Do Churches Need PR?

Do Churches Need PR?

To answer the question, “Do churches need PR?” first we must be clear on what Public Relations (PR) is, and what it is not.

Firstly, PR is not and should never be: Spin, lies, manipulation or a defence mechanism for bad behaviour.

What is PR? According to The Public Relations Institute of New Zealand PR is “The deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding and excellent communication between an organisation and its publics.”  (https://prinz.org.nz/about-prinz/what-is-pr/)

Do churches need PR? Yes! In fact, excellent communication with stakeholders should be a critical part of every organisation, including churches. By building trust, understanding, and dialogue, church leaders can empower vision, reach goals, mitigate and manage risk, and ensure their church culture is safe, healthy, and Christ-like.

What does good PR look like?

• Having two-way communication channels with stakeholder groups, with clear processes and timeframes.
• Listening first as an organisation, and always responding humbly and gracefully to create mutual understanding.
• Taking accountability for actual wrongdoing, and faithfully implementing needed changes.
• Being transparent about changes, keeping stakeholders informed and part of the process.
• Media training spokespersons and having processes for responding to public external enquiries. 
• Identifying gaps and mitigating future issues and risks with good planning, processes, training and policies.
• Knowing your organisation’s scope, duty of care, and the boundaries within which it operates, and doing your best to execute well and in good faith.

What does a culture of bad PR look like?

• Leadership and decision makers avoiding issues management, or pretending there is no risk. Covering up, minimising or excusing bad or morally questionable behaviour.
• A culture of one-way communication or top-down communication without adequate two-way channels or bottom-up communication.  Silencing, minimising, ignoring or bullying those with concerns of complaints. 
• Disabling the organisation’s public contact details, blocking and deleting negative social media comments.
• Not returning media calls, emails, or public requests for information. Saying “no comment” to the media.

Everyone has a part to play in maintaining good organisational communication practices and PR - from the lead pastor, leadership teams, office staff, communication teams, and the board of directors. 

If you are unsure where to start or think your team could benefit from communications training, we recommend engaging Kingdom PR to complete a communications audit.

Kingdom PR is a New Zealand public relations agency that provides strategic public relations counsel and services to mission-centric organisations and spokespeople. We offer our clients strategic public relations planning, media training, stakeholder communications, and crisis management. Kingdom PR adheres to the PRINZ code of ethics.

Our first 30-minute Zoom consultation is complimentary and obligation-free.  Click here to book an appointment.