What’s your name?
Andrea Snedaker
Where do you serve, what is your title, and how long have you served there?
Vertical Church Gallipolis, Communications & Assistant, 18 months
How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t go to church?
My official title is Communications, but I feel like my job descriptions is “what do you need done and I’ll do it”. I am the pastor’s assistant, so I sit in on meetings, take notes, contribute where I can, manage his calendar, handle visiting preachers, etc. But with Communications I get to use my creative side. I do everything visual: Facebook graphics, website, advertising, decorating the buildings.
What were some of the things that you experienced that shaped the way you approach your work?
Firstly, my husband and I own two family restaurants. Owning a business and running a church are very similar. There’s a lot more under the surface that people don’t see, and that’s what I’m good at. Dealing with people is a big part of restaurant life, and so it is with church too.
Secondly, for the past nearly 15 yrs I’ve also had a photography business. This has taught me all that I know with designing, knowing what visuals will get noticed, etc.
What’s the one thing you wish people knew about your job?
I absolutely love it!! For a long time, I searched for my spiritual gift and wondered if I had anything that I could use to help me serve the church. I floundered for many years trying to find a spot for me. When we switched churches at the beginning of 2020 the pastor immediately recognized my talents and started finding things for me to do. I saw very quickly that this was my spiritual gift and God led me to this church so that I could use it to serve Him.
What is the one tool for your job that you can’t live without, and why?
Photoshop! As a photographer, I see the value in having something that is solely yours. The things that I create for our church are unique. Every graphic that I make I pray about and hope that each one represents what it was made for well.
What is the biggest mistake that you see churches making when it comes to communications and marketing?
They don’t have a big vision. When I took over our church’s website and Facebook page I immediately said we need a cohesive look. So I sat down with the pastor and said what do you want to covey. Then I came up with a shortlist of fonts, colors, shapes, and now every graphic is based off of those.
Who is someone that you look up to in the church communications world?
I’m still so new to this world, I don’t really know yet. I’ve learned a lot from the Facebook group and hope that I’m helping others with my knowledge. One of the things I’m working on is to start venturing more into the bigger cities’ church FB pages. I want to find a way to make our small town church feel more big city
You are meant to be a church communicator, Andrea! We appreciate people like you in the community who give their all to serve the church. Keep your creativity flowing so you can inspire more people.
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