Hiring a Media Team – Where Do You Start?

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If anything good has come out of the COVID-19 church shutdown, it’s the awareness that communication and media are more important to a church than many pastors realized. While missions, outreach, education, and other ministries are important, as churches experienced the lockdown, they quickly discovered that churches worldwide would have been in serious trouble without a communications or media team.

And now, pastors and church leaders are starting to build stronger communication teams, and many are asking where to start. So I asked 5 highly respected and experienced communication and media leaders for their recommendations. Who would be the first 3 people you’d hire to begin a strong communications or media team?

RELATED: KEY CHARACTERISTICS FOR A CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR.

Here are their answers:

Who Do You Hire First for a Media Team?

 

From Ben Field – Former Head of Film & Television at Hillsong Church, and now CEO of Southland Studios:
The first 3 team members in order I’d hire are:
1) Communications Director – Having a dedicated person planted in the vision and skilled in communicating the heart and soul of the church is a number one priority to any executive team or senior pastor. When someone leads and directs your communications from within, the rest will flow from there.
2) Graphic Designer – Great design can be outsourced, but when you have someone who isn’t just outworking a detailed brief, but catches the spirit of what’s being communicated and owns it, you’ll see the design of what’s being communicated have a unique fingerprint of what’s authentic to the expression of the church.
3) Videographer/Editor – In today’s world, video is one of the most effective forms of communication, internally and externally. With platforms like Christian Television, YouTube, InstagramTV, etc., the modern-day church has an incredible opportunity to reach people far outside the church walls. Hiring a Videographer/Editor with skills in production and editing will set you up for immediate needs and help grow a wider team of volunteers to take on more substantial projects over time.

From Bryan Bailey – Director of Media at Prestonwood Church:
I approach the first three people with an “investment” mentality when hiring them. It’s easy to get caught up in immediate needs and try to hire someone to fill the front-of-house audio or social media position. Instead, my first three hires are “The Mastermind,” “The Tech Swiss Army Knife,” and “The Mobilizer.” The Mastermind has the vision, sets the wheels in motion, and has the experience to know how to get things done. The Tech Swiss Army Knife is a doer – this person makes the events happen and becomes the central hub for all future volunteers, staff, and contractors from a tech perspective. The Mobilizer recruits, trains, and pastors volunteers for live productions, events, and even communications needs. All three of these positions need to have hands-on skills, but they are easily supplemented with volunteers and contractors until you can afford to increase the team as needed.

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Phil Cookehttps://www.philcooke.com/
Phil Cooke, Ph.D, is a filmmaker, media consultant, and founder of Cooke Media Group in Los Angeles and Nashville. His latest book is “Church on Trial: How to Protect Your Congregation, Mission, and Reputation During a Crisis." Find out more at philcooke.com.

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