Episode 0009 Joanna la Fleur on Church Communications, Helpful Tips for a Volunteer Social Media Team, and Practical Ways to Encourage One Another

 

Welcome to Episode 9 of the FOUR12 Canada Podcast

NOTE: This episode was recorded earlier this year.

Listen to the podcast and access the show notes here or search for the FOUR12 Canada Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

We are so excited to share this conversation with Joanna la Fleur! She is a creative communicator from Toronto, Canada. Kim had the privilege of meeting her at Faith Baptist Church at a training event for our hosting teams in February. Joanna has a podcast and she is on the Christian talk show "See Hear Love". She served at Sanctus Church, then stepped into her current role to help others. For 15 years, Joanna has helped churches become the best possible communicators sharing the most important message in the world.

  

Connect with Joanna

 WEBSITE | PODCAST | INSTAGRAM 

Links from the Podcast

Fluid Conference

Canadian Church Leaders Conference

Our Common Calling 

Recommended Reading

Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull

Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion by Wayne Cordeiro

Better Together: How Women and Men Can Heal the Divide and Work Together to Transform the Future by Danielle Strickland

God Has a Name by John Mark Comer

 

PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS

Things Have Changed in Church Communication

• We used to call people weekly on the phone
• Now we can learn on the go
• Communicate in the digital world because that's where people are now

Finding Yourself in Volunteering

• Volunteering is a place to find yourself and understand what you are good at and not good at, learning your strengths and weaknesses
• Balance volunteering and everything else in life
• Be committed

Effective Ways to Encourage Volunteers

• Use food as a way to bring people together and remind them why we are here
• Look people in the eye and thank them like you mean it!
• Show sincere gratitude
• Send thank-you cards

"Most people are serving because they want to, not for a gift card."

Developing a Social Media Team

• This is a primary way to communicate with people now
• Pick one platform and do it well before trying to do them all
• Make a realistic plan (e.g., start with Facebook and or Instagram, depending on the demographics of your church)
• To develop a team, ask, "Who already does this well? Who's active on the social media platforms we want to use? Are they trustworthy? Can they write interesting things...and put a proper sentence together?"
• Talk to people in person and let them know they do a great job, so this team might be a good fit for them
• This is a great way for the church to use people's different skills and interests
• Consider getting your name on all the platforms so that if you want to use it in the future you have the handle

"As a church, we want to talk to people where they are"

Practical Ways to Get Started

• Plan out posts in advance (e.g., use a spreadsheet)
• Write out what you want to say on each post and check to make sure it matches the voice of the church
• Build a Google photo drive to share pics that could be posted
• Get a leader to provide some direction on the church's values
• Keep a consistent voice regardless of who is posting

Practical Ways to Encourage Those Around You

• If you see something that was great, say something!
• Get in touch and encourage them right away

Thanks for listening! We hope this episode has equipped you for greater influence through serving. We don’t want you to miss a single episode so if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Help us reach more people by writing a review for the podcast! The FOUR12 Canada podcast is a ministry of Faith Baptist Church in Huntsville Ontario. Explore everything FOUR12 Canada at four12.ca. Thanks for spending some time with us. See you next time!

 

Up Next Season 1 Episode 10: Dom Ruso on Leadership and Culture and How that Impacts the Church, Not Moving Forward Yet but Instead Cultivate Interior Character and Trust God in the Season of Waiting