Communication Process: Foundational Issues

The wise man builds his house on… a good foundation! Many times in our haste, we renovate the top floor before the bottom is finished. Or started!
The complexity with a solid church communication process? Every church has an established process, so as changes are requested and the church tries to improve existing elements, the foundation is neglected. A poor foundation will not support the building.
Sometimes it’s more cost-effective to “lift” the structure and replace the foundation.
Here are 3 essential foundational elements to ensure a successful communication process:
1. Decide what Return Expectations are first. To build a communication process, every ministry leader and staff member should sit down and visualize what they ultimately want. What does the “perfect” communication process look like to them? Feel like? Enable? If you’re going to invest in the process, what will the expectations be? Often this requires a coach or consultant (who knows ministry and communications) to guide this process.
2. Centralized vs Decentralized Structure. Organizational communications can be controlled by one person or within one team. In this centralized structure, everything is created, supplied, and approved through them. Or in a decentralized approach, every ministry area creates their own material with the direction and approval of the comm team/person. Or maybe, based on ministry tiering, there’s a combination of structure. Capacity of the communication team needs to be addressed before making this decision; however, centralized communications should be the desired goal of most churches.
3. Understand you’ll spend more if you don’t know your Thread. Understanding your central communications thread will streamline your messaging and erect fences to be creative around. A solid thread allows your church to become known for something that will attract your community and engage your congregation. It also allows you to be found on search engines and discussed as a solution for a prominent need. Don’t know your thread? Then every ministry will become a silo, saying their own thing. You ultimately spend more on advertising, say more to promote, and run the danger of being unheard in a marketing cluttered world.
So build your House on a rock-solid communication foundation. Then God will continue to build on it in a way that you could never imagine, ask, or think.