the interests of your subordinates. Do your best to see they have the time and equipment they need to do the job expected.

• Utilize resources.

Ours is an information society. Keep yourself on the cutting edge with online services, webinars, on-site seminars, and professional affiliations. Provide printed materials and online resources for those you supervise. Stretch! You can make this project a great learning experience for the team members and for yourself.

• Fill people in on the big picture.

When workers know how their part of the job fits in with the total goal they better understand the importance of their contribution.

• Be objective in dealing with others.

Supervisors must be willing to risk personal popularity to get the job done. Sometimes the task you need to delegate is not a pleasant one, but is a necessary step in reaching the goal. Resist the tendency to believe you must do these kinds of jobs yourself. Your time is best spent on things that cannot be delegated.

• Accept responsibility for your own mistakes.

Even supervisors make an occasional mistake. Stay honest; own up to yours.

• Compliment the worker on a job well done.

Be sincere in showing your appreciation both privately and publicly. Give credit to others for their contributions. If criticism is necessary, do it privately and constructively—and only after you have tried other methods to bring about the changes you want.

• Lighten up.

Take your job seriously, but not yourself. Be the kind of supervisor you would like to work for. Be careful never to get carried away with your own importance. Those who throw their weight around make poor leaders.

You can do this. You can perform with excellence when you are the supervisor.

 

 

 

Social media advice from Proverbs

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Social boom book cover
This isn't a specifically "Christian" book, but church communications will find much useful advice in it on how to use social media.

QUOTE:

Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies have no sense.
Proverbs 12:11, NIV

COMMENTARY:

As I read this verse in my morning devotionals, I thought about my current ministry strategy in social media, especially in Facebook and Twitter. I've tried to be more consistent in these communication methods because I finally have a motivation for it that makes sense to me, here's how that came about:

In many ways I am a very private person and the public sharing about daily activities done by many in these communication channels, especially on Twitter (Facebook is more social and chatty, fine for personal family and friend interaction, that's understandable), did not appeal to me. I do not really care when a person that I follow for his or her ministry advice gets an ice cream cone or has problems with air travel. We all eat and move from place to place--not exactly news flash events. In addition, having to wade through them to find useful information is, it seems to me, a waste of time.

Facebook is more social and chatty, fine for personal family and friend interaction, that's understandable. On Facebook also, you can separate personal, family updates from ministry or professional ones.

I prefer Twitter and Facebook when I can read them as more of a news feed--a running commentary of  useful updates and information coming from a person, business, or ministry rather than as an online diary.

What changed how I now use social media

The above opinions were floating unfocused in my head until I read a little book, Social Boom by Jeffery Gitomer. It is not a Christian book, but a book on sales and marketing, but it totally changed and inspired me for how I use social media. [Read more...]

Dealing with Distractions in the church office

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Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: If we could only do what this article suggests it would add hundreds of hours of productivity to all our churches! As we mature in the faith, it is often the seemingly "little" things that can be the most destructive, but we must deal with them if we want to be all the Lord wants us to be. Gayle gives us fantastic advice in this article on how to conquer the distractions that threaten to do us all in.

Five o’clock, the end of your day. You were busy; you achieved some good things. Still, too much of the day was unproductive. Tasks that should have been done were not. Low priority tasks somehow edged out those of more value.

What could have been done differently? What actions would have produced better results?

Time management is a complex subject. Good sleep is important as it directly affects work productivity. Losing focus can be slightly aided with coffee or smart wakefulness pills you can get on https://buy-modafinil-online.org/vilafinil. Fortunately, understanding and acting on even small pieces of the puzzle makes a tangible difference. In most church offices, interruptions and distractions are routine. These techniques can help you handle them with ease.

• Get rid of clutter
Unnecessary stuff is a distraction in itself. Keeping the office neat is one of the best and easiest ways to increase productivity. Resolve today to stop accumulating and start discarding. Get rid of whatever you don’t need: outdated files, old catalogs, keys for you-can’t-imagine-what of course—but, if plants, photos, memorabilia, and bric-a-brac are time wasting distractions (and they certainly can be), remove them from your space as well. Stuff, even nice stuff, can slow you down if you have too much of it.

• Weed out unnecessary tasks
No one can do all the things that might be done—not even all the good things. Don’t try. Really. Too many things on your to-do list simply muddy the water and distract you from focusing on tasks that give the best return on time invested. Putting jobs in priority order is not nearly as important as choosing the necessary jobs out of the huge number of daily possibilities. Not everything that could be done should be done.

• Control the noise level
If you are reading this in your office, stop and make a quick list of the sounds you hear: perhaps office equipment whirring, lights buzzing, voices in the hall, computer, phone, coworkers, background music, construction going on outside, a custodian running a vacuum, daycare kids on the playground, traffic …

Even if you are a focused person, distractions will take a toll on productivity. What noises in your office could be controlled or eliminated? One ministry assistant was surprised to discover that all tube lighting fixtures didn’t buzz; hers had for years.

• Do an interruption inventory
Starting a project, stopping to answer the phone, starting again, stopping to check email, getting back to the project, stopping to discuss an issue with a coworker—so it goes. At this pace, more time may be spent on interruptions than on the project. Interruptions are one of our most troublesome distractions.

An effective way to get a handle on interruptions is to do a quick self-check:

1)    As soon as you arrive at the office, list and number the things you intend to do today. If you are in the good habit of listing your next day’s goals before you leave the office each afternoon, use that list for this purpose.

2)    At the bottom of your list, leave room for a list of interruptions and distractions.

3)    As you begin work on each item on your to-do list, note the time.

4)    Each time you are interrupted, mark the reason on your interruption list as well as the amount of time you were diverted from the task in progress.

Follow this drill for three or four days to give yourself a realistic picture of the kinds of interruptions you are dealing with and the amount of time they consume.

Some “interruptions” (phones, visitors, input from staff) are really our job. These distractions will never be eliminated. But most of us discover that many of our interruptions are self-imposed. We interrupt ourselves! Armed with your lists you can pinpoint these time wasters and you can control them.

Learning from your list, you can make it a practice to gather everything you need for a task before you begin, you can learn a computer shortcut before it is needed, you can ignore email until times you designate to check it. You may actually cut your interruptions in half just by eliminating the self-generated ones.

• Know what not to care about.
Think about some of the main topics of discussion in your office the past few weeks. Is anything there that really just doesn’t matter? Has time and energy been spent on things that have nothing to do with ministry, that are neither enlightening nor beneficial, that contribute in no meaningful way to the harmony of the office? Who needs it? Not you!

You care more about productivity than chatter. You know how to deal with distractions.