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The longer I spend in ministry, the more I realize the value of having good people around you. Some of the best ideas, projects, and overall seasons in my church’s creative team haven’t come from me, but from getting other people involved.

For creatives and techies, it can be really easy for us to take the lone-ranger approach and try to make everything happen on our own. We tell ourselves “it’s just easier for me to do it” or “I don’t want to bother others.” But, if we’re really honest, we know that we can only do so much. We only have so much time, so much knowledge, so much ability.

When you surround yourself with the right people, you set yourself up to dream more, create more, and do more. Here are four kinds of people you need around you as you serve in creative ministry:

1. Someone Who Has Your Back

A sidekick. A wingman. A friend. Whatever you want to call them, you need someone by your side serving in ministry with you. You need someone that has just as much fun as you do entering lyrics into ProPresenter or designing a new logo or scheduling Planning Center. Having this person around you will keep things fun and keep you from getting burned out.

2. Someone More Experienced Than You

One of the best ways to develop your craft is to spend time around someone who’s better at it than you. You need someone who is a season ahead of you who can give tips, share tricks, and keep you from making silly mistakes. This person may be serving in another church near you or is someone you connect with online (possibly in a Facebook group). Because creative ministry includes so many different skills, I like to connect with several people – some are great with video, some with web, others with graphics.

3. Someone You’re Training Up

One of the biggest mistakes that I made in my early days in ministry was trying to do everything myself. I took pride that I was the only one in our church who could run the projector and make bulletins. What a recipe for disaster! Always be looking for someone that you can get involved in what you’re doing. See the potential in the people in your church and be willing to spend time training them to serve with you. Having this person around will lighten the workload and gives you an opportunity to invest in someone.

4. Someone That’s A Spiritual Rock

It can be easy to get so caught up in the work of ministry that you find yourself disconnected from the God that you’re serving. Even more, because you’re involved in church so much, your heart can quickly become calloused to God moving around you. One of the most important people you need around you is someone who can remind you that everything you’re doing is all about Jesus. Having a spiritual rock in your circle will keep you focused on Christ and help you make godly decisions.

Do you have these people around you in your creative ministry?
Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Kendall Conner

What do you get when you combine production, design, and communications together with a passion for the Church? It turns out, this is the precise formula to make up Kendall Conner. For over 20 years, this Christ-led creative has been bridging the gap between media and ministry. In addition to serving as the creative pastor in his local church, he is the Chief of Operations for Church Motion Graphics, a ministry-focused design studio that serves thousands of houses of worship around the globe. Kendall specializes in equipping church media leaders and volunteers to utilize creativity in their services to share the hope of Jesus.

10 Comments

  • Anthony says:

    #3 is so important! I don’t know where I’d be if someone didn’t take a chance on me.

  • Matt Smith says:

    Solid thoughts, Kendall! Thank you for lending your experience and wisdom. Blessings on your ministry, and keep posting! I always appreciate your material!

  • Tayo says:

    Thanks sir,i Just really need to WORK ON all of these,to remain relevant.

  • roberto matarrita says:

    Awesome tips, page, everything.
    Our church is very small, with no budged for media, so i am starting to learn all this.
    thank you.

  • Pam Selthun says:

    I have been following your posts for the last few months, and find them incredibly helpful. We’re launching the next step in our worship presentation via Planning Center and Projector. If you have any tips, would love to hear them! Building a team is important, and I totally agree with you on mentoring. My graphic design intern and I can accomplish so much more together, and even though I know I’ll have another student to train again soon, we have both grown during the process.

  • I’d add “Someone critical of your ideas.” We are always quick to get rid of guys like this…but they are quite valuable. They naysayers are great for checks and balances. They keep us on our toes – but they also make a good idea better at times – or keep bad ideas from happening.

  • Will says:

    I would love to know where I could meet up a Creative Pastor/ Director that could mentor me. Any ideas where I could find this help?

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