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Finding Specialized Talent In The New Age of Church

This era of social distancing has been a catalyst for churches to launch online services, an enhanced social media presence, online giving, and other virtual resources. Even churches that had these technologies in place are looking to scale and improve them. So, what if you find yourself wearing all the hats with “tech guru” not quite part of your core skillset? If you don’t have a Facebook Live or YouTube expert on-hand, it’s time to consider a freelance professional.
Advice
March 29, 2022
Finding Specialized Talent In The New Age of Church

Here are a few roles where a freelancer could be the perfect solution:

#1 — Online Campus Pastor

Shepherding a congregation in person is different from hosting an online service and providing ministry in that setting. An Online Campus Pastor helps translate a standard in-person service to what will work best in an online setting. This individual may also serve as a host to greet people as they join the online service, field prayer requests and questions, and possibly even close the online service. This role requires someone familiar with live-streaming services, Facebook Live, YouTube, and other methods of hosting an online church service. Someone in this role should also be a pastor with ministry training.

#2 — Live-Streaming

If you weren’t live-streaming services online before the pandemic, you probably are now. That learning curve is a bit steep, and many churches have run into challenges along the way. If you’ve had to stop live-streaming due to technical issues or need help setting up a live-streaming option, a freelancer could save the day. Let someone who’s “been there, done that” hundreds of times get your church ready to live-stream services, train your team on how to maintain the system and run it each week, and be available to troubleshoot as needed.

#3 — Social Media Manager

Now that the majority of the communication with your congregation is online, you’ll want to ensure the content and engagement of your church’s social media channels is up to the challenge. An ideal candidate is someone well-versed in all the social media channels your church uses (and maybe a few more). Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube are a few examples. This may not be a full-time role or perhaps your current team simply doesn’t have the experience or bandwidth to manage these tasks right now. Hiring a freelance professional with this experience could help you connect more effectively with the congregation and community.

#4 — Video Editing

There’s a good chance you’re creating a whole lot more video content than ever before. If your team is burning out from having to teach themselves video editing while producing several videos a week, then it’s time to call in some help. A freelancer with years of experience editing videos can produce them faster and at a higher quality than someone just learning that skill (although major props to anyone who taught themselves editing on the fly!).

#5 — Graphic Design

Even with tools that make creating graphics easier for us non-designers, having someone with skill and training in graphic design is a huge plus. Social media posts, graphics for online services, and printables for parents to use with their kids are just a few examples of the content you likely need right now. An experienced graphic designer can create high-quality graphics sized for any medium. Even if you have a designer on your staff, they might be overloaded right now and would appreciate having someone to delegate a few projects to each month.

Bringing on a freelancer with specialized skills can augment your team with expertise or bandwidth they don’t have at this time. One other factor to consider is what happens in the unfortunate event you have to lay off staff. While the church may not be able to handle the financial cost of a full-time employee, you might have the funds to leverage the talents of a freelancer for a few hours per week. While this doesn’t fully replace the staff member you had to let go, it can help you keep moving the church forward until you can start hiring again.

We have freelancers who are passionate about ministry with skills and experience to serve your church with excellence. Search for your next freelance professional today.

Check out ShareTalent.co to find someone to serve your church today.