Staying Organized When It’s Busy
Let’s face it. If you have any hand in the communications department or serve in any capacity in the comms world, it can be quite busy. From deadlines to the million needs of what needs to be communicated, to strategizing when, where, and how to communicate while being the voice of the church. Sometimes, you can feel overwhelmed or even like there is no space to communicate anything else in your church’s season. When I first started interning in the creative department 8 years ago, I learned quickly organization is key. When you are organized, it allows leadership to be aware of the specific details they need and you can see your strategy from a bird’s eye view.
A document that I create every year that has helped me tremendously is what I call a Production Schedule. It is organized by date leading to Sunday and breaks down all of the mediums of communication. This allows me, as the Communications Director, to see what is being communicated when, where, and weekly easily. I do not write all of the details as I know those myself or they are in other documents. This also is not the Communications Plan for an event/series/initiative, it’s more of a master document for all of those plans to come together.
This document includes everything that I need to be aware of in the Communications Department for my church. From speaker and host announcements to what the focus is on social media for that week to what app notification I am scheduling and getting sent out. While this document helps you weekly, it is a major resource to plan your communications strategy. The church I have the honor of working for averages about 2,100 people on a Sunday, and we are currently working on the launch of a third Sunday service. We have several events during each season as well as your normal groups, outreach, and next-generation ministries. My goal is to try to be 6-8 weeks out as I can in the Production Schedule. While nothing is ever concrete, being 6-8 weeks out allows me to see if we are communicating too much, allows space for last-minute comms, and even helps me to protect the congregation from too much “noise” as best that I can and stewarding that.
I have included an example of my personal Production Schedule from a prior year and a blank copy for you to use as a resource in the documents below.
I know that it can be frustrating at times when it seems like every area of the church needs something to communicate. But I truly believe having the right tools to help you organize and strategize eliminates that heavy load we sometimes may carry. I hope through this resource you are encouraged through the Holy Spirit and are reminded that your gifting is so valuable to the church.
Looking forward to connecting more. Have joy in Jesus,
Nicole Stout
Communications Director
Lighthouse.Church
Glen Burnie, MD
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Production Schedule Example:
Production Schedule Template: