Having a vision for your church media department is essential. It helps everyone on your church media team to be on the same page and work together strategically toward your unified church goal. By evaluating and defining your church media vision, you’ll be able to implement strategies and goals to best serve your congregation.
Many churches jumped into live streaming at the start of the Covid pandemic as a way of staying connected to their congregations when everything went into lockdown. But here we are three years later, and many churches are still doing the weekly broadcast the same way they did in 2020.
If your church was already broadcasting or filming at that point then you might have added some extra temporary things to your setup to improve it, but the temporary setup is now causing real frustrations due to its limitations. Yet, the Pastor’s response is often “if it’s not broken, why fix it.”
Church streaming is here to stay for most churches so there needs to be a new approach that allows us all to move away from doing the bare minimum just to get by. I understand the reluctance to invest in tech. We all know we need to move forward so what do we do?
Table of Contents
Here’s a three-step approach to help you craft a definitive media vision for your church or ministry:
Church Media Vision Step #1 – Celebrate Achievements
Celebrate what your church has achieved despite many hurdles. Spend time being thankful and grateful, and share stories of lives changed. Starting here before you do anything else will set the tone for your discussions.
Church Media Vision Step #2 – Discuss the Challenges
Have an honest and open discussion on the challenges you have all faced. Listen to each other and make understanding, not agreement, the aim for this part of your time together. This is essential to build unity in your teams.
Church Media Vision Step #3 – Cast a Vision
Spend time casting a vision for the future. Concentrate on what that vision is, not on the tech or any other “detail” of what you need to deliver the vision. Dream big and come up with a collective vision for where you want to be in two years’ time that all the stakeholders agree with.
The outcome of this process will be a plan everyone works from to develop a strategy on how you will achieve the shared vision. The strategy will include tech upgrades, content changes, team training and development, and much more – but it will all be coming from a place of excitement for WHAT is possible as you now have a shared vision, and an understanding of why these things are needed to deliver the vision.
The solution to the disconnect between church leaders and church tech teams over the question of if and when they should upgrade their media setup is clear communication. You need to work together to formulate a church media vision for your church that can move you forward.
I want to acknowledge the incredible job the church has done to cope with the pandemic and get up and running with its broadcasting. It is remarkable what you have achieved. I honor both the church techs and the leaders for what they have done, but we need to ensure that the great work started continues on into the future.
Takeaways for Building a Church Media Vision
Takeaway #1 – Having a vision for your media program is essential to get everyone on the same page and working together strategically towards your goal.
Takeaway #2 – The disconnect between church leaders and church tech teams over the question of if and when they should upgrade their media setup can be solved through communication.
Takeaway #3 – Celebrating what you have achieved, having an honest and open discussion on the challenges you have all faced, and spending time casting a vision for the future are essential steps to craft a definitive church media vision for your organization.
The outcome of this process will be a plan everyone works from to develop a strategy on how you will achieve the shared vision. For more details on how to solve the challenges of building an excellent church media vision, download Graeme’s ebook today.
Why Attend WAVE? (What makes us different)
The WAVE conference focuses on audiovisual and lighting first and is a traditional conference and expo with the best church AVL exhibitors and vendors in the industry. At WAVE, you and your tech team will have the time to talk with exhibitors because our expo floor is less crowded and better organized than other AVL conferences. WAVE offers the opportunity to see what others are doing and even boasts and church tour local to the conference. Experience roundtable discussions during meals and after sessions. Visit the biggest manufacturers in your area. Maximize your team’s time for education, training on equipment, and industry connection and collaboration. Lastly, WAVE offers incredible value for the education, exhibit access, networking, worship, and amenities for the price of the ticket. Lastly, we at WAVE want to see your church grow, help others find God, and feel personal satisfaction with their jobs by being educated and connecting within the AVL church tech industry. Register for WAVE today!
Graeme Spencer
Graeme Spencer is the founder of Media Mentoring and a pioneer in Christian Media with over 25 years of experience. With a particular skill in live television, he has produced and directed some of the largest Christian events over the past three decades. Having worked in the USA, UK, Europe, Africa, Israel, Hong Kong, India, South America, and Australia, Graeme is highly regarded within the industry as a Christian media professional. Grab his free ebook on media mentoring here. He has produced thousands of hours of world-class Christian television, won numerous awards, and worked with some of the best-known Christian ministers. Before founding Media Mentoring, Graeme was the Chief Operating Officer of GOD TV.
