When to email - When to call?

As I work with volunteers in ministry, especially with small group leaders, I make sure I stress to them the importance of interacting and communicating with their group members.  Relationships are so important for the success of most ministries in the church, and especially in small group ministry.

With that, I take time to talk with leaders about deciding HOW to communicate and interact with their group members.

Each person has their own relational preferences based on personality.  Some people are more extroverted and tend towards more personal forms of communication like phone calls, face to face conversations, hanging out with people, etc.  Some are more introverted and tend towards the more impersonal forms of communication like email, IM, Facebook, text messaging, etc.  

Neither of these is bad.  Like most things, each has its strengths and weaknesses.  

A person who more naturally favors the personal communication methods may find themselves overwhelmed by the time it takes to make all the connections they need to make and communicate all the information they need to communicate. This happens because these more personal interactions often produce longer conversations and more opportunities to minster deeply to someone.

A person who more naturally favors the impersonal doesn't stress over time, but can allow a very impersonal, distant feeling to develop within the group and miss some opportunities to minister deeply to someone.

Choosing a method for communicating should be based on the PURPOSE of the communication, not the individual's personality.

When to email, SMS, Facebok, etc.:

• when the purpose of the communication is largely informational
• group meeting times, reminders, prayer request lists, etc.

When to call or talk face to face:

• when the purpose of the communication goes beyond information and may be specifically relational
• to see how someone is doing, to pray for them, to encourage them, etc.

When the information is URGENT: (you need them to know something ASAP)

• Make a phone call or send SMS.  Do these in a way that let's you know the person received the information.  Avoid leaving messages, and ask for confirmation if you use SMS.
• Email, Facebook, voicemail, are not things that everyone checks religiously and are not the best avenue for urgent information.
• URGENT information is that which can't wait.  Could be a change in meeting time, or having to cancel on short notice, or an emergency situation for someone in the group, etc.

Jason Cooper

Posted via email from Cooper-ation | resourcing for ministry