Our Courageous Storytellers Membership Site is focused on leadership this month. Sometimes it can be hard for communicators—especially beginners—to think of themselves as leaders. So Courageous Storytellers has a number of resources, from how to respond to being told ‘no,’ to how to get buy-in for your strategies. We wanted to dive deeper on Church Marketing Sucks and explore some of the challenges that church communicators face as leaders.
Today we’re talking with Lucinda Rojas Ross. She serves as the central team leader of communications at Life.Church. Lucinda has been at Life.Church since 2012, and before that worked in public relations. She’s a Texas native, a happy wife and mom, and a lover of books and music. You can follow her on Instagram or Facebook.
What’s the most helpful thing you’ve learned about leading a team?
If I’m truly focused on the mission and living out what God has planned for Life.Church, I have to remember it’s not about me. It’s not about where I’m comfortable. My comfort zone is squarely in leading projects and “getting stuff done.” I’m learning to step out of that comfort zone and relying on his strength to move into the uncomfortable. In other words, I’ve got to be willing to step into different seasons of leadership while staying grounded in who God created me to be.
My Pastor Craig Groeschel says it best, “Growth and comfort never coexist. If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” Embracing that has helped me push into a new level of leadership and tap into a capacity I didn’t know was there. Right now, that means I’m growing toward developing people instead of managing projects. It’s challenging me, but I know I’ll look back and see how God is using this season for his glory.
It seems like not doing everything yourself is an important part of leadership. So how do you delegate and successfully recruit volunteers?
Delegation is absolutely a key part of growing as a leader. Like many other people, it’s something that’s a challenge for me for a couple reasons. First, I love the feeling of checking a task off a list, especially if it’s something in my sweet spot. Secondly, I enjoy serving people by taking things off their plates, so the idea of delegating can feel like I’m burdening others.
But I’ve learned to shift my perspective on delegation. Ultimately, it’s more about growing the team and less about my short-term satisfaction. If I take the time to invest in someone else by coaching them through a project, I’m empowering them to grow. Every time I choose to do something that someone on my team (or a volunteer) could have done, I’m stealing an opportunity to help them learn. Even more, I’m taking away a chance for them to flourish in an area where they may be uniquely gifted.
This perspective extends into volunteer recruitment as well. We want to give people opportunities to serve in an area that aligns with their gifts. When someone has the desire take their next steps in serving God’s kingdom, we need to give them chance to do so.
When I look at it from that point of view, I’m not serving anyone well by holding on to things I enjoy. While there could be a small dip in quality initially, it’s how your team’s capacity will grow.
Conflict inevitably comes up between church staff/volunteers and church leadership. As someone in the middle of that dynamic, what advice do you have for communicators who may find themselves clashing with their pastors?
I’d encourage my fellow communicators to start by taking a step back to re-center yourself on the mission. Remember that we’re all pursuing the same goal: sharing the love of Christ with the world.
Secondly, ask yourself some questions to challenge your perspective. How do I really feel about this conflict and why? Have I let something in my heart go unattended? Could this be a matter of ego? Really check your motives before moving on.
With perspective, we can gain some altitude and think about things like: What problem are we really trying to solve? Are there other solutions that we should bring to the table? What am I missing that my pastor might be seeing? How can I best serve my leadership in this situation?
Remember, healthy conflict isn’t a bad thing. When it’s grounded in trust, it can be a catalyst for improving each other’s ideas and opinions. That kind of collaboration is how we develop the best outcomes.
What’s the biggest challenge in church leadership today?
We’re asking ourselves what engagement looks like when people have so many demands on their time and attention. Pastor Craig has really been challenging us to question the notion that attendance drives engagement. That’s not necessarily true anymore. Today’s reality is that when people are engaged, they’re more likely to attend consistently.
To that end, we’re exploring ways to engage people outside of the hour they spend at Life.Church each week. In other words, how do we reach them in the other 167 hours of the week?
One way is through the launch of a new part of our website with articles to bring discipleship into people’s everyday lives. We’re using social media to share those posts where they already are. We’re also using content marketing to help people take action, whether it’s helping them take next steps or letting them know how we can partner with them in raising their kids. We’re continuing to invest in opportunities for community through small groups. And we’re exploring how our app can not only enrich their weekend experience but also support their growth all week long.
Through all of this, our goal isn’t to add to the distraction in their lives but to help them realign with why they came to church in the first place—to experience the freedom and hope that only Christ can bring.
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Check out our Courageous Storytellers Membership Site for more help with leadership. Every month we add new resources and the site becomes more valuable. Join today!
