Recently I was out with my sister, and she asked me the question: “So what is it that you actually do?”
I get this a lot.
When I tell people what I do, it’s usually followed by: “why does a church need social media?” “What do you even do in a day?”
I explained some of my daily tasks to my sister when she asked this, and some other things I’ve gotten up to at work, and she said “Ok so your job is just miscellaneous then?”
Yeah… pretty much.
You never know what a day is going to bring. I can’t plan or prepare for many things, so I try to pray to start the day and ask that whatever I do today is what God wants.
A regular day? There’s no such thing!
It will usually begin with taking time to answer emails, check in with our social media platforms, and checking the calendar. If we have external bookings, rooms in use, or groups coming in to use the buildings, I’ll check in with these groups or staff and prepare the rooms they’ll be using.
I also check in with our lovely office volunteers and the wonderful Fiona. We all look after each other and work well together, making sure we’re as prepared as we can be for what the day brings – groups, visitors, friends, and many questions.
Much of my day will be spent answering enquiries, whether this be through emails, phone calls, or welcoming people through the door. Our visitors can be anyone from our church members to people walking by just interested in the building, to the many people armed with a ladder and a screwdriver to fix something, to those who see a church as a place of help and sanctuary. I am often able to point someone in the direction of the food bank, give contact details for Glasgow City Mission, or make myself available for a chat for those who are in need.
There are also those daily unpredictable visitors and questions – a recent one being “Hi there, can you check the date on my chewing gum packet?”
The other parts of the day you can find me sitting at the computer updating our website, sorting documents, general admin, and the pastors’ favourite part… creating posts for our social media. When they receive the ‘Morning, do you have 10 minutes today to film a video?’ message, they very graciously don’t run and hide! I love finding creative ways to share the gospel or about the life of our church, and more often than not, God shows me that He’s been in the creative and decision making process behind each post.
Each day working in the office is a privilege, and I think I say the phrase ‘every day is a school day’ every single day! I’m incredibly grateful that God has placed me here. This job and this church have strengthened my faith not only in God, but in His people. I can see His love in the people I meet and with those who interact online, and through this I learn more how to love those people with a Christ-like love too.
‘A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ – John 13:34-35
P.S. let me know if you ever have 10 minutes to film a video!