Blog Trust

By Mark McPeak

My predecessor at IM worked under the title “director of public relations.” When I took the job, we changed the moniker to “director of communications.” Over the last couple of years, I’ve come to the conclusion the name should be changed to “director of trust.”

Communication is foundational to trust. I know, I know. What we do is absolutely the most critical component of trustworthiness. However, if we fail to communicate, we leave a vacuum—an open space people simply must fill. So, when an organization (or church or political candidate) acts on an initiative, people who are not “in the know” fill the vacuum. Usually with something less than positive:

“They just want power and money,” or “They don’t care about us.”

Effective communication helps avoid this vacuum. We make intentional efforts to listen first, then help people see what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and what we hope to accomplish.

Ongoing communication shapes perceptions. I have often told church leaders, “If you don’t tell people in your neighborhood who you are, they are left to make their own assumptions. And they usually fill the vacuum with false and negative ideas. Regularly telling people who you are, coupled with good deeds, creates trust.”

My team’s current challenge is telling the story of our mission and missionaries to a large, diverse, and sometimes hard-to-reach constituency. What we do dramatically impacts lots of people. We’re on the move, making decisions and trying to reach the world for Christ. Our actions and initiatives are not always understood.

I wish I could sit down with every pastor and leader and share the heart of who we are and what we’re doing. For now, we’ll have to trust the Lord to use our communications initiatives to keep building trust.