No one wants to think about it. Much less talk about it.
What if one of your teens is critically injured on a retreat? What if a high profile member of your church is involved in financial impropriety? What if there is a moral failure in your leadership--real or accused--that goes public?
As much as we'd like to avoid it, there are churches who have found themselves having to deal with communications to the public on just those issues. And in a digital world, a story and all of its various speculations can travel far and wide in a matter of moments.
The time to make a plan is before you are faced with needing one. Consultant Gregg Shields--a specialist in crisis communication--frames it well. "Preparation is the key. Bomb squads train ahead of time." Most large companies develop crisis communications plans. For churches, it is essential, because shutting the world out with a "no comment" can cause as much damage as saying something foolish that gets replayed in all the media outlets. So, in this world of instant news, how can a church handle crisis communications while leveraging social media to help?
1) Tell it all. Tell it fast. And tell the truth. The phrase is ubiquitous in PR circles when referencing crisis communication. You can't manage information in a digital world. Concealing is not an option, and attempts to do so will make you seem disingenuous and often fuel the fire.
2) The lawyers will tell you to say nothing. Which is probably great legal advice, but it is terrible relationship advice. Your church has a relationship with the community and how you handle communication in the crisis will define how the relationship goes forward. Your lawyer's job is to minimize the financial cost. Your job is to minimize the relationship cost. You can comment. You can say something compassionate.
3) Put your statement up front on your website. People who have never even heard about you before will hit your site to see what you are saying about the matter. Make sure they have something to read in your own words rather than relying on the speculations of bloggers and tweeters.
4) Use your social media outlets to relay empathy. Stop your normal tweets and blog posts and put out a simple statement.
5) Develop a crisis communications team and have a designated spokesperson trained. Pastors are typically great communicators, but there is a different skillset needed to navigate the media. If you are a large church, you should consider hiring a reputable consultant and having your senior team trained. If you are a small church and don't have the budget, you can still spend some time with your leadership team in discussion and develop a plan. There are a number of different books that can help frame your discussions. Try Lipstick on a Pig by Torie Clarke, What Were They Thinking? By Steve Adubato, PhD or Now is too Late by Gerald Barron.
