Why Communication Matters for Ministry Leaders
Words: 1,531 | Reading Time: 6 Mins 7 Sec
According to Barna Research, only “12% of pastors say they are very effective in encouraging Christians to share their faith.” (Barna, August 16, 2024) Twelve percent. That number stopped me in my tracks when I read it.
It tells me we collectively have a significant communication problem in the Big “C” Church, and a discipleship problem right behind it. (While I will touch on discipleship briefly here, you may want to read THIS ARTICLE because it explores more deeply how communication shapes our approach to discipleship in the modern world.)
It also makes me wonder if consumerism has quietly shaped the way we communicate as the Church. Maybe you are asking how I make that connection.
Consumerism is based on speed and distraction. Speed to get the product in front of the consumer, and packaging that could distract from the original purpose of the product. While good packaging can appeal rather than distract, I am going to be focusing on the distraction for this article.
When consumeristic tendencies influence the way we communicate, they take a toll on the clarity of the gospel. That is why we must be intentional about strengthening both internal and external communication.
I tend to explain it like this:
Internal (Organizational Communication): Building up the saints.
External (Marketing Communication): Reaching others for Christ.
Understanding this distinction helps us diagnose why communication breaks down in churches and how to strengthen it. For instance, a church might have a beautifully designed outreach campaign, but if internal communication is unclear, the staff and volunteers cannot support it effectively. These two disciplines operate in different spaces — internal communication shapes culture and health, external communication shapes mission and outreach. When we understand that Internal and External Communication are not the same thing, and when we treat them as interchangeable, or ignore them, the Big “C” Church suffers. Every Christian is a communicator, and ministry leaders help shape communication culture in their church communities.
Every Christian is a communicator.
Organizational Communication applies to internal leadership, vision casting, and the relationships that form the core of a church community. In the corporate world, entire departments depend on organizational communication to keep information aligned, especially during restructuring or when Human Resources delivers essential benefits and updates. The same is true in ministry. When we underestimate communication at the organizational level, we shortchange the health and success of the ministry itself.
Analytics do not matter if there is no foundational structure supporting them. Clear internal communication creates stability, direction, and trust. It becomes the foundation that allows external communication to flourish.
Marketing Communication aligns with the call to evangelize and expand outreach through the modern tools available to us, including social media and digital platforms that help us reach the unchurched and raise awareness of what God is doing. Clear and intentional communication is essential for ministries and churches to connect, inspire, and lead well.
And those communities we are called to reach include “all nations.” (Matthew 28:19–20, ESV)
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
Why do we doubt this? Communication is not limited to someone standing on a platform teaching or preaching. It begins and ends in relationship. Our relationship with the one who gave us authority through Jesus Christ. We have responsibility to relationship. Jesus ties discipleship to communication through teaching, sharing, abiding, and demonstrating. The Great Commission is, at its core, a communication mandate. It calls us to evaluate what the fruit in our life is communicating.
Communication doesn't just start and stop with standing on a platform. It begins and ends in relationship.
Relationship is the glue that holds everything together for us.
The design nerd in me wants to pause for a moment and define the word relationship.
relationship
noun
The way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.
Example: “The study will assess the relationship between…”
Similar terms: connection, relation, association, link, correlation, correspondence, parallel, alliance, bond, interrelation, interconnection
Seeing the term relationship defined reminds me of John 15:1-17
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, that person bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, that person is thrown away like a branch and withers. The branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain. Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. These things I command you so that you will love one another.”
If relationship is the framework Jesus uses to help us understand discipleship, understanding it clearly matters. When we hold Jesus’ words in John 15 beside the way we communicate today, it forces us to ask some honest questions:
Could it be that we have doubted or forgotten our call because we have reduced Communications to marketing alone?
Could it be that we are neglecting our responsibility to steward resources well when we do not prioritize healthy communication?
Could it be that our relationships suffer because we have not recognized how we contribute to communication breakdowns?
Could it be that, as Christian leaders, our audience (our flock) struggles to see how they are part of sharing the story because we have leaned into comfort (“how we’ve always done it”) and consumerism?
Could it be that we have become too excited about data and forgotten our humanity by turning people into numbers and ministry into programs when we overemphasize marketing?
Could it be that we have overlooked the strategy behind effective communication, allowing connectedness to be reduced to last-minute tasks and siloed or “one-man” teams?
When internal communication falters, discipleship falters. When external communication isn’t prioritized or shallow, evangelism suffers. We cannot succeed in one without investing in the other. If we want to be faithful to the Great Commission, we cannot treat communication as an afterthought. It is part of our calling.
YOUR CALL TO ACTION:
Reflect on your current communication practices and seek ways to improve them for the sake of your flock’s impact. Ask God to reveal areas of communication that you have not prioritized or entrusted to Him.
Do you prioritize organizational communication as well as marketing communication? Do you see the need for either? Why or why not?
Choose one internal or external communication practice to change this week; share it with someone in your community; then consider reading 6 Areas Where Communication Is Most Often Overlooked next week to go deeper.