Church communication for solo pastors can be difficult and time-consuming. Identify the most important areas and learn how to do them well.
By Mark MacDonald
Most churches have one person in leadership—a busy solo pastor who has to do most, with the help of volunteers. Often, solo pastors wonder if they’re juggling so much they’re not doing anything well. Let’s look at church communication, identify the most important areas, and learn how to do them well.
1. Know your audiences
Effective church communication rises and falls on how well you know your audience. So, church communication for solo pastors must start here. Remember however, you have two audiences: your congregation (internal) and your community (external).
As a solo pastor, you can be tempted to focus only on the people in your pews. Sure, get to know them and their needs, concerns, and goals. But remember God placed you in your community for a reason. There are more people outside of your church than inside it.
“As a solo pastor, you can be tempted to focus only on the people in your pews. Sure, get to know them and their needs, concerns, and goals. But remember God placed you in your community for a reason.” — @markmac1023 Share on XUnderstand, the growth potential for your local church is the community around you. They are the people God wants us to “go and tell.” Overlay their needs, concerns, and goals onto your member’s needs, concerns, and goals to identify common issues. Then concentrate on being a solution to their needs and concerns or a path to their goals.
Note: Churches that only focus internally usually stagnate or decline. Know and love both of your audiences so your communication content will be needed by both. That’ll keep members coming back and be a good reason for those in your community to pay attention.
2. Create some controls and fences
As a solo pastor, you can’t do it all. That’s an understatement. So, limit your church communication. Decide what you should be known for and focus on that beneficial thread as you’re building content. Also, restrict design visual elements so they become familiar to your audience too. This will build trust and confidence in your communication.
Establish a simple church logo. Then the symbol and words will help establish the visual fences to your content. Use no more than two fonts in your logo, and therefore, in your communication materials. And restrict your colors to a primary and a secondary color, again, from your logo, to use throughout your communication materials.
Your logo should also have a secondary tagline that says what you want to be known for. This thread should be three to five words, and it’s something your audience desires. Sure, this church brand building takes time, but it saves time in the long run. It allows you to say (and design) less, so people listen more. Consider limiting yourself to one or two graphic templates where you change out the words and images (Canva, or similar, is a great resource for establishing a branded look).
3. Promote a trusted communication source
Your audience needs to quickly identify where to find information about your church ministries. This source needs to be trusted as the best place to find up-to-date information and be in a place your audience wants to find it.
In the past, churches relied on a printed bulletin or calling the church office. These take so much time and money, and the world has moved toward wanting a digital source. Based on the time and budget you have as a solo pastor, identify one source for information and regularly reinforce to your congregation that it’s the place to go for the correct information. Then concentrate on that one tool or channel. That can be a website, your social media page, a weekly email, or your bulletin.
4. Maintain a basic web presence
If you choose to have a bulletin as your trusted source, slowly edit the bulletin information and point to the details that are online. This transitional church communication period where older people want printed material is slowly giving way to the more economical online reliance. Therefore, start working on a web presence.
Facebook is the cheapest and easiest communication tool where most of your audience browses each day. If you don’t have the expertise to build a website, create a free Facebook page for your church and Facebook groups under that page for ministries in your church. Then work on building content that is shareable, entertaining, informational, and needed. Most importantly, craft your “about” description to contain your city’s name, your thread, and relevant keywords that your community would be searching for.
After that, work toward a simple church website that does the same but allows a variety of content. There are many website packages that are perfect for the solo pastor with no developer skills needed.
5. Get a communication volunteer to assist
After the church communication elements are in place and you’ve established the controls and rhythms for what kind of content you produce, be on the lookout for members who would like to help as part of their ministry. Start slowly with them and guide them as you watch response and engagement from your audience.
Church communication for solo pastors can be difficult and time-consuming especially if you want to expand to more social media channels, a full website, and weekly emails.
Start small and do church communication properly with a few tools or channels before you expand too quickly. Build on the success of one as you move toward another. Establish a high standard that your members would be proud of and make sure it’s sustainable before expanding.
For permission to republish this article, contact Marissa Postell Sullivan.
Mark MacDonald
Mark MacDonald is communication pastor, speaker, consultant, bestselling author, church branding strategist for BeKnownforSomething.com, empowering thousands of pastors and churches to become known for something relevant (a communication thread). His church branding book, Be Known for Something, is available at BeKnownBook.com.
