As church communicators, we do a lot of tough things. We keep 3,574,045 bits of information in our brains at all times. We stay up super-late trying to come up with compelling social media posts that Facebook will actually, you know, show some people. We deal with strong personalities (read: pushy ministry leaders) and easily wounded staff people (read: arts team). (I was on the arts team, so I can say that kind of thing.)
And, on occasion, not nearly as often as we should, we tell someone, “No.” As a people pleaser, that’s easily the most difficult bit for me. I like to be liked and, in general, telling someone you’re not going to do what they want you to do isn’t exactly the easiest way to win friends.
But here’s the thing: Saying yes to everyone and everything all the time isn’t the best way to win friends, either. Eventually, balls will get dropped. Or you’ll implode. Or the wrong thing will get airtime and the right thing won’t. Really, saying “no” from time to time is the only way to keep everything afloat without losing your mind.
Yes, it’s difficult to deny requests. But it gets much easier if you know why you’re denying them. The only way to get to your “Why not?” is to get organized, y’all. That starts with having a clear understanding of what stuff at your church is eligible for what kinds of promotion and why. (You can learn way more about this in You’ve Got This: A Pep Talk for Church Communicators.)
Once you have that system nailed down, the next step is to start implementing it.
Here’s a great example of how to set up an organized system and process using the free service Trello:
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We originally shared this resource with our Courageous Storytellers members as part of our productivity month. It’s a useful example of the kind of super-practical resources you’ll get as a member. If you want more resources like this, consider joining Courageous Storytellers.
