Campus View Internship (Week 5 &6)

During my time as a social media intern at Campus View Church, I’ve gained a much clearer understanding of who the church’s key stakeholders are. At the heart of the organization are its members—ranging from long-time congregants to first-time visitors—as well as staff, ministry leaders, volunteers, and the broader Athens community. Another important group includes college students and young adults who engage with the church seasonally or while they’re studying at the University of Georgia. Each of these groups has unique needs, expectations, and preferred ways of receiving information. Recognizing these differences has been crucial in learning how to communicate effectively and meaningfully through various platforms.

My work in this internship is directly tied to reaching and engaging these stakeholders. By managing the church’s social media accounts and contributing to the digital newsletter, I play a role in making sure everyone—from a college student visiting for the first time to a parent involved in children’s ministry—feels informed and welcomed. One example is the creation of targeted social media posts for upcoming events. If we are promoting a women’s ministry gathering or a youth retreat, the language, tone, visuals, and even the platforms we use vary depending on who we want to reach. In addition, the weekly newsletter must remain concise and accessible, prioritizing clarity and relevance so that stakeholders stay engaged rather than overwhelmed by too much information.

Throughout the internship, I’ve learned that certain communication strategies are more effective than others depending on the audience. For the general congregation, consistency and clarity are key. Posting at regular times and maintaining a consistent visual brand builds trust and makes it easier for people to find and follow information. For college students and younger stakeholders, storytelling and authenticity resonate more strongly. We’ve found that short videos, behind-the-scenes looks at church life, or casual Instagram stories often get the most engagement from this demographic. For parents and families, timely and direct email communication seems to be most effective. This has taught me that understanding your audience’s habits, priorities, and digital fluency is essential to good communication.

Before starting this role, I assumed all stakeholders would engage similarly with church communications. However, since being in the position, I’ve realized how diverse the needs and behaviors of our audience truly are. Longtime members often look for tradition, structure, and formal updates, while newer or younger members value flexibility, personalization, and digital accessibility. Understanding these nuanced differences has challenged me to tailor messaging styles, test new content formats, and think more critically about how to segment communication.

One of the key issues that Campus View Church continuously navigates is how to stay relevant and accessible while remaining rooted in its identity as a faith-driven community. Public perception is important—not in a corporate branding sense—but because it shapes how people feel about engaging with the church, whether in person or online. In a media-saturated world, the church wants to cut through the noise with genuine, inviting, and purposeful communication.

To address this, I’ve seen the church focus heavily on intentional content creation. From using unified visual branding to posting more personal content like testimonies or ministry highlights, the team prioritizes building relational trust online. We’ve also implemented planning tools, like content calendars and scheduling apps, to ensure a consistent presence and improve responsiveness. These efforts have contributed to a more cohesive and thoughtful communications strategy.

These challenges have pushed me to think more holistically about communication—not just as a tool for information, but as a way to build relationships, trust, and spiritual connection. I’ve learned that effective communication in a ministry setting requires both creativity and discernment. Balancing engagement with integrity, and relevance with reverence, is a tension I’ve become more aware of and one that continues to shape my approach as a communicator in faith-based environments.

Glimpse of what I worked on this week: I restructured and designed the template for the Sunday morning Bulletin to incorporate our new logo and colors. I also took several new photos of members in our congregation and during service, as well as prepared and posted new content to social media. Here are some of the posts/covers that I uploaded these past few weeks!

CV Bulletin Template.pdf

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