Church communications is everything the church communicates. It involves the announcements, the handouts and signage, but it’s much more than that.
It encompasses the overall heart and the big picture message of the church. That sounds like something that should hit the radar of the senior leader.
From championing the vision to communicating one message, the leader of the organization needs to be involved in church wide communications.
Three reasons pastors should care about church communications:
1. Your messages communicate your message.
The overall message of the church is really a combination of all the messages people receive. Those messages are heard through sermons, but also through printed pieces, Facebook posts and signs around the facility.
It’s completely possible that your church communications are counteracting the messages you’re preaching. Big picture themes like gospel, grace, family, quality, hope and the Bible are all communicated through church communications in addition to the sermon.
Senior pastors and preachers care a great deal about the message of the sermon, but it’s time to widen our gaze and consider the overall message of the church.
2. Clarity is your friend.
When it comes to theology, the Gospel and preaching the Bible, clarity is important. We don’t want to create confusion about how people begin a relationship with Jesus and what it means to be a Christian. So when it comes to church communications, pastors and church leaders need to fight for clarity as well.
What do you want people to do? What do you want people to think? Where do you want people to go? These kind of clarifying questions should influence everything we communicate, whether it’s from the pulpit or the email newsletter.
Senior pastors and leaders should care that the message of the church is clear.
3. People will get to know you before they come and visit you.
A massive shift has taken place over the last few years. People conduct informal research before doing just about anything. They collect data from a wide variety of sources before making decisions on what kind of car to buy, what soccer program is best and what church to attend.
Potential attendees will visit your website before visiting your church. They will ask their friends and followers for recommendations. They will hear the word on the street.
Everything you communicate makes its way into the psyche of the people. It’s why one sermon doesn’t counteract a reputation.
