5 Characteristics of a Great Church Comms Director | Tika Stock

Podcast Notes

What actually makes a great church communications director? It is not the ability to open Photoshop. It is not a degree in English. And it is definitely not saying yes to every last minute request that hits your inbox on a Friday.

In episode 187 of the Missional Marketing Podcast, Bart Blair and Jason Hamrock sit down with Tika Stock, a church communications coach on the Missional Marketing team. Tika spent seven years as a comms director for a church in Philadelphia, and now consults with churches across the country, helping communications directors build structure, sharpen strategy, and grow into the role instead of drowning in it.

Together they unpack the five characteristics that separate a good church comms director from a great one. These are not technical skills. They are the soft skills most job descriptions never mention, and they determine whether you spend your ministry on a hamster wheel or leading a team that moves your church forward.

THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

1. STRATEGIC

Great comms directors get out of the weeds long enough to see the whole calendar. Tika challenges church communicators to stop doing events for the sake of events and start asking what the next step is for everyone who attends one. What is the entry point after VBS? How does the men’s conference connect to your discipleship pathway? When promotion aligns with your mission and vision, you stop reacting and start leading. Jason adds an exercise: treat ministry leaders like clients, and get ahead of the calendar a month, a quarter, and a year out.

2. EMPOWERING

This one is hard for a lot of comms directors, and it is usually perfectionism talking. Tika makes the case that empowering volunteers is not just good management, it is good shepherding. When you hand off a graphic or a social post, you give someone else a chance to use their gifts in the local church. Jason shares what a lead pastor once told him: if you cannot delegate, you are a liability. Bart names the cultural problem underneath. We never hire a student pastor and expect them to do all the work alone, or a worship pastor and expect them to play every instrument. So why hire a communications specialist and expect them to do it all?

3. ORGANIZED

Nobody argues with this one, but plenty of people avoid it. Organization takes time up front and pays you back all year. If systems and task management are not your giftedness, do not push it aside. Build the habit, or empower someone who has that skill set, even a volunteer or a contractor for five hours a week. Bart adds a sixth characteristic on the fly: self awareness. If you cannot see your gaps, you cannot build around them.

4. CREATIVE

You do not have to be the most creative person in the room. You do have to know good work when you see it, cast vision for it, and give useful feedback to the designers, writers, and photographers around you. Jason makes the case for churches becoming a branded house instead of a house of brands, and argues creativity is as much about momentum as design. Tika makes the case for protecting blue sky meeting time.

5. ADAPTABLE

Plans change. Pastors change. Platforms change. Tika talks about holding strategy with an open hand, and knowing the difference between healthy flexibility and a culture where everything changes constantly. Jason pairs adaptability with servant leadership, and Bart connects it to the reality that much of your job lives on platforms you do not control.

Whether you have been a comms director for fifteen years or fifteen days, this is a practical, encouraging look at the skills worth building on purpose.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

The Six Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni

The 4 Disciplines of Execution, and setting a wildly important goal (WIG) for your comms team

The Proximity Principle by Ken Coleman, plus Bart’s homework: list the people who embody the characteristics you want to grow in, then spend more time with them

Reaching the One: A Guide to Digital Outreach and Evangelism for the Local Church by Bart Blair and Jason Hamrock, on Amazon

JOIN US AT THE CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE

September 23 to 25 in Kansas City. Three days with other church communicators who understand the seat you are sitting in. Every attendee gets a free copy of Reaching the One. If you live within driving distance, a one day pass is available for Thursday, September 24. Details at churchcommunications.com.

ABOUT THE MISSIONAL MARKETING PODCAST

For over six years, Bart Blair and Jason Hamrock have been helping churches grow by leveraging digital marketing and effective communication. Each episode brings practical strategy for church communications directors, pastors, ministry leaders, and volunteer teams.

If this was helpful, subscribe so you do not miss what is coming next, and share it with a comms director who needs to hear it.

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