We’ve been connecting with church communicators each week this summer with our ‘A Week in the Life’ series.
Today we hear from Bonni Mace. She’s the communications leader at The Church at Severn Run outside Baltimore. We talked to Bonni in the ‘Awesome Communicator’ episode of the Church Marketing Podcast.
What’s on your plate this week?
My typical week is pretty jam-packed full of excitement! It changes every single week, and the week ahead for me is full of VBS prep, but here’s my typical set-up:
- Monday: Get stuff done day! My Monday priorities are making sure that my teams are in a good spot and ministries are cared for in the church-wide communications standpoint. I will spend time going through our announcement requests and pushing them to proper channels: weekly program (bulletin), social media, web, video announcements, etc. Then I will hop on over to Basecamp, where my volunteer teams live and get stuff done, and respond to any questions there as well as put out new tasks or team maintenance along the way. From there, I try to get through as many emails as possible, and then the day is basically gone!
- Tuesday: Meeting day. In the morning I’m part of our weekly Sunday planning meeting. We work out message content, creative elements, worship, announcements, etc., starting eight weeks out and then moving to the upcoming Sunday each week. Lunch. Then department heads meeting where all of our staff department heads touch base for an hour each week. From there I have an all-staff meeting each week where we share a devotional and generally learn some leadership/team building 101 together.
- Wednesday: We’re in the middle of a two-year capital campaign right now, so Wednesday mornings I’m in with the “On The Road” team talking about next steps and events related to our campaign. Wednesday afternoons are usually spent doing office tasks like receipts and spending requests or in face-to-face catch up with my team leads or ministry leaders.
- Thursday: Thursdays are my Fridays! Through the summer my executive pastor is hosting a communicators workshop type thing where myself and other on-stage speakers are sharpening our public communication skills. Then the afternoons are spent doing design work, and lots of odds and ends that are needed to make Sundays happen.
- Friday: Nothing. This is my all important Sabbath day. I try not to even open my email or texts that are work related. I rest and try to get away and do something that recharges me for the upcoming week.
- Saturday: Family day with my husband! Another day off.
- Sunday: Three worship services that are kicked off with a last minute production meeting at 9 a.m. to make sure speakers, worship team and tech are all on the same page. We rock through three services, all the exact same, and then are usually out of our building by 2:15 p.m. From there it’s naps and recharging to do the whole thing over again the next week!
What are you most excited about right now?
Change! Our church has been growing like crazy the last year or two and it’s been a lot of work to keep up with what God is doing. I’m super excited because we just hired our second creative staff person who is going to take on production of our Sunday worship services, previously a huge part of my job. It’s going to be great to have another team member who can give 100% to production since I was unable to do so before. This also means that I get to start giving my communications teams more of my attention again! It’s a small win and not many people in our congregation even know it’s going on, but it’s a huge win for the creative/communications/production departments at our church.
What’s holding you back this week and how will you overcome it?
The tyranny of the urgent continuously holds me back. My to-do list is always long and impossible to conquer every week as one human being, and it’s something that I’m learning how to trim down right now. I just read an amazing book by Ali Worthington called Breaking Busy: How to Find Peace and Purpose in a World of Crazy, and I recommend it to my fellow communication folk (especially you solo staffers). She really helps you focus in on your purpose and calling. I’m taking those principles and learning how to say “no” to more and more things to make sure that my central purpose as the communications leader is continually fulfilled in the timeline that I promise.
What does your work space look like right now?
I hate my work space! Haha! I’ve finally gotten permission to rip out this horrible counter top and get a real desk this fall, so I’m really looking forward to that, but here it is. Not the creative dream that I always pictured in college at all.
We asked Bonni to share a picture of her work space and specifically asked her not to spruce it up for the picture. She shared two pictures. Here’s her desk at work. Click to see a larger version of Bonni’s work space.
Here’s another view. Click to see a larger version.
I didn’t even Instagram filter it or set up the softbox I have in the corner, so this is the real deal, y’all! Come back in September and ask me what it looks like again. I’m really looking forward to “Fixer Upper: Communications Office Edition.” The coolest part of my office right now is that sermon graphic that I made in real life hiding behind that file holder deal. It says “Tension of Truth” and yes I did make string art to bring it into being!
