The advent of church media has created a whole new niche specialty—the tech-guru, ministry-oriented, servant-hearted, constantly-available, people-person, constantly-learning, gadget-laden, ultra-flexible, somewhat-cool, leadership-capable, detail-oriented, administratively-savvy, always-punctual, oh-so-dependable, and willing-to-do-it-all-for-no-pay-or-next-to-nothing. It’s the church Media Director.
It’s a tall order for anyone—heading up the church media department. The responsibilities are legion and the difficulties are many. But the rewards are there, too. Here’s how to spot the right person.
1. Look for someone who is, first of all, a growing Christian. Not just any tech savant can fill the order. First, you must find someone who puts Christ first in his or her life. Most likely, this person will be a member of your church who has been attending for some time, giving you the opportunity to evaluate his or her life.
2. Look for someone who is actively involved in church life. The person who volunteers for responsibilities, signs up for church workdays, and gets involved however they can is the person whom you can cultivate for specialized roles. They are eager to learn and willing to do what it takes to minister. Although everyone is busy and everyone has limitations to how involved they can be, a person who has the level of devotion and commitment is a key candidate for heading up a church media department.
3. Look for someone who is moderately tech-savvy. Tech-smarts is not always easy to spot. The most tech-savvy person is not necessarily the person who wears four gadgets on his belt, takes sermon notes on his laptop, and tells you that he has a T1 line in his basement apartment. The tech-savvy person may be a quiet, unobtrusive person whose mad-skills-tech-mind is hard to spot. Finding him or her can be tough. It may help to ask for volunteers for a tech-related project to see 1) who volunteers (and is thus willing), and 2) whose combination of Christian life and techno-skills are best suited to the role of media director.
4. Look for someone who has some capability in administration and leadership. By virtue of its title, “director,” the media person is going to have to do some administration. Even if you have a church of 25 and the media director will be the only tech-person in the church, he or she will probably have to interface with the pastor or secretary, or occasionally delegate a project or two. Administration savvy is also important. Organizational skills, promptness, responsiveness, and general calendar capabilities are essential.
5. Look for someone who is servant-hearted. Whether or not you can pay the individual is not as important as whether or not that individual is servant-hearted. Ministry, after all, is ministry—not a corporate ladder to climb.
In the end, you may not find a person who fits your ideal of the all-star Media Director. What you will find is that anyone—like everyone—has a lot of growing, a lot of shortcomings, but a whole lot of potential. Be patient, be willing to roll up your sleeves and do the work yourself, and be willing to pray for the right person.