Communicating Effectively During a Crisis: 8 Tips For Communicators & Leaders in the Church

By: Susan Becher Schultz, LCMS NJ District Communications Coordinator
Special thanks to Pastor Casey Kegley & Pastor Nathan Schultz for letting me pick their brains for this blog.

During times of crisis, especially one as imminent and widespread as the coronavirus, knowing how to communicate effectively with our communities can be difficult. As we grapple with loss of control over our schedules, careers, and finances, there’s a tendency to either over-communicate in order to gain back some sense of control, or to shut down and struggle to communicate at all. While both are understandable responses, there are many ways to communicate with our communities in ways that provide connection, togetherness, and support, without underlying attempts to fix the situation at hand. 
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1. Stay in touch with your audience, but don’t over-communicate. While times of crisis incite an understandable response of fear, part of our responsibility as communicators and leaders is to help ease that sense of fear through clear communication. By bombing inboxes with emails constantly, creating multiple social media posts and livestreams hourly, and frantically making phone calls, it is likely to pile on top of the already rising panic.
          Instead, develop a plan to communicate within reason. Are you producing a piece of content because it serves your community well or because you feel you have to be doing something at this moment? Would you want to be hearing from someone as often as you are sending out communication? While this is a time to communicate more than you normally would, this is not a time to create more panic in your community. 
2. Communicate any relevant news or updates in a clear and straightforward manner. Create a webpage on your website specifically for the crisis and keep it updated. Direct people to this page on your social media, website, and newsletter. Provide clear calls to action when posting about livestreams, events, meetings, etc., with properly linked buttons and hyperlinks. 
           While caring, thoughtful language should be used, don’t try to sugarcoat the crisis itself. We are dealing with a virus that is highly contagious at best, proven quite deadly at its worst. If we as communicators and leaders fully acknowledge the severity of the crisis at hand it sends a message to our communities that they too need to take it seriously and follow instructions to stay safe.
3. Acknowledge the fear and uncertainty of the situation. This is a time to be in solitude, reflection, and prayer. Not only are we in the midst of a pandemic, we are also in a time of Lent, where we are called to admit our brokenness, our limits as humans, and our weaknesses. A time when we need the solace of a God who sent His Son to walk through darkness, deep pain, and isolation before us yet still delivered on his promise of eternal life. As Christians we are equipped to sit with pain and truly acknowledge human suffering in all of its complexities. While there is always hope, we don’t downplay or ignore the very real suffering the world is experiencing at this moment.
4. Communicate to your specific community, do not try to emulate other pastors who have amassed thousands of online followers. Most likely the people who are joining your online services are those who are already part of your existing community, and those who are new are interested to see what your community looks like, not how cool or fancy you appear online. This shift to increased digital communication isn’t about becoming the hottest church on the internet, it’s about authentically communicating with your specific community who gather to connect with one another.
5. Use digital communication as a tool to connect with your community during this time, but rest assured this is not a tool to replace in-person community. Now is a great time to learn how to better utilize digital communication for your church and promote more community connection both online and in person when the quarantine lifts. While this crisis will surely change how we operate going forward, it has also made it clear how important it is to meet with one another in person. 
6. Don’t be the only voice your community hears from. Make sure to share resources from both leaders outside of your immediate community and from members within your community. One person cannot be the expert on everything, especially with so many unknowns. Share resources that have been of help to you as you navigate these uncertain times and encourage your community to digitally connect or call one another outside of online church gatherings. 
7. Find ways to listen more than you speak. Ask your community how you can improve in communicating with them. This may be asking them via digital communication or through an actual phone call or Facetime. Invite them to ask you questions and give suggestions on how you can better connect with them. Each church has members with specific needs so make a point to speak with them on how you can meet their needs now that you can no longer meet in person
8. Provide your community with resources on how they can help, give, and contribute. While we practice social distancing and stay home in order to love our neighbors during this time, we also acknowledge there are plenty of needs that we can help to fill financially or by other means. Create a list of resources on your website, or via a Google Doc or shareable PDF, to share with your community. Continue to update this list with ways to give as you discover those who are in need. While many of us can’t be on the front lines of this crisis, there are always ways to help those in need.

       This is unnavigated territory for all of us. As communicators and leaders we aren’t immune to the same feelings of those we communicate with. While it is our job to convey connection, community, and hope during this time of crisis, let us openly admit that we are human and by no means have the ability to fix this crisis. After we do all we can to communicate and connect with our communities, we too have a call to reflect, do less, and care for ourselves during this time. Please stay home as much as possible, stay healthy, and stay in touch - we’re all in this together.

​I hope you found this blog helpful, thank you for taking the time to read! Email me at [email protected] with any questions, suggestions, or thoughts on future blog topics.

Susan Becher Schultz began working at the LCMS NJ District and The Kairos Network as a Communications Coordinator in April of 2019. Before moving to New Jersey with her husband Rev. Nathan Schultz, she worked for a revenue operations startup as well as a digital marketing startup, both based in the St. Louis area. She also owned and operated her own floral design business, Simple Unity, from 2015-2019. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2013 with a Bachelor’s in Textile and Apparel Management and a minor in Business.