Church Health: 7 Secrets to Keeping Your Church Informed
The Scriptures remind us that “the tongue of the wise is health”. As pastors and church health leaders, your work as spiritual healers and guides is vital. With recent events leaving people feeling isolated, cut off, and lonely, you can be sure that their spiritual health is also suffering. How do we stay connected to each other — and thus maintain church health — through times of crisis?
As always, the secret lies in clear communication. You can grow your church and help them rise above the seeming dark days. Here are seven ways to bring the light and become a powerful source of strength and faith.
1. Diversify Your Communication Channels
There are lots of communication tools at your disposal, both analog and digital. You probably already use them to reach your congregation with church What are some different types of communication channels to employ?
- Your church website
- Your church social media accounts
- Newsletters via email
- Posted news bulletins at church
- Smart Phone Groups (WhatsApp, Viber, and other such apps that people use to stay connected and relay news can also be a source of spiritual health boosters)
- Good old phone calls
- Hotlines
2. Curated Content for Spiritual Health
Be choosy (aka: prayerful!) about the information you are spreading. During a crisis, many people are susceptible to discouragement and negativity. News clippings and articles can be a huge energy sapper. Make sure that the information you feed your church members and congregation are full of inspiring, faith-building messages.
Pray about each text before sending it out. Prior to posting on your church bulletins and social media, check yourself and ensure that you are curating and sending out positivity.
Think of yourself as a miner, digging for gold and spiritual treasures. It may take more time, but in the end, you contribute greater value and ensuring church health.
Remember what Proverbs 25: 11 tells us: A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
3. Stay Consistent with Your Method and Message
1 Corinthians 4:2 says, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” The King James version of this verse reads, “It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.”
In essence, you are the steward or “keeper” of your church. So be faithful to them. Don’t let them down. Building church health means if you schedule regular “check-ups” and appointments with your church members, you need to keep them. Hold yourself accountable at the same time each week when your lines of communication are open.
Set a schedule so that church members know that will be the hours you are available to them. If you put out newsletters and updates on a certain day each week or month, be consistent. Stay with that schedule. Building a solid foundation of faith ensures that your core message and values never change.
4. Delegate for the Personal Touch
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively. If one of them falls down, the other can help him up.”
Small group leaders can be instrumental in relaying messages in a more personal way. Those in charge of Bible studies and meetings with smaller groups, for example, can be assigned to relay important messages. The direction or stance your church will take in the midst of a crisis, for example, or a new fundraiser and details.
Because information can be cold and impersonal, people will often ignore important messages. Utilize the power of small groups to convey the most important messages clearly and concisely.
5. Choose Your Words Wisely
As church leaders, your words have power and effect. Don’t throw them out loosely. Everything you say during this time when people are hungry for spiritual guidance, will make or break their souls. This is a responsibility that can never be taken lightly.
So choose your words carefully, and choose what you share. Pray about the best way to present an issue, to tackle a topic, to resolve fear and equip your church with faith. It is your job to inform and update your congregation, yes. But start by asking the Lord which message is best for the day, and how it should be presented.
Proverbs 8:12 — I, wisdom, dwell with prudence.
6. Stay Honest and Open
Ask for spiritual support–not just financial gifts. Those donations will come from donors, guaranteed, as you continue to live your faith and mission.
It’s okay to admit that you are feeling fear and anxiety. It is even better to show your human side as church leaders. But what is the best way to communicate your own feelings without discouraging your flock?
One way is to be honest and ask for prayer. Get the spiritual support from your church by opening up about feelings you are having during these times and set a good example of how you take these feelings to God to find strength and comfort.
Then, communicate to them that you can’t do this alone. Ask for prayer get them rallying behind you in spirit.
James 5:16– “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
7. Be Accessible
Your church members need to be able to reach out to you when they need comfort and prayer. If there are too many to manage on a daily basis, simply have a landing page on your website that takes them to links they can schedule calls. Or, a simple “Contact Us” page that will channel their messages to you.
Does your church or ministry have a social media page? Make sure there is a social media manager, responsible for answering and monitoring the comments section, or the chat-box. They can also be in charge of forwarding you the most pressing or timely queries.
People will be looking to you as their spiritual leaders for answers. So, do all you can to stay connected, and always one step ahead of the flock.
+++
Keep in mind the words of Jesus, in Mark 10:42-45 King James Version (KJV) “Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”
We’d love to help you improve your church health and strengthen your congregation. Visit our other digital resource pages to find out how to live your mission, train your church leaders, and inspire faith for the future.
