Healthy church media rules: a free agreement for your pastor and media team
Twelve plain rules for what a church shares online and on screen, each with one thing to check on Sunday, a sign-off line for your pastor and media lead, and notes for liturgical churches, several campuses, a solo volunteer and a church with a school or daycare.
Free printable PDF
Healthy church media rules
What is inside
- Twelve short rules, each with one line for what it looks like on Sunday
- Honesty, permission before faces, care with children and hard moments, and prayer requests that stay private
- Copyright, captions and contrast, kind comment moderation, a day without posting and a pause plan for a crisis
- A sign-off for the pastor and the media lead, and notes for liturgical churches, several campuses, a solo volunteer and a school or daycare
Enter your email and confirm a code to download. We email you a copy the first time each day.
What the checklist covers
Honesty and people
- Post only what is true, and check numbers against the source (a UK example: the Church of England's digital charter asks for posts that are fair and factual; see Sources).
- Quote the speaker's exact words, label a paraphrase, and never change what they meant.
- Ask before you show a face. Get a parent's or guardian's permission for a child's picture (USCCB) and permission from adults before a photo is taken (Thirtyone:eight). Take extra care at prayer, an altar call, a baptism or a funeral, and never post a prayer request without the person's permission.
Rights and access
- Songs, images, fonts and video clips each have their own permission. A CCLI streaming license does not cover other types of copyrighted work. Information, not legal advice.
- Add captions to video, alt text to images and enough contrast between text and background (W3C accessibility guidance).
- Write down what you hide or delete in comments, and reply kindly.
Pace, crisis and final say
- Choose a day each week with no posting and no replying, and check in with the people who look after your church's social media.
- Name who can pause everything after a tragedy.
- The pastor has the final word on theology and pastoral sensitivity, and a person reads every AI draft before it goes out (Exponential advises that a staff member reads and approves AI-assisted content and that a pastor reviews theologically sensitive content).
Frequently asked questions
Start with what you will and will not share, who needs permission, who has the final word and who can pause everything. This sheet gives twelve rules on honesty, a speaker's meaning, consent, children and hard moments, prayer requests, copyright, accessibility, comments, who speaks for the church and account security, crisis restraint, a sustainable pace, your brand, and the pastor's final word. Each has one line to check on Sunday, and a sign-off for your pastor and media lead.
Get permission before you show an identifiable person, and a parent or legal guardian signs for anyone under 18. Thirtyone:eight, a UK safeguarding charity, advises getting permission from children and adults before a photo or video is taken, and the USCCB's social media guidelines ask for a parent or guardian's permission before posting a minor's picture. The law differs by country, state and province, so ask your insurer or a lawyer for your own rules. This is information, not legal advice.
Only with that person's permission, and only as far as they agreed. The USCCB's guidelines say not to divulge confidential information about others. A prayer request, a diagnosis or a family crisis belongs to the person, not to the church page. Rule 4 on the sheet sets this out, with a Sunday line you can tick.
Quote the exact words from the recording, and read the sentences before and after the line so it keeps its meaning. If you shorten or reword a line, label it a paraphrase. If you are unsure, ask the speaker or leave it out; a UK Anglican guideline advises not posting when unsure. Your denomination's or diocese's policy comes first.
Usually, yes, and each kind of content has its own permission. CCLI says its streaming licenses do not cover other types of creative work that may be in copyright, so a video clip or a stock image needs permission from its owner. Check the terms of each license and each platform. This is information, not legal advice.
Yes. Exponential's guidance says a staff member reads and approves anything before it is sent or published, and that review of theologically sensitive content should include a pastor. As a Catholic example, the USCCB's guidelines say matters requiring judgment about complex issues are best left to humans. Name who reads each draft, and let the pastor decide what goes out.
Write down what you will hide or delete, such as abuse, spam and private information, as the Church of England's comments policy does, and take hard conversations offline to a pastor. For a tragedy, name one person who can pause everything in the tools you use, and agree that the pastor decides when to resume.
The rules use plain words, not one tradition's vocabulary. Check each against your denomination's or diocese's policy, which comes first, and your insurer's. The notes at the end cover a liturgical service, several campuses, a solo volunteer and a church with a school or daycare.
It is free: enter your email, confirm the code we send and the PDF downloads, and it is emailed to you. Marketing email is sent only if you tick the separate box. Church Media Kit does not enforce your rules. Sermon to Social makes post drafts from a sermon for your team to review, and your people decide what goes out.
Keep going
- Church social media approval workflow: who drafts, who approves, who posts
- Exact quote or paraphrase? An editorial rule for sermon-based posts
- AI in church communications: useful assistant, poor final authority
- Accessible church social graphics: a practical review for alt text, type, and contrast
- Take the free Church Media Check
- Sermon to Social
- More free resources