Church Staff Roles and the Digital Age

Originally posted on Communitas Technologies

I recently read a Harvard Business Review article stating, “Conventional job titles have become outdated in many different workplace contexts.” And I’ve seen in churches where Communications Director roles have turned into titles such as Creative Directors or even Creative Content Directors. Or even Online Campus Pastors with new titles such as Digital Discipleship Pastors.

But what really caught my eye was a line of the article summary that said, “The modern workplace is simply not a good fit for such rigid professional boundaries between coworkers and their respective responsibilities.”

How might that statement translate into the traditional silos of church staffing?

As you look back at how your church staff roles pivoted in the last two years (yes, I used that word), how many members of your team started working into blurred roles and responsibilities? And what might that mean as you continue to evolve your ministry offerings in the coming years?

There were three questions presented further in the article that I’d like you to consider as you ponder new job titles and responsibilities:

1. What current and future business (and or ministry) needs would this role directly solve?
2. Where else in the organization can this role have an impact?
3. What core competencies will make this individual (and, thereby, your company) successful?

Did you catch Question #2?

How does that question resonate with you regarding ministry, departmental, or age group staffing?

Putting It into Action

If the goal is to be congregant-centric, I will challenge that now is the time to consider how you might reorganize your staff teams for the new physical and digital worlds that we live in today.

And as someone who has worked in digital communications roles at churches in the past, I would recommend deepening your bench of folks who understand strategy, content, user experience, digital engagement, and analytics.

Try not to lean on just one person to support many teams. Consider building up these disciplines within each group. And then equip them to train up volunteer teams to become champions to engage your congregation further and send them out into your community.

While you’re at it, you need to review the technology you are using and how it might improve collaboration efforts within your staff and help you reach beyond just managing your church database.

Additional Things to Consider

Now is the time to begin looking at how technology might partner with your ministry staff and lay leaders to help your folks take ownership in their own spiritual growth and connect them deeper into Christian community.

Consider the options available that will take your church staff to the next level. Research the tools that can provide efficiency and help you achieve excellence.

Our Communitas Tech team knows a thing or two about helping churches use technology so they can help people live better lives. We'd love to chat with you and learn more about what success looks like for your church moving forward.

And to bring things full-circle, we propose the title of The Communitas Platform Manager for your ministry team leader, with the job description of helping you engage your church on and beyond Sundays by creating personalized ministry opportunities.