Communication is important for a church anytime, but it has become all the more vital during the uncertainties and challenges of the Corona virus pandemic. In part two of 17 Ways to Maintain Good Communication with Your Church During Separation we look at How to Keep Staff Morale and Motivation High. Your team is key to keeping people engaged and helping facilitate good communication so it’s important to keep them in the right frame of mind.
How to Keep Staff Morale and Motivation High
10. Maintain face time.
Your staff, ministry leaders and volunteers need your encouragement and support now more than ever as they continue serving in the midst of their own questions and challenges. Be sure to maintain your normal staff and ministry leader meetings even if the format is different. Video conference tools such as Zoom, Skype, Google Meet and many others make it easy to check in face to face to keep everyone in the loop. As you’re able to under local guidelines, work back to small, socially-distanced group meetings. It might be wise to start outdoors or in an open-air area to ensure a safe environment for all.
11. Show your appreciation
Let your staff and volunteers know you see them. Affirm their contributions and service to the greater mission of your church and of the gospel. Send regular group texts to different ministry teams. Hand write brief individual notes. Give them a gift card; even the gesture of a small amount can be a big encouragement.
12. Keep your church culture alive.
Stay engaged with your staff and volunteers, and look for ways to have fun, even if it’s remote. Do you normally celebrate birthdays together? Then you might wear a party hat during a virtual meeting or have cupcakes delivered. Take time during meetings to check in personally with your team, and give them a chance to update on their lives and families. You might even create a space to share funny work-from-home stories and pictures of kids and pets. At the same time, take every opportunity to remind your staff and volunteers of the mission of your church and the important roles they play in it.
How to Keep Reaching Out
13. Show the local community a sign—literally.
It may be your best chance to reach neighbors and locals driving by, and an outdoor banner or collection of yard signs like these can get their attention, let them feel welcome, and give them an idea of what’s currently available as you phase into reopening. People are hungry for connection and community in these isolating times, and this might be just the invite they’ve been waiting for to engage with your church.
14. Find ways to serve.
Many people are hurting and in need during this pandemic. Outreach and service projects will undoubtedly look different, but they are still doable. And nothing communicates God’s love in action like meeting a tangible need without expecting anything in return. Start a fund for your church to give to a local food pantry, and ask members of your congregation whose finances have not been affected by the pandemic to give. Talk with community leaders about other needs your church can help meet. Have your youth group or families do free yard work or outdoor maintenance for elderly people in your area—just use extra care to avoid any personal contact that could put them at risk of any virus transmission.
Join the national movement, and invite your local community into welcoming, loving, biblical community. The theme Stronger Together is perfectly timed for a season such as this, and the digital kit includes all the tools, plus free resources such as an invite video and social media graphics, to plan and host your Back to Church Sunday event. No matter what COVID-19 restrictions are in place in September, now is the time to start planning, and you can modify Back to Church Sunday as needed.
16. Use Facebook ads to invite your community.
Reach the people around you where they are—online. The average person spends 135 minutes a day on social media. When coupled with direct mail messaging, targeted Facebook posts can exponentially increase your outreach effectiveness. Outreach can provide your church with Facebooks ads and coordinated postcards to more effectively reach homes in your area. Get more details about how to leverage this powerful outreach tool.
Bottom line…
17. Keep being the Church.
Continue to serve members and the community at large. The format and channels may look a little different, but the message of Christ’s love is still the same. Remember that tone matters, and keep offering hope, support and encouragement. In all that we communicate, it’s important to keep in mind that God is not surprised by this coronavirus pandemic, and His church has faced and weathered many global crises through the ages. We can be the voice of comfort and hope as we seek to learn and humbly engage in God’s work through these difficult times. And as we do, we can draw others toward life-changing encounters with the living God.
