Better known as the 80/20 rule, the Pareto principle simply states that you get 80 percent of your return from 20 percent of your input. While the Pareto principle is widely viewed as a simple rule of thumb, it holds up nicely across a broad variety of subjects from weight loss and exercise to economics and volunteerism.

Optimization Is Important

Optimizing your content for mobile devices is important for a number of reasons. Two of the most important ones are: people aren't willing to wait and they're cognizant of mobile data consumption.

People Won't Wait

According to data from Akamai and Gomez, 46 percent of respondents indicated that they wouldn't wait more than 10 seconds for a page to load. However, tests showed that page abandonment began to climb steeply after just 4 seconds. What's more, only 11 percent of mobile respondents thought that sites would load “much slower” on their phones than on their desktops. However, the reality in most places is that mobile data speeds aren't nearly as fast as landlines.

Tiered Data Plans

With the introduction of tiered data plans, people are more cognizant of mobile data consumption than when data plans were “unlimited.” If your site is a consistent data hog, you may find visitors visiting less often, or worse yet, going somewhere else. In other words, if you don't optimize your content, you could be losing visitors.

Obsession Isn't the Answer

On the other end of the spectrum, some hardcore optimistas obsess over every byte. They create complicated schemes for serving up perfectly optimized files for various groups of devices; they recommend maintaining a completely separate mobile site; and they spend an inordinate amount of time excising each byte from their media files.

While data shows that content optimization is important, for most of us, there's a decreasing return on investment for the comparable time, energy, storage and delivery required to obsessively optimize content. Consider the following reasons why aggressive optimization isn't optimal:

- Resizing media exactly to fit a small space can hurt reuse and actually increase the amount of data used across your site. For example, downloading a small file for one page and another larger version for another page is more expensive than downloading a single file for the first page and getting it from the cache for the second.

- Over-compressing audio, image and video files to save a few extra bytes can result in distracting artifacts that reduce comprehension and hinder reception of your message.

- The HD screens on today's media devices not only take advantage of higher resolution graphics, but also reveal the flaws in lower resolution graphics that are unnoticeable on desktop screens.

- Creating and serving multiple device-dependent versions of a file is expensive in terms of time, storage and development.

- Squeezing the last 20% out of a file requires a level of experience and understanding that the average person doesn't have. Of course, you'll develop both of these as you practice content optimization.

- Faced with the daunting task of perfectly optimizing content, many people will simply give up and either not optimize at all or skip including media altogether.

Many of us would love to stay forever in the position that we are currently in. However, reality most likely won’t let that happen. Transitions are a reality of organizations. Sometimes people move up into management positions, and sometimes outside events cause team members to be gone for extended periods of time. These phases can cause organizations to lose efficiency, but we can help ease the transition by preparing other team members to take over those roles.

...cause potential leaders to exit the organization
...stifle needed insight from valuable team members
...hinder your ability to recruit volunteers
...limit the growth of your programs and ministries”

Replacing yourself is crucial to the longevity of your team or your organization. If pouring your knowledge that you have learned from your failures and your successes is not part of your team's strategy, then you could be at risk for a fast decline. Always remember these three things when implementing a replacement strategy...

1. Know exactly what you do and be able to break it down
2. Hand it off to someone
3. Let it go

Scott Hodge, pastor of The Orchard Community Church in Aurora, Illinois, points to the relationship between leadership (pastor) and the team as the key element for developing your team.

An essential part of being a Senior Pastor is to lay out a vision for the church and seek God’s direction for the church. It is very important for Senior Pastors to surround themselves with people who are passionate about creative and clear communication. And that's where the communications team comes in.

Pastors empower and give permission to the communications team to be directly involved with bringing consistency and clarity to the vision. Be patient with the communications team. They eat, breathe and sleep communication all the time, so they’re bound to constantly push for clarity. Instead of being threatened by this push, embrace it. Give them time and space to ask questions.

Team members also need to be patient. Sometimes it takes a while for pastors to gain clarity on where God is leading their hearts. Ask a lot of questions. Your job is to understand what God is doing in your pastor’s heart.

What does your communication look like?

Jay Argaet, the head of communication at Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia, defines communication as the tool into which we can breathe life, stir a thought, bring inspiration and make something that is otherwise difficult to understand, clear and relevant.

Communication in the church should be 2-way communication. Provide ways to hear back from those with whom you are communicating. Don’t dispense only. Communication in the church should be personal, not technical. Touch is greater than technical.

Understand communication is not simply communicating the happenings within your church. This is global communication. The Body of Christ is commanded to share His Word across all nations.

Why should you develop a communications team?

The church is a global avenue for communicating the gospel. The ways we interact and communicate are changing every day. It has been said that more data will be created in the next four years than in the entire history of the world.

In the book, "Outspoken: Conversations on Church Communication", Tim Schraeder says the following on the importance of church communication:

"We, as the church, have never been as equipped or resourced to communicate the message of the gospel as we are today. With the amazing opportunity comes a tremendous responsibility. We have a moment and time in history to steward the opportunity and resources God has given us to communicate his story. We are literally able to reach millions of people around the globe with a click of a mouse. Our content has never been more widely accessible and our message is one that desperately needs to be heard. Everything our churches do today forms the message we are ultimately communicating to the world. As the ways we interact and engage continue to change, the role of communication will only become more vital to the life of the church."

At times you may wonder if it would be a good idea for your organization to create a communication team. It’s a good question, but before we answer that, let's first see what team development means.

Wikipedia defines team development as:

"A philosophy of job design in which employees are viewed as members of interdependent teams instead of individual workers. It refers to a wide range of activities, presented to businesses, schools, sports teams, religious or nonprofit organizations designed for improving team performance."

A communication team divides the weekly communications responsibilities over several people which, when done effectively, reduces the workload and leaves more time/energy for creativity. The end result is that your communication improves and the burnout factor is reduced.

Here are a few other ways a solid team will improve your communication ministry.

A Good Team Will

- Build commitment by engaging all team members in a structured and inclusive process

- Improve processes and procedures by having everyone on the team at the table

- Improve organizational productivity

- Improve the ability to problem solve

- Find and overcomes the barriers that get in the way of creativity

- Open communication across the team by having an objective, third-party assessment of the key issues affecting performance

I love what Steve Kryger, author of communicatejesus.com, says about team building: "Don't ask for volunteers. Ask for team members." In reality, your team will be volunteers. But, it is important that they see themselves as part of a team. This will go a long way in successful Team Development. Ideally, the team members will fit one or more of the following roles:

1. Graphic Designer: Provides graphics for print, electronic and web materials.

2. Webmaster: Builds and maintains the church website using a Content Management System such as Thrive or E-zekiel.

3. Writers: Provide copy for print, electronic, web and social networking materials.

4. Publisher: Proofreads and edits the copy that is created and gets it ready to be distributed.

5. Videographer: Sets up and shoots video such as sermons or video shorts.

6. Audio Specialist: Runs the soundboard when necessary and also records and distributes sermons or other events.

7. Social Media Engagement: Develops strategy and engages your audience by building a social networking presence.

8. Photographer: Takes pictures to be distributed throughout the various forms of communication mediums.

Assess your needs and add other roles accordingly. For example, if you have multiple graphic designers, you may want to put a team leader in place. It may be fitting for your church to have a staff/ministry liaison to keep lines of communication between your team and senior leadership flowing smoothly. While you may choose to do so, you don't need one person for each of these roles. A volunteer or staff member can fulfill multiple roles where possible.

Good luck identifying your team members and putting the pieces together.

1. Allow them to take part in crafting the vision.

2. When planning for the execution of the vision, allow for your team members' input.

3. Be sure to give the team credit for its accomplishments.

The message is simple. Everyone should have an understanding that the project isn’t the sole responsibility of an individual, but rather the whole team. However, the task of actually getting all of your team members to truly buy-in to that can be difficult sometimes. Regardless, we must continue with the message that the project is “ours” not “mine.” As leaders we have to make a concerted effort to get our team members to buy into the idea that this project belongs to them because it will lead to higher quality work. Team members who take ownership in the project are more likely to produce high quality work because they are invested in the final outcome. Those team members feel the final product is a reflection of their work.

This is not a gimmick. This is not a trick to pull on your team to try and get them to work harder. You’re not trying to get them to produce a quality product so you can get the credit. Your goals and objectives should truly be a shared team vision. When you and your team have a shared vision and have all taken full ownership of the project, you can then ensure that final product will be one of very high quality.

• August 2012 - Instagram hits 80 million users (7.3 Million ACTIVE/Day) • 5 Million Photos are uploaded every day • 40% of corporate brands have adopted Instagram for Marketing • Instagram has 432k more daily users than Twitter

It may seem obvious, but having quality content should be the most important aspect of your SEO strategy. Over the years, we have seen many tips and tricks pop up for optimizing your site. Many of these tips were good and some were more of the “magic hat” variety. These strategies often led to over-optimized, non-user-friendly websites. To overcome this, search engines changed their algorithms. These changes led to a resurgence of high quality content-driven sites.

Listed below are a few questions you can ask yourself when trying to develop quality content:

1. Who is my audience or whom am I trying to reach?

2. Is this content usable for my audience?

3. What response am I trying to get with my content?

4. Is my content new and relevant?

Being able to consistently produce quality content should be the foundation of your SEO strategy, not just another item on the SEO checklist. There are some great tips for SEO out there right now, and there are some great new opportunities on the horizon. However, the opportunities and tips should be supplemental. Search engine algorithms will change and with it many of our tricks will be rendered useless. However, if your strategy is built around quality content, it will be able to stand the test of time -- because having quality content is not a trick, and it never goes out of style.

Search engines will spider the pages on your site and see three different pages that are all relevant to one particular keyword. This causes the search engine to choose which one of your three pages is most relevant thus "cannibalizing" the other two. The key to solving this issue is to use unique, relevant key phrases. Some examples of this would be to use page titles like "Beliefs of the First Baptist Church", "Worship at the First Baptist Church", and "History of the First Baptist Church." Instead of having three pages titled First Baptist Church, you now have three unique page titles that are both relevant to the page and helpful in trying to better your search ranking. Listed below are a couple of things to remember when implementing your keywords into your site.

Be Unique - Don’t be repetitive by using the same keyword or phrase over and over.

Be Relevant - Make sure that the keywords or phrases that you are using are relevant to the page or area of content which you are using them on.

Don't Stuff - Do not try to stuff keywords or phrases into pages just to try to boost your ranking. Search engines can detect this and your site will be penalized because of this.

As with most things SEO-related, there are no shortcuts, and there is no easy fix. If you want your site to have a higher SERP ranking, you will have to be consistent and diligent in your process. The earlier you start formulating your SEO strategy the better. If you are in the early stages of building your site, keep this in mind as you build out the content and pages. If you have already built the site, it may be time to go back and revise your SEO strategy to better align with the current trends. And remember, your SEO strategy should be strategy that is always adapting to the current trends. There will be constant tweaking and improving. As we all know, competition for the top SERP spots is fierce, and every little bit of improvement to your site counts.

If users are 80-90% likely to delete your smartphone application, why not invest your time and resources into something that looks and functions as well as an app, but without the extra effort? I am speaking of responsive websites or, as they’re commonly known, mobile ready.

Responsive websites automatically reformat your website to fit beautifully into any size web browser. What this means is that your website will look just as good on your mobile phone as it looks on your desktop computer. Using this technology gives the customer or member a pleasant browsing experience without the worries of bugs or crashes that appear with mobile apps.

Strengths and opportunities are the areas that are helpful to achieving their brand; weaknesses and threats make light of the challenges they face in growing their brand.

From a different perspective, strengths and weaknesses are an internal perspective (things they can directly change), where opportunities and threats bring attention to external factors that they likely cannot change.

Here are some examples of the kinds of SWOT questions to ask yourself:

-------?WWW - Who, What and Why

Props to Jeremy Waite, where I first saw the connection of this analogy.

Who are you? ?What do you do? Why does it matter?

Part 1 - Fundamentals of Building a Brand?Part 2 - Strategies that Ministries Can Build a Brand On

Churches are missing out if they’re not getting their members' feedback on how to improve God’s house. One simple strategy would be to use the SWOT analysis. Asking members (a random sample may give the best results) to offer their thoughts can give you insight from multiple perspectives and help guide your decisions on the way forward.

Determine if it's worth it - One person told @thriveam to "eat sh#t". We have no connection to this person and they were probably upset because our ad showed up in their feed. We blocked him. The reality is that there are some people on the web just looking to start an argument. Don't fall for it.

Act quickly - One person commented in Facebook that a post was worded terribly and that they wouldn't visit the blog because of it. We posted that we were sorry the wording wasn't working for him; he visited the blog and complimented us. We responded within an hour to both of his posts. Even if we can't answer the rant directly, we can let them know we hear them and we'll get back with them

Be real/human - By using more natural language in the post (down to including our name), we've now turned it from a comment towards an anonymous company to a person-to-person conversation. It also lets them know they're dealing with a real person, not a canned response.

Apologize authentically or don't apologize at all - Back to post above. We don't have to apologize for something we haven't done, but it helps to let them know we're empathetic. We said, "Sorry the wording isn't working for you."

Offer to make it right - Most people start a rant because they feel they've been wronged or can right a wrong. Apologizing let's them know we're empathetic to the poster, but solving the problem is what will win them over. The solution we present is what they'll talk about - so make it good.

Never fight about it - If we're defensive, less people will speak up and more people will walk away quietly.

Decide where to have the conversation - Online or offline. In almost all cases, it's best to keep it online so that thousands more can see how we relate and treat our customers - plus see the solution. In certain cases - where private information has to be exchanged or continued inappropriate behavior is involved - take it offline. Outside of embarrassing the poster, let observers know why you're taking it offline.

Example - Sorry you're having trouble with this. We really need to get your account number to help get this resolved. Can you call us or message us your contact info?"

Use fans and customers to help fill the void - Ask fans and customers to share their experiences with a certain service or feature that someone posted negatively about. Others will either come to our defense or let us know there's really a problem.

Involve the poster in the fix - How many times have you had a problem with a service and you walked away, even after a solution, thinking, "I'll never use that service again!” Asking the poster to suggest solutions will give them ownership and resolve the problem in a way they're happy with. If we can't offer the solution they ask for, we have a better understanding of the issue and the user’s perspective.

(Some of these changes require working with CSS or HTML. If you’re unsure of what to do, ask us!)

1. Simplify your page content by reducing the amount of text on the page and incorporating more images, as well as using headings to break up sections of page content.

2. Make form fields larger in size and add extra spacing around them.

3. Use larger font sizes; currently 16px is considered readable. It is best to simply increase the default font sizes in your theme’s CSS so that the change is applied to the entire site at once.

4. Add extra margin to buttons and calls-to-action and make them larger.

5. Make sure links look clickable before any hover style is applied since mobile devices don’t support hover states on links. Use more than just color for this since some devices only display black and white or shades of gray and visually-impaired users may have difficulty with it also.

6. Make sure the whole link area is clickable. This is especially important for navigation menu items as well as any text elements styled to look like buttons.

7. Add extra padding or margins around your navigation menu items as well as content blocks and the page itself.

And, by making these changes, the desktop user’s experience will be made better as well, double bonus!

• Remove anything that’s not needed – could be “fluff” words, lengthy explanations or instructions
• Group things together in a meaningful way
• Hide certain things – but not so deep they cannot be found easily
• Move things around – align content in a grid-like format and emphasize or enlarge significant items

In considering how you will simplify, one key thing to realize is that you must trust your users in what they “feel” is actually “simple”. Get them involved by asking them to participate in the simplification process.

Here are some tactics to consider in the simplification process:

• Seek out the reason your site visitors are visiting your site and give them what they want
• Limit options or choices to few enough that it’s not overwhelming
• Use normal conversational words (and always provide explanations for acronyms)
• Test your ideas before implementing them
• Consider cultural contexts
• Evaluate the who and why of everything (why do we do this, who wants this, etc.)

When working with a content management system, especially a publishing platform such as Thrive, it is often well worth taking the time to reconsider how you publish certain types of content in order to achieve even better simplification without as much effort. For instance, in Thrive, any series of posts which are dated in any way (Daily Advent/Lenten activities, etc) would work very well as a calendar or blog page -- depending on whether or not you want site visitors to be able to subscribe to future posts -- whereas pages containing several pictures make great photo albums. Every theme includes specialized layouts for each page type which make your content look great no matter where or how it is viewed.

It’s easy to get sucked down that path. But the question remains. What should be the response of a communication ministry? Specifically, a communication ministry that lives in a social media world crowded with opinions, speculation and raw emotion? Because these are the very moments that people are examining (and doubting) faith and goodness in the world, we should choose our words carefully.

We’re emotional creatures. Arguably, we make far more decisions based on emotion rather than logic. (Insert Captain Kurt vs. Spock example here) So it seems that in these moments our job as church communicators is to be a force of stability guided by faith more than anything else.

The best example of this I’ve personally witnessed goes back to September 11, 2001. It seems, by providence, the United Methodist Church was slated to begin its nation-wide Igniting Ministry media campaign almost to the same day, which included major outdoor media buys in New York City. Immediately after, they scrambled to create television and outdoor messaging to confront what the nation was feeling at that moment. Their messages can be summed up with a giant banner they hung at ground zero that said, “Fear is not the only force at work in the world today.”

Simple, poignant and full of stability and faith.

As the details of this horrific event unfold, pay attention to the emotional fallout. It’s important to be a force of stability in a world where hearts are fragile. The thing to remember is that a lot of people are hurting and we are the messengers of the Great Physician and as the UMC reminded me of over a decade ago…

…Fear is not the only force at work in the world today.

I live in the Bible Belt. More specifically I live in a rather conservative and rural section of the Bible Belt. For our purposes here today, it means I pass close to a dozen churches on my way to and from work each day -- most of which, I have never stepped a foot inside their door.

But here’s the funny thing.

I have an opinion about almost every one of them.

Weird, huh?

I mean really. I feel like I know them. There’s the really REALLY patriotic church that puts up what seems like a million flags on any national holiday. There’s the church up on the hill that seems quiet and content, but just built a big playground out front. There’s the church that we just refer to as the crazy church because of the stuff they put on their sign. There’s the big fairly new church that always seems to have a full parking lot, but never mows their yard. There’s the small old church that some days I think is abandoned until I look up and see a few cars on a Sunday morning.

You get the idea. And I’m not alone.

Here’s something to get your head around. People you’ve never met, and who have never stepped foot in your door, most likely already have a preconceived notion about your ministry.

People notice things. They make judgments. Subconsciously they’re checking out what kind and how many vehicles are in the parking lot. They know if your paint is peeling. They’re making assumptions about your ministry and theology simply from your sign and how the people standing outside your doors are dressed. They’re counting kids, hair color, skin color, pickup trucks and BMWs.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Whether you realize it or not, your church is communicating volumes about itself. But, the chances are, unless you’re an outsider, you have no idea what people are associating with your ministry.

This isn’t a good or a bad thing. It’s just a thing. But, it’s a thing you need to own. If you don’t like what people are associating, then you have to get proactive and take the steps necessary to communicate something different.

“I already have too much to do…”
“I don’t know how…”
“Nobody wants to help…”
“People won’t like it…”
“It’s not my job…”
“I don’t have enough time…”

For one guy, it was a bit of an undertaking.

And for all those hundreds of links and pages church people did, as church people do…

They complained about it.

The complaint that I remember most often was, “Why isn’t my link on the home page?” Everybody wanted their link on the homepage.

Never mind the hundreds of other links. This one church that’s doing that one thing “obviously” should be highlighted front and center. It happened often enough that I realized a couple of things about web navigation:

1. People don’t want to look for stuff.

2. The perfect website has one button and it’s whatever you want it to be at the moment.

The fussiness of church folk seems to be inherent in our DNA, but in attempts to improve the situation and reduce the number of complaints, I ran across a term that made sense immediately.

It was called “Intuitive Design.” Basically, don’t make people think about where to go and what to do. It should be obvious. But planning for the obvious isn’t always obvious. It takes a lot of thought about why people are coming to your site and what they’re doing in the short term.

The best websites are sparse and visually appealing, especially on the home page. The deeper one digs, the denser the information becomes, but on the front page, they’re just looking for trailhead markers like: Give, Pray, Serve, Connect. Every link beyond that takes the visitor down one of those paths. It’s logical, it’s concise and it makes sense.

Take a look at your site. Better yet, ask some people who don’t know anything about your church to take a look at your site. Give them some tasks like e-mailing the pastor or researching what outreach ministries are available. Watch them navigate it and see what steps they take and see where they get hung up. Then make adjustments as necessary.

Your community will thank you.

Take the time to reach out through community resource pages and websites by sharing what is happening in your ministry. Figure out where people in your community congregate online because it’s much easier to go where they already are than it is to pull them to you.

Minister to your existing community

As the ministry begins to get traction online, don’t overlook your existing congregation. This seems like a no-brainer, however this gets missed far too often. In a growing ministry, it’s to easy to become more focused on building a larger following than ministering to the following. This is the same problem that exists in online campaigns that are too focused on expanding “likes” and not focused enough on building engagement. Take the time to connect with the people who need to be reached and in turn don't overreach beyond your ministry’s capacity.

Once these steps are firmly established, consider the future of the online ministry. Is it more beneficial to expand your ministry to your existing community, or is it better to increase the numbers? If the following does increase, will this impact the ministry potential? Considering these things will help put into perspective how well the ministry is reaching people and determine if it is exceeding its limits.

Those in leadership roles need to constantly be asking themselves the really hard questions on what’s working and what’s not. Is your ministry really effective? Are you reaching enough people? Is your congregation as engaged as they should be? Are your ministries actually making any tangible difference?

Not only do you need to be willing to ask the hard questions, you also need to be willing to offer up honest answers when the answer is “no”. Far too often, ministry leaders will balk at the idea that ministries (or ministers) aren’t really doing their job and rationalization takes the place of honest critique. But, beyond that, it simply sets the stage for disorganized and ineffective ministry. Meetings turn into a re-hash of the last meeting (and usually the one before that) where you meet to talk about things you talked about in previous meetings, but seldom make decisions and certainly don’t put things in action.

To be an effective ministry, you must be willing to be honest about the state of the ministry and what’s working and what’s not and then be willing to do the hard thing and make the changes necessary to improve the condition. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially if glossing over the hard stuff has become the cultural norm.

So take a little time today. Turn off your computer, take a walk or go get a cup of coffee and just think about your ministry and write down a list of hard questions. Then go down the list and give yourself permission to be brutally honest with yourself with your answers. You’ll thank yourself for it one day. Probably not tomorrow, but one day you will.

As a church or ministry online, we are seeking to be open in our discussions, not condescending towards any one gender, race, or religion. This does not mean that we are not clear about our faith online. What this means is that, as a ministry, we take the time to listen to every comment and do our best to lovingly explain where our faith stands in agreement or contradiction.

So many times people have a black or white mentality where they feel the need to shove one-sided worldviews down everyone’s throats. This might be a great approach for starting arguments, but to stand out from the crowd it takes open conversations. Engage both sides of the issue equally. Help to build up commentators with opposing views even when sharing an opposing view. Taking these steps will help a ministry share the love of Christ effectively with believers and non-believers.

When a ministry takes the time to engage those with opposing views even those within the ministry can learn something. It can help ministries gain a different perspective not simply on the subject, but even the community that surrounds them and how they relate to the subject. These are important things for a ministry to consider as they seek to reach out online.

If you have any examples of this in action, we would love to hear about them. We hope you are able to take this concept to heart and see the amazing fruits that can come from it.

But, here’s my problem. They’re usually right. And they’re usually telling me exactly what I need to hear. The fact that it doesn’t feel good is irrelevant.

This is not a sentiment that plays out well in our society. We live in a land where people get patted on the back for simply showing up and awarded complimentary trophies for participation. This is all well and good if we want folks to feel good about themselves, but it doesn’t do much for actually helping them make much needed improvements.

I’ve discovered that as I evolve in my professional career I’m becoming less and less interested in positive reinforcement because I’ve seen greater improvements in my work as a result of mentors being bluntly honest with me. It’s still not easy to hear, but this is where I’ve had to learn how to put my ego on the shelf. Admittedly, it’s taken time and maturity to get myself to this point, but I sometimes wonder if an age of continual positive reinforcement is not doing more of a disservice to us? Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to tell people when they’re doing a really good job, but it means more if you save those moments for when they really are doing a good job.

This is a stance I started taking with my students when I told them that my evaluations of their work was based on comparisons with professional industry work. It’s not fair and I realize that, but that’s the quality their work is going to have to match or surpass if they want a shot at commercial success, and that is something it’s better for them to realize at an early stage in their careers.

I’ve watched them get mad, cry and storm out of my office.

And I’ve also witnessed the greatest leaps in improvement than I ever did before.

Stay Connected

Too many ministries simply create social media sites and leave them to fend for themselves. Some will even post updates yet still not respond to the comments and messages being posted on the site. The first key to ministering effectively online is to stay connected to the community. Be active, both commenting and even relating to those posting. Help build a loving atmosphere where community members feel accepted and are open to talking. Some people find it easier, while others find it harder to share intimate details online. Making sure that the environment is welcoming through staying connected is the first step.

Be Mindful of Posts

We don’t want to tell you to be non-controversial, but we do want to remind you to be mindful. How will the community receive this? Is this something, which will encourage healthy discussion or condescending arguments? Since you are the voice behind the ministry remember people will identify your tone and topics in direct relation to the overall ministry. Make sure those don’t conflict.

Know when to be public and when to be private

As someone in a ministry position you will be dealing with people who are handling serious life issues. Knowing when to encourage community involvement (encouraging messages and prayer) or when to minister privately with a person is key. If and when you end up in a heartfelt connection with a member of your online community, make sure you keep private matters private. There is a point when the conversation needs to turn to private messages and another point when those conversations need to be held in person.

Are you having success or have questions regarding online ministry? We’d love to hear from you.

What they typically don’t know about me is that I used to be on a team that traveled around the United States conducting hospitality and outreach training for churches.

I bring this up because last week I was doing an installation at church that caused me to have a noteworthy encounter. Let me preface this statement with a comment that everyone at this church demonstrated kindness and hospitality.

Except one person. While I tried to explain how to use the software, this one person proceeded to spend an hour telling me how awful she thought it was. It got bad enough that one of the other church members actually told her to stop talking.

A couple of things…

1.) Because I’m trained in this stuff, I recognize that this person was speaking (and insulting) more out of fear of change than anything. I was introducing something new that replaced something old. People don’t like change. I get that.

2.) I also understand that this single person would have wrecked the impression of a normal visitor, no matter how sweet the rest of the congregation had been. This would have been the last time that person would have walked through their door.

Hospitality is the job of everyone, not just a select few. None of us know the state of that stranger walking through our doors. They could be simply be there do a job, but they could also be searching for hope or trying to reconcile old grievances with the church. We don’t know. But the way we treat them can have profound consequences good or bad. It communicates who we are as a community of Christians and that is no small task.

As the church we have a unique calling. Since we are the acting body of Christ, we are called to come together and spread Christ’s love. Specifically Acts 1:8 comes to mind: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” With the Holy Spirit present in our lives, we are called to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.

As crazy as it sounds, the Internet fits in there. The great thing about the web is that it allows us to reach the end of the earth without getting off the couch. This isn’t an excuse to get out of foreign missions but more of an opportunity for us to embrace. With the global spread of the World Wide Web, we’re able to connect with people that used to be inaccessible. In our technology-saturated world, we may even reach the people in our own town more effectively through the Web than we would in person.

As believers we would be remiss to pass up the awesome opportunity to reach people online. Too often people see the Internet as too massive and daunting of a place to try and connect with people. However, there are many ministries that look at the Web as their mission field and their ministries are seeing great responses. Have you felt this calling? We would love to hear about it in the comments section! Also, if you have seen ministries that are doing amazing online ministry, we would love for you to share those with us as well!

When web ministry becomes an afterthought, it sets up a path to disappointment. Organization helps ensure that you are communicating the right messages at the right time. The easiest way is simply to notch out some time each day to develop content, schedule posts and follow up with comments. It doesn’t have to take long, but make sure you’re posting something worth reading/watching every day. Monitor what days and times are most effective, and if you have something you want to promote, make sure you get the message out in plenty of time. For example, if you’re having a dinner to raise funds for a mission trip, post reasons people should attend for several days leading up to the dinner -- NOT just fifteen minutes before it starts because you just happened to think about it. However, posting photos or video DURING the dinner can create a dynamic where people feel a part of your ministry, sorry they missed this particular event and encouraged to be at the next fundraiser.

Web ministry can feel like a train that never ends if you’re not organized. The constant demand for content can get taxing if it isn’t approached with the right amount of discipline. So stay in front of the train by being organized. You’ll find that you’re more effective, and it’ll become a great asset to your ministry -- not just another thing to do.

We'll talk about going back to our roots to our calling as the body of believers. Remember the Great Commission started with the word "Go." That commandment extends into our digital ministry. Since we have this calling, we must act, and being online actively plays a role in this.

We will cover the basics by taking a look at what skills are needed to minister online.

We will examine the "do's" and "don'ts" of online conversations. We will take a look into how we can be the active body of the church online through the conversations we have in this wonderful medium.

We will also look at how to complete our calling as the church in reaching the world. We will ensure that we are reaching people effectively, not simply reaching out online.

The conclusion of the series will see us making sure we are reaching goals as the church and not simply reaching the goals the world sets for organizations online.

We are very excited to bring you on the journey of being the church online. If you have been looking for a way to effectively move from a ministry with a website to being a church actively online, then we hope this series assists you in learning a way to reach those online.

Finally we want to give you tools to help you judge how effectively you are reaching your goals as the Church and not simply reaching the goals the world sets for organizations online.

We are very excited to bring you on the journey of being a church online. If you have been looking for a way to effectively move from a ministry with a website to being a church actively online, then we hope this series assists you in learning a way to reach those online.

Resource A – A sweet little lavaliere microphone that plugs into your iPhone and comes with an app that allows you to get professional audio recordings. All for around 60 bucks.

Resource B – A fantastic stock footage website that allows for unlimited downloads of royalty-free, stock video for a monthly fee. Though the roughly 80 bucks a month seems high, you get an option for a seven-day free trial period, and on closer inspection you can get six months of unlimited downloads for a one-time fee that’s just a few more dollars.

So just in one day it would have been easy for me to spend some fairly substantial money on these two resources. Since I’m doing a lot of video production right now, I opted in the stock footage site for the six-month period, and I passed on the microphone.

The key to remember is what your overall communication vision is and whether or not this new piece of technology is going to help you achieve it or is it just something shiny and new that really doesn’t move the plan forward. If you keep your purchases in check with your vision, you’ll build a useful toolbox full of resources. If you’re trigger happy with impulse buys, you’re going to end up with a drawer full of junk you never use.

Our voices are ultimately controlled by muscle movement, and muscles need to be warmed up. Projecting your voice out over a large room requires more air and force than quietly chatting with the person next to you. In order to keep from blowing your vocal cords, you have to warm up. Musicians do it all the time. There are several different ways a speaker can do this. Repeating vowels can help. Speaking while stretching provides both vocal and physical warm up. Also saying tongue twisters such as “Sandy Sells Sea Shells by the Sea Shore” is great ways to get prepared.

These will help reduce nervousness and vocal habits such as stuttering and tongue-ties. It will also place the speaker's voice in its peak performance mode before speech even begins.

Speak Clearly and Audibly

The warm-up will help reduce most of the problems associated with speaker nervousness; however, it is suggested a speaker focus on these vocal aspects also. Nervous speakers have a tendency to not project loud enough for the audience to hear, or they begin to mumble to the point that the audience can't understand what is being said. Aside from warming up, we have a few other tips to decrease anxiety and allow for your best speaking performance. Speak how you are most comfortable. Don't focus on what makes you nervous, focus on what calms you. If it’s someone in the room who comforts you, then focus on them. Act as if you are speaking only to them in a conversational way. Make sure you are speaking from your diaphragm. Though this may take more practice speaking from the “bottom of your stomach,” it will allow a deeper projection so more people can hear. Remember to always act like you are speaking to the person on the back row (without shouting at them).

If we're going to speak, we want to be heard. And if we want to be heard, then we need to do what it takes to keep our voices in top condition so that we're not hoarse 10 minutes into a sermon. So take a little time. Practice, warm up, and then go be awesome.

Do you have some speaking tips? We'd love to hear them!

That post or meme you see on your social media feed declaring some statistic or “fact” that often points blame at someone for something. They show up in my news feed daily; statistics about politicians, the environment, food, science, faith. The list goes on and on. We see it, we like what it says and we click the “like” or “share” button.

Seems fine, right? There’s just one problem. Very often it’s wrong. Completely wrong. Far too often, we see something that we want to be true and so our desire to want it to be true causes us to accept it as fact. And by sharing that information, we’ve just propagated bad information. Or as it’s more commonly known… a lie.

That becomes an ethical and credibility hazard when it’s God’s people doing the sharing.

Here’s some advice. Get into a practice of fact checking everything before you share it. There are lots of good resources out there. Google and Snopes are good places to start, but sometimes you need to go to official sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics for economic stats. But mainly, go to sources that don’t have anything to gain from placing blame on one party or another.

The important thing to consider here is that nobody wins when we spread bad information, and in an age when it’s hard to tell truth from propaganda, we of all people need to be on the side of truth.

Don't look at me... I'm nervous.

Many people are nervous about speaking. Perhaps you are. When people get nervous, they have habits they resort to. For some, there is wringing their hands, others it may be popping their knuckles, even pacing erratically; there are many forms it may take. It’s key to realize these are distractions for the audience. There are ways to reduce these though. While keeping your hands at your side are advised, if need be, place them on a podium or clasp them behind your back. These are conscious efforts one can make to reduce the nervous gestures.

Watch my hands...I want you to understand.

The only time when hand gestures are important is during explanations. Make sure these gestures are planned and well rehearsed to help enhance the story. When using gestures to explain a story, make sure they are almost overexaggerated so that people will understand them. However, they should not be exaggerated so much as to be silly.

Gestures can work to your advantage. The key is to make sure they are used to create a memorable experience for the audience and not a distraction. The good news is once you get it down, your non-verbals become effortless and just a part of your speaking style. Think about your favorite speakers. How do they use their hands?

Speaker Comfort Level

As the speaker your comfort level is key. If you are uncomfortable, the audience will be nervous as well. Ensuring that the proper attire is worn will help reduce speaker nervousness thus bringing the speaker’s comfort level to the maximum potential as far as dress goes. The first thing to consider is general tightness or looseness of clothing. Clothing which is too tight fitting (though for some may be considered fashionable) could hinder how comfortable the speaker feels not only physically but emotionally also. Loose fitting clothing can be cumbersome and a tripping hazard. The next thing to consider after an overall comfort level is emotionally what will make you as the speaker most comfortable speaking. Generally this is considered to be one tier above what the audience is wearing. Example: If the audience is wearing business casual (slacks and polos etc.), then the speaker wears business formal. This way the speaker isn’t particularly over dressed but commands authority in the room as someone who is dressed above the majority of listeners. These are some general tips the speaker can consider from their standpoint before taking the audience into consideration.

Audience Comfort Level

If the audience is uncomfortable, speaker will end up uncomfortable also. This is why audience comfort level should be considered when dressing for a speaking engagement. If one is grossly underdressed or greatly overdressed, it will be hard for them as the speaker to engage the audience. Once again tightly fitting or loose fitting clothes can be a distraction to the audience, focusing rather on what the speaker is wearing than what he/she is saying. The same goes for overly flashy clothing. This can also be the case, as mentioned before, if a person is off the guide of dressing one notch above the audience. If a person in formal wear is speaking to an audience of casual dressed people, the audience will be left wondering why they are not dressed nicely and vice versa should the speaker be underdressed. These are a few things to consider from the audience stand-point of dress when speaking.

In conclusion the best thing to do as a speaker is to make sure and dress one step ahead of the audience. If the audience is dressed casual, then the speaker should be business casual, if business casual then business professional, if business professional then formal. Below we will provide some verbal definitions to each of these as a guide. We hope these articles will assist you in your speaking endeavors as communications directors. If you have any comments or suggestions, we would love to hear them in the comments!

Casual Wear: This includes jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, etc.

Business Casual: khakis, dress skirts, blouses, patterned button-up shirts or polos

Business Professional: dress shirt, tie, slacks, dresses, and professional suits for women.

Formal: suit, formal dresses

Keep Speech and Presentation Separate

The largest mistake a person can make is to assume they can simply read from their presentation or remember the information they need to convey from the presentation. Speech preparation and presentation mechanics should be two separate organisms. The two should complement each other but not look exactly the same. This will keep the audience engaged and allow the presentation to fulfill its purpose aside from the speech.

Visual Aids

A presentation is such because it has visual aids. The purpose of the visual aid is to assist the audience in understanding what is being presented. Many times people simply place the speech word for word in the presentation. This honestly does nothing for the presentation. If anything, it encourages the audience not to listen to the speech because they can read everything on the screen. Visual aids should be eye-catching and relevant. They should encourage and lead the audience to listen intently to the speech being made. Effective visual aids will need few words and can be presented more through photos, diagrams, and bullet points.

Technology

We have moved beyond the era of the felt board, for the most part. Presentations today typically take place through PowerPoint or another visual presentation tool on a computer. When presenting, be prepared for the reality that technology does not always work correctly. As stated before, the speech should be able to stand on its own. This is just in case the presentation does not come together as planned. Allow time before the presentation to get set up and even run through part of it to be comfortable with the presentation area. These things are keys for a smooth-flowing presentation.

These points are stepping stones for effective presentations. Presentations happen many times for ministries. Understanding and putting these tips into practice will help a presentation be more polished and professional. Do you have any presentation tips or stories? We would love to hear them in the comments below!

1.) What is the name of your church? I don’t really care what the name on the sign is, but rather how have the people in the community labeled it? Just like restaurants are known for what’s good on the menu (or what isn’t), ministries are known for what they do and how they treat people. Good or bad.

2.) If your church closed down today, would anyone besides the congregation notice? This is really an extension of the first question, but it gets to the core of the issue. Is there anything about your ministry that people notice? Good or bad. If no one noticed, that also speaks volumes.

It is what we are known for that creates our personal brand. And as ministry leaders we have a choice. We can take ownership of that brand and help others see our ministries as we see them, or we can let others dictate that brand for us. We’re all known for something, as people and as churches. We all have a name. And it’s not necessarily what’s on the sign.

In many cases, people like to prepare in some form before they speak. This rings even more true for those who aren’t particularly comfortable speaking. First a person needs to know the manner in which they are speaking. Is it formal or informal? Is it a serious matter with technical information or a general speech, which everyone will need to easily understand? Once the setting of the speech has been determined, then a person can begin to study and prepare the text of the speech. Aside from simply studying the speech material, the next step in a polished speaking experience is deciding an order in which to present the material. After an order has been decided, then it’s really up to the person’s presenting style and speaking comfort on how they approach sharing the speech.

Full Text Speech

These speeches are typically highly technical or require very sensitive information to be shared which needs to be conveyed precisely. A person will prepare to speak with full text in front of them in these scenarios. Many times a person who has little experience in public speaking will want to do this with any speech they present. The downfall of this method is that it lowers the amount of eye contact and thus audience interaction. This is why we only suggest this method in the above-mentioned scenarios.

Bullet Point Speech

This type of speech is one which requires little technical knowledge to be shared that isn’t already memorized by the speaker. With a bullet point speech, a person is able to still remember the order in which they are conveying information while engaging the audience through eye contact, gestures, and other interactive measures. When a person is comfortable speaking, this is one method many will choose to use in order to remember things while still being able to freely speak as the audience reacts (not feeling tied down to a script).

Outline Speech

This type speech is closer to the full text speech but not as stripped down as a bulleted speech. Very similar to the paper outlines we had to make in school, outline speeches lay out a speech beyond just the main points. If there is a part of the speech which needs to be directly quoted, this is the most typical form a speech will be laid out in. As a person becomes more accustomed to speaking they should graduate from full text speeches to this one before moving to bulleted speeches.

No Assisting Materials

Speeches that are on the fly typically happen without any assisting materials. This also happens when the speaker memorizes the material. The hardest part ends up being whether the speaker can remember and convey the entire topic successfully. Though rarely suggested, this is a way that some people are most comfortable with. These are typically speeches of little significance or are simply a follow-up speech to emphasize previous made points.

As always if there are any questions about how to prepare a speech or speech delivery methods, leave them for us in the comments. Also if you have any tips on what has worked best for you, we would love to hear those also!

There are times when a person gets pressed to speak and is asked to come up with a topic. Should this happen to you, there are two things to consider.

1. Speak on a topic you know well

Speaking on a topic the speaker is comfortable with will allow for a smoother go of things. Whether it is the preparation or the presentation, both will go over better if the speaker is well versed in the topic they are addressing.

2. Speak on a topic that will resonate with the audience

Sometimes speaking on a topic a person is well versed in won’t cut it. Speaking about quantum physics to the children’s church won’t exactly go over well. Making sure that the topic chosen fits the audience is key in helping with both audience participation and attentiveness -- both of which put a speaker at ease when speaking.

There are other times when the topic is known. When a topic is known, there are a few elements that are key to making sure the topic being communicated is understood and thus conveyed outside the venue in which it is presented.

Before we cover these elements, let us clarify a few things. Many times when we think of speaking, we look to the people behind the pulpit giving us a sermon. Though this may happen, as communications professionals, we will often be speaking about an event or providing details that need to be conveyed. In these instances, the following elements need to be communicated clearly and effectively.

Who does this involve? This is the question, which should be answered here. If it relates to everyone, state that. If it relates to certain demographics communicate this, and make sure that this is communicated in a way that people understand why it is for that certain demographic.

It can be very easy for us to get bogged down in details. When communicating, make sure the “what” of the topic is shared in a way where people understand. If people do not understand the reason and subsequent purpose (why) of the topic, then they will not find it noteworthy.

Location is key for anything. We have blogged about it a few times. The “where” is something that should be communicated so people can know where to go or how to document the topic communicated (if it has already taken place).

Timing is everything. That’s what they say right? A proper timeframe must be communicated to avoid confusion. Just like location, if people don’t understand when something is set to take place or the timeframe of it, they are less likely to attend.

What is the purpose? Who will benefit from this? Though it may be the toughest to answer, giving people the “why” behind it all may be the key point in helping them jump into action.

Though probably less important, the "how" is still a question which must be answered. Volunteers or employees, a set price or donation; these questions need to be answered for people to understand fully and the message be communicated effectively.

Though this sounds more like a report than a speech, these things are important as communicators. Making sure these questions are answered will help people be at ease about the situation and more willing to participate and share with others.

Speaking is an integral part of the communications field. Most ministries have an effective main communicator but other than that, unless they have a shadow they are training, the only other prepared speaker is the communications coordinator. Since most of these positions are filled by volunteers, this leaves little opportunity for them to be full-fledged trained communications professionals.

That is where this blog series comes into play. We will line out tips on effective speaking practices. These are things one would learn in a basic speaking class. Though they may have been learned before, they can still be taken as reminders as to how to give the appearance of a polished speaker.

With practice, the art of public speaking can be harnessed to do great things for a ministry. The key is effective communication. This happens not simply through saying the right words, but presenting what needs to be communicated in an effective and understandable manner.

Not only will we cover general speaking tips, but we will also look at creating effective presentations. We will look at how the appropriate dress factors into communication. We will also cover how to use your body for things known as gestures to better explain the subject at hand.

Many people have a fear of speaking in public. We hope that we can help people realize not only the importance but the ease with which speaking in public can come from a person. With some practice and determination, any person can end up effectively sharing the vision for a new ministry opportunity or they can simply be doing the announcements at the end of a sermon. So join us as we delve into the next few weeks of looking at speaking tips for ministries.

If you know of any tips you are needing or would like to hear more about, simply drop us a question or comment in the comments section at the top of the article. We would love to help you in any way possible. Enjoy the ride!

We then tackled Facebook Fan Pages. The most popular of social media sites for ministries, this is one most ministries probably already have. We looked at the importance of having this for any ministry, and the fact that nearly every active ministry member will participate makes this a must-have social media account.

In our fourth week we looked at Facebook Groups. Though not as widely popular, this is a great place to rally volunteers. Keeping people updated and on task in a way where you know every member will be notified are the key takeaways from this platform.

Next we looked at Twitter. An easy way to keep up with and connect with members, tweeting is an easy platform to manage, and it is an essential platform as one of the quickest ways to update people. If members are following, this is an efficient way for them to get your message.

Need a job? Have an opening? This was where LinkedIn stepped up. It's a great place to put a job out in an effortless manner. LinkedIn is also a great place to find a qualified individual to fill an open position.

YouTube helps a ministry be visible online. One of the highest in search results this helps a ministry create an image online like no other platform can. Use this platform right and thousands will know what your ministry is up to.

Put your ministry on the map with FourSquare. Though a lesser social media site, it’s still an important one to at least set up. This will help anyone searching for the ministry location find it and see a small bio also.

For the creative types Pinterest is the place to be. It's a great place to stick ideas and projects out for followers to approve. This sharing site is a great tool to get creative with ministry members.

We have looked at many social media platforms. In our final week we looked at Account Managing Platforms. These can relieve a lot of stress that comes from managing this many platforms. They are a great way to keep up with many of the platforms all in one place, which is something we recommend since most ministries are footed through volunteers or staff with multiple duties.

With all of these tools in your belt, a ministry is set to go. We encourage you to take the step into social media. Whether it is one or all, we would love to talk to you about setting up your social sites to maximize your ministry potential. We hope this series has benefitted you in some way. Now you can get out there and be the light online.

It’s the time of year for resolutions, revamping and planning for 2013. The end of Advent marks a bit of a break for church activities until Lent kicks off on the road to Easter. Now is a great time to get caught up and kick off some new and influential ways to engage your community. So here are a few ideas that we can help you get started.

1. Step up your web game. If you’re not actively (and creatively) using your website and social media presence, you’re missing out on a lot of ministry opportunity. We can help the ministry that’s just getting started with E-Zekiel.

2. Start using more video. Posting sermons is one thing, but actively using the resources and creative people in your midst to develop in-house video production can transform the way people engage the gospel. Then embed the video right into your website using E-Zekiel TV.

3. Make communication ministry part of your lifestyle. Too often church communication is segmented, generic and unorganized. Bring it all together with Thrive. Manage e-mail, social media, print and your website all in one location.

4. Develop a communication team. Communication shouldn’t be done by one person working alone, and it shouldn’t be done by random people who don’t communicate with each other. Develop a team and then set goals, benchmarks and standards.

5. Pray every day that the words of our Father will reach those who need to hear them most and that your communication ministry will do everything it can to be faithful to that calling.

HootSuite

One of the leaders in social scheduling, HootSuite allows for multiple users (at a price) while individual users can use and add up to ten social platforms for free. Each social account is granted its own tab where the user can view the feed, the messages (or @ replies), as well as schedule and see the scheduled posts.

Sprout Social

This is the platform we currently use. This platform is the same as HootSuite on paying to use, though with Sprout you are only allowed four platforms with the free version. With Sprout every site is viewable in the same feed. The user can select what is viewed by simply checking which (or how many) account feeds they want to view at one time. This makes monitoring simpler and more effective than Hootsuite though at times can become overwhelming with the amount of information being poured in at once.

Applications

Nearly every social media site has an app, including the two platforms mentioned above. In the capacity of an app, however, these platforms are limited. So this is why the individual social media sites' accounts may be better to use. They may not be in a central location but it definitely allows for management on the go. With these also comes the opportunity to still manage the sites individually without the use of a computer.

Setting up a platform

To use these, just like a social media account, a user account must be created. After creating the account (with an email and password) the user can begin adding platforms to manage. The username and password will be required for each added platform. After allowing these platforms access to the account, you can add the next account. This may take a while, but it makes managing the sites that much easier.

In the end…

There are many benefits to adding a managing platform. Besides the known benefit of viewing all of the accounts at once, there are a few more benefits to be realized. Pre-scheduling posts is a real time saver. Instead of worrying about remembering to post something, simply preschedule the post through the platform. This can be done with individual scheduling, or in Hootsuite you can upload an entire spreadsheet of pre-scheduled posts. There is also the time saved. With all of the accounts in one place, the amount of time to check and respond to social inquiries is reduced greatly.

We hope that not only the benefits of managing platforms but social accounts in general have been realized. Next week we look forward to drawing this series to a close and would love to help in any way possible with your social questions. Simply leave them in the comments below!

Why Pinterest?

When we first heard of Pinterest, we weren’t sure what was going on. Pinboards and “pinning” are the two main actions on Pinterest. Pinboards are like an online bulletin board where you “pin” anything that catches your fancy. Pinboards can be customized to whatever topics the user seeks. There isn’t an end goal with Pinterest. It simply exists to gather information for future use. There are many uses a ministry can have for Pinterest. A ministry could pin teaching lessons, share upcoming event posters, or pin the potential seasonal decorations for the ministry; really the possibilities are endless. It all boils down to how creative the ministry wants to get.

How to set it up

Pinterest wasn’t always open for public use. Pinterest rode the wave of invite-only launches. This soft launch allowed for them to fix bugs before a mass release to the public. Now you can simply join with a Facebook log-in. Once inside, you can add all of your Facebook friends immediately. If one person is connected to most of the ministry members, this is a great way to easily gather all of them at one time and inform them of the new ministry site. The ministry can then create their boards and then start pinning whatever subjects the ministry feels they should be sharing with their members and followers.

We’re really excited. Years of work have finally paid off. Thrive is now live and ready to give churches all over the country (and world) the ability to take their communication to a whole new level of sophistication.

Active ministries have a lot going on -- from worship gatherings to small groups to missions to meetings to those surprise moments when the communication staff has to get the word out. One of the biggest challenges for church communicators is the constant development of new materials from each week for websites, social media, e-mail blasts, text messaging and printed material.

Let’s be honest. It can be tedious and it can be a headache.

Thrive was designed with the needs of those communicators in mind. We wanted to know how we could help if we brought the control and development of all this material into one place? What if church communicators didn’t have to start from scratch each week? What if they didn’t have to have to keep track of half a dozen computer programs? What if we could provide them with a means to simplify the process and allow more time for creativity? What if we could connect church leaders with professional designers to finally give their communication the look their ministry deserves? What if we could provide church communicators with a way to produce amazing content across multiple platforms every single week?

We thought that would be awesome. So we built it. And now it’s ready for you.

Check-in

Foursquare is used to “check-in” at a location -- essentially telling individuals' followers they are at a certain spot in town. This goes not to just their Foursquare following but also their Twitter and Facebook following if they are opted-in to share on those sites. By checking in, a person receives points. These accrue both weekly and location-wise in order to compete against other users. The person with the most points at a location (garnered through the amount of visits they make to a location) is the mayor. People use it not only as a game but also to find establishments and learn more about them.

This is why a ministry should have a profile for their location. As the world moves further online people will continue to search more through the web and applications like this before searching the old way. Creating a profile allows the ministry to put the information they want on the location. This information includes a short description, hours, type of establishment. As the profile creator, a ministry can even add incentives for checking in. This can include free items or discounts on things. This is yet another reason people check-in on Foursquare.

Get Started!

Getting started on Foursquare is very similar to other social media platforms. You can sign up using a Facebook account or email address. When first creating the account, enter the standard information: name, email address, password, location, gender, date of birth and upload a profile picture. At this point you have the opportunity to add friends and get a feel of the Foursquare interface. If you are at a location, you can do all of the things mentioned above. You can also create a location if there isn’t an option to check-in.

Ensuring that a ministry is on these social sites means that, wherever a person searches, the ministry will be found. This includes an online map game of sorts. A very popular app, it will definitely benefit a ministry to have information on Foursquare.

It isn’t all about the “viral” aspect

Most of the time we associate YouTube with what are known as “viral” videos. We have debunked the viral myth before, and we want to take this time to truly point out the high points of having a YouTube account. In the introduction we pointed out the SEO implications of YouTube. Since Google owns YouTube and YouTube is actually the third largest search engine, when compiling results, YouTube is both logged and posted very high. Besides helping boost a ministry's website, this also places a visual image of the ministry as the top result. With this in mind YouTube has made it to where video posters can select the image that shows up for their video's thumbnail. This helps viewers see the image the poster (ministry) intends for them to see to entice them to look further.

YouTube itself is a great way to raise awareness about a ministry. Videos can be posted of a ministry’s operations. Videos can also be posted to encourage support of ministry campaigns. These visual tools can help entice support that a simple tweet, post, or blog article might otherwise miss.

Creating a YouTube account

The creation of the account is relatively simple. If a ministry has already created a Google account as suggested in the first article of the series, all it takes is that email address and password to log into the YouTube account. At this point the ministry will choose an account name. This will be visible to all users. A username that matches usernames and titles across other platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is highly suggested.

The more important part of a YouTube profile, though, is how to upload the videos. To start, click the upload button at the top center of the page. YouTube will then prompt the user to upload the videos they wish to upload. During the upload process, there will be options on publishing, video title, and description. Description is key. Not only should the video be described in a helpful manner, but links pointing back to the ministry should be shared here also. This is where the SEO we mentioned earlier comes into play. Once these things are set, save the upload and begin sharing on social profiles.

The visual aesthetics that come from YouTube can truly enhance a ministry's Internet presence. As always we hope this article was insightful. If there are any questions simply leave a comment. Suggestions are welcomed and appreciated also!

Journalists typically follow a metric that falls under seven categories to identify what is and isn't newsworthy. The next time you pitch a story, think about these considerations.

Timeliness – When did the event happen? The closer the event is to present day, the higher its value. For example, if you had a big fundraiser two weeks ago, it's not going to have the same value as it would if it were today or tomorrow.

Proximity – How close is the story to the media outlet’s audience? Depending on the importance of the story, proximity can expand. However, if the big fundraiser was held in the local community, it’s going to have a greater impact than it would if it were held on the other side of the state.

Rarity/Novelty – How often does something happen? There is a cliché in the news business that nobody cares if a dog bites a man, but if the man bites the dog, then it’s news. This is one of the reasons churches can have a hard time getting coverage for doing good things. Churches are supposed to do good things. The flip side of this is exactly why churches will always get coverage for doing bad things.

Prominence – Who was involved in the story? If you have video of someone dancing to Gangnam Style, nobody is going to care – unless the person dancing happens to be the governor.

Impact – How does this story specifically impact the lives of the people who read/watch the story? If a decision is going to have direct consequences for the general public, the newsworthiness goes up.

Human Interest – These stories are called “soft news.” They typically don’t have a direct impact on a lot of lives; they’re simply interesting. Perhaps it’s a story about someone who has a really unique hobby or it’s a profile on local entertainment.

How Linkedin can benefit ministries

Linkedin is used to build professional connections, regardless of the profession. Whether it is to keep up with colleagues or former college classmates, Linkedin is a great way to do this. Not only can you keep up with these individuals, but you can use the site to connect with other individuals who could help further your ministry. Having these professional connections can help a ministry further their promotion also. It is key to know and resource the connections you have; this is what Linkedin is all about.

Linkedin is also about jobs. There are places to post job openings not only on Linkedin but within the site inside professional groups. As a ministry builds connections and seeks to expand, they can use Linkedin to find the individuals they are seeking for their ministry. With Linkedin being a site for professionals, finding qualified applicants is standard on Linkedin.

How to set up Linkedin

If you have noticed so far, set up for social media accounts are pretty standard. Linkedin will have some differences though because of the professional networking opportunities it offers. On the first window you put in your name, password, and email address. It is best that you use the name you will use in the professional world, not an alias or nickname. Then you will have the opportunity to fill in your current job information. If anyone views your profile, this information will be shown if you opt to reveal it. Next you will be given the option to invite or connect with your friends. This is something which can be taken care of once the profile is completely set, so don’t worry about it if time is not there. The next screen will prompt for a validation of email by going to your inbox and clicking back through to the site. At this point registration is complete. After the initial set up, a person can go back and spruce up their profile. Additional job information can be added along with a profile photo. As individual connections grow, the opportunities to learn through Linkedin will grow also.

The key with Linkedin is to stay up to date on the site. This is important not only with news on the site but with news about yourself and profile also. Linkedin can be an important tool in a ministry's social toolbox. You simply have to choose to use it. If you have any questions about using Linkedin or input from your experience, please leave them in the comments!

Fortunately there is an option (C).

We don’t want to leave journalists with too little information if we can help it, so my general rule of thumb is to say something to the effect that, “I don’t have all the details to adequately answer that question in a way that will benefit you (the reporter), but if you give me your contact information and tell me when your deadline is, I’ll be happy to get you the information you need before the deadline.”

The thing to remember is that you actually need to get that information to the reporter when you say you will. This will serve a few purposes:

1.) It gets accurate information to the media.

2.) It earns you the respect of the reporter.

3.) It establishes you as a dependable contact with the reporter and he/she will be more
likely to seek you out for stories.

Reporters are simply people doing a job. The easier you make it for them, the better off you’ll be today, and the better off you’ll be the next time you need something published or the next time you’re facing a crisis.

Why Twitter?

Twitter offers an instant manner that many other social media platforms have not embraced fully. Although for many social media platforms notifications can be set up for smart phones, Twitter has a service which rises above notifications. Every person has the option when they follow a Twitter account to receive text messages from profiles they follow. This creates a great way for ministry followers to stay updated directly from the organization at no cost. Twitter is centered around this sharing mentality. With limited posting abilities (140 characters) an organization can share upcoming events, changes in hours, updates to the website, interesting information related to the ministry or simple notes of encouragement. The benefits of establishing a Twitter account are pretty simple. The key is to make sure the demographics are there to follow the ministry.

Who Isn’t Here?

This is a big issue that Twitter and its users both are working to overcome. One of the larger questions about Twitter has been its adoption rate among different demographics. Many young people and professionals are using Twitter, however outside of those demographics there are few others actively ‘tweeting’ (as it’s called). The main reason why most ministries choose not to dive into Twitter is because of the fewer users as opposed to Facebook. The reason we suggest to look past this is because with every profile there is greater visibility for the ministry and the set up and use of Twitter is one of the easier social media platforms.

How to Start

When first logging on to Twitter, you will be first prompted for a name, email, and password. It is suggested that you use the ministry title, email, and a password easy to remember to start with. Upon hitting enter there will be an option to select the username. Choose a username as central to the organization as possible. Whether it is an acronym or the actual ministry name, only twenty characters are available for the name. After this choice the ministry can then set up their privacy settings and user profile image. The best thing an organization can do is to set up their profile to be public and use their logo as an image. After these things are done, the ministry is ready to begin tweeting. Share the ministry's Twitter handle through all available means, and this will begin the influx of followers the ministry needs for their Twitter profile to become useful.

With a functioning Twitter profile, a ministry can stay in immediate connection with followers like no other social media platform can. If a ministry becomes active beyond general public service announcements on Twitter, they will see activity from their followers also. It is all about how the ministry uses the tools. As always if there are any questions about the platform or suggestions you have to add we would love to hear them in the comments.

The Benefits of Groups

Groups provide a great way to stay in contact with people. There are many different settings for groups, which are not allowed on profile pages or fan pages. These allow for a more organized social media experience. With groups every post is sent in notification form to every member (on default settings). This allows for group members to be notified at any time. The groups can be either public or private. This means people can be added and dropped at any time. This also means that people can have an access view to the group if it is set to public. The various settings are easy to handle and can be changed at any time.

The Setup

Setting up groups is similar to every other social media setup. Of course with Facebook, a personal profile must first be created. Once this has been created, on the left-hand side of the news feed (home user page) there is a groups tab. Click the "more"button and in the top right-hand corner there is a "create a new group"button. When you select this button,you begin the process. You are able to select whom the group is open to. You can add new members there at the beginning. You can also select whether the group is public or private. There in a few simple steps a Facebook Group has been created.

The Reason

Facebook groups are set up to keep small or large pockets of individuals together and informed. Facebook groups are also great for a ministry seeking to plan an event or keep donors informed; this is a great way to stay on top of the details. Groups are also a good way to keep the behind-the-scenes information flowing. Really, Facebook groups can be used in as many ways as a ministry can dream up.

How is your ministry using Facebook groups? Do you have any questions about how to setup or start using Facebook groups? We would love to start the conversation!

Which brings us to our next series on how to deal with the media professionally. I’d like to dispel some myths that have festered into fact in our society and give some insight on what journalists are looking for and what they’re not.

To begin with, journalists are not the boogieman. They’re simply men and women doing a job telling stories that they may or may not be personally invested in. They’re not out to get you. They’re simply searching for a good story to tell. Your job becomes helping them find that story. The easier you make their lives, the more they’ll appreciate you and your efforts. Which means you have increased the probability that they will run a story you’re pitching in the future because you have already established your credibility.

Secondly, there is no “liberal bias” in the media. This one of those phrases that gets tossed around so frequently that the public has ceased to question it. I know as many reporters with conservative values as I do those with progressive values. The truth is that very often the individual reporter doesn’t get a choice on what story they’re covering. It’s assigned to him/her by someone up the ladder who is focusing more on ratings than political perspective. When it comes to churches and non-profits, they’re typically looking for people doing really creative and meaningful things in their communities, or on the negative side, they’re looking for places of blatant hypocrisy.

The question for us becomes understanding their role, what motivates them and how we’re going to use the news media as a valuable resource instead of viewing them as opposition. Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking at specifics on how to work with them to create positive relationships and ultimately generate positive PR for your ministry.

When people think social media, they think Facebook. When a ministry begins to think of building a social media presence, Facebook is usually the first place they go. Why would they not want to start there? We looked last week at the positive returns a Google+ page can have for a ministry. This week we will look at how a ministry can benefit from maintaining a Facebook Fan Page and how to create one.

Maintaining Members

With the sheer number of people on Facebook, this is the best social media for members to be maintained. The great thing about a fan page is that even if the people aren’t members of the page, they can still see everything the page posts. Also with a fan page, what the membership views is up to the individual. Not only can the individual opt-into becoming a member, they can also choose how much information they see. The other great thing about a fan page is all someone has to do is search for the name of the ministry and it will automatically be the first thing returned in the search results. These things make having a fan page a must have for any ministry.

Creating a Fan Page

When a ministry goes to create a fan page, the first thing they must have is a Facebook profile. This does not have to be one dedicated to the ministry; an individual can have a profile in order to create the page. On the left-hand side of the home page for any individual is a “pages” link. In the top right hand corner of the page which opens, there is a “create the page” link. Clicking on this link will begin the page creation process. As with any social media profile you will begin with the page’s title, type of organization, and location. As you click through the different set-up pages, there will be options to add photos, create posting limitations, and add administrators to manage the page.

Using the Page

With the creation of the page, the organization must begin to decide on how to manage the page. They must decide who will post and how posting will take place. We have covered these questions in previous articles. Hopefully you will take the time to go back and read these articles to help launch the ministry’s fan page.

As always if you have any questions on how to set up a Facebook Fan Page for your organization, just leave them in the comments. We would love to start a conversation with you about how to further your ministry’s social presence through a Facebook Fan Page.

Take, for example, this scenario. A reporter calls and a random staff member answers the phone and when asked about the incident, the staff member responds with, “We’ll I’m not really sure, but I heard…”

The staff member may be correct, and he/she may be incorrect, but fiction will inevitably fester into fact if left unchecked, especially if it contradicts the official statement. To be an effective crisis communicator requires providing clear and consistent information and obvious paths to that information. This is why it’s critical that everyone on staff knows who may talk to the media and who may not. But, it’s just as important for everyone on staff to know who to direct questions to and for that person to make timely responses to reporters. A good idea is to print a simple document with the name and number of the person the reporter needs to speak with and give it to everyone in the building so that it’s clear what the communication flow should be.

Remember, we’re in ministry so we want to do the right thing. We’re expected to do the right thing. We don’t funnel reporters to a single person because we’re being obstructive. We funnel reporters because we want to ensure they get the correct information the simplest way possible.

If you remember back (or go back) a few months, we wrote an article about the importance of having your ministry's location online. This will play into why Google+ is the place to start. There are also greater web implications beyond simply having an accessible profile, and we will look at those and then explain how to set up a profile to maximize the potential of the ministry.

Searchable

Since Google owns Google+, everything that goes into the profile is found through search returns. This means a lot of beautiful things. The ministry's location is found, and not just an address, but a map, with directions, and an image of the ministry. The reason why we suggest this profile is made first is because when it is searched, it will come up in its own special section on the side (when using Google Search). This places it in full view (with the pictures added to the profile) for anyone searching. Also this can be another place where the ministry's website can be found. This is a great way to get the website in a noticeable place if there are multiple ministries with the same name.

How To Set-up the account

If you have a gmail account, most of the work is done for you. You simply go to plus.google.com and sign in (an alternate email can also used but there are a few more steps involved). The first thing you do is complete a personal profile. This isn’t particularly needed because once you get through those steps you will scroll down the left hand side to the “more” button where you will click to go to the “pages” button. Here you select whether you are an organization or business. At this point you begin to go through the same process of how you have set up the personal profile (if you did). Be as detailed as possible. Remember this profile could be the first thing that someone searching for your ministry online could see.

The End Result

With the account created, there isn’t much left to do. You have the opportunity to post things. At the minimum you should update the page with events happening for your ministry. If you want to be more interactive than this, there are articles we have written before which address how to properly engage your audience. Give those a look if you have any reservations or need inspiration.

With a Google+ Page created, a ministry is going to receive more visibility when searched. People are going to be able to have a faster access to the ministry and be able to pinpoint the ministry's location and times of operation. The end result is a more professional looking organization which has moved into the technology age.

There was just one catch: the incident happened in the 1960s.

This was very prominent and large church that had weekly television broadcasts of its services. But in the wake of the Catholic sex scandals dominating television at the time, this church had done something very different. Even though the incident allegedly occurred four decades earlier and no one currently working on staff was around then and the vast majority of the congregation had also changed, the church followed the principle of doing everything right.

First of all, the former youth leader was actually a retired pastor in a different denomination, but they notified the denominational leaders of the situation. Secondly, they immediately took care of counseling needs the woman had by paying for therapy with a licensed counselor. Thirdly, they dug up the records of every church member they could find from the time of the incident to present day, and they sent out letters to all of them explaining the situation and asking for anyone else who may have been victimized to please come forward.

They didn’t try to hide the situation. They dealt with it head-on.

The phone call from the local station came anyway. But from a PR standpoint we were sitting on two advantages.

1.) The church had made an ethical response, regardless of any embarrassment.

2.) I had a well-established relationship with the reporter.

In the wake of stories dealing with churches hiding from sex scandals, as tragic as the situation was, this was a story about a church doing everything in its power to make things right. There was just one problem. No one wanted to speak with the media.

As the communication director, this was the point where I had to explain what would happen if they didn’t. The victim would give her story. It would be terrible and it would be heart wrenching. Then the reporter would ultimately say, “We tried to talk with the church officials, but they refused to comment,” and all while splashing video of this very recognizable church. Suddenly, the church has gone from doing the right thing to hiding. And in journalism and public perception, hiding always means one thing… Guilt.

Suddenly, by not talking, the church officials were going to take a bad story that was turned into a positive and turn it right back into a negative.

Eventually I was able to sway their attitudes, and they agreed to do the interview. Then the victim decided she didn’t want to pursue the story any longer. At the end of the day, no story ran.

Much good can come from speaking to the media in a crisis situation. So don’t run from them. We’re going to start a series soon on how to deal with the media on a day-to-day basis and how to prep for an interview. But the first thing to remember is they’re not your enemy. They’re just people who have a job to do, and the easier you make their job, the better off you’ll be in the end.

Who uses the platform?

If we haven’t stressed it enough in previous articles, understanding the demographics your ministry is going to reach is key. With each platform we will look at which demographic will be reached. This will help a ministry maximize their time and platforms.

What is the platform used for?

Every platform has uses they are known for. When a ministry has the knowledge of what the platform is used for, then they will be able to maximize their potential uses. We will look at the many uses each platform has and how they work. This way a ministry can know how to maximize the uses of each platform.

How does the platform work?

We will get down to the nuts and bolts of the operations behind each platform (maybe not down to the actual code but pretty close). As we get into the series we will look at how the platforms operate. Understanding how the platforms work will help ministries reach out in the most effective ways possible.

Where a ministry should start.

Every ministry has a place to start. Each week we will cover the three topics above and this fourth one. The platform that we spotlight will also include what ministry it works best with. This will complete a comprehensive understanding of how the platform can perform for the ministry.

First, we answered the social question. We lined out exactly what is a social ministry. We showed who should participate and how it should work. This laid the foundation for the series.

Second, we talked about who should be social. In all honesty, anyone can be social. We lined out how different groups could be social. Understanding that any ministry can start a social ministry is key. It helps build confidence, as a group understands how their ministry can become social and reach an entire new group of individuals.

Third, we looked at what can happen if an organization is over social. We looked at several different forms this can take. As a ministry takes the steps to become social they need to understand how to avoid making these rookie mistakes. With this groundwork laid, they can begin actually looking to the ministry aspect, which comes from being social.

Fourth, we laid out how a ministry can begin engaging. There are several different ways in which a ministry can engage people. We looked at the best ways to maximize engagement. Our fourth article in the series led directly into the final topic of our series.

In our fifth article, we talked about growing. As a ministry begins to engage people they will grow. It is important for every organization to understand how to handle growth. We hope that the final article helped with this.

We have spent five solid weeks lining out how a social ministry works. Now it is up to you. You have to go out and create the ministry. God has called each of us to something. We have handed you the keys to lay the groundwork for your own social ministry. You have the charge now to go out and create. As always, if you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to help you begin to embrace a social ministry mindset.

Imagine receiving a phone call from the local police department with some of the worst news imaginable. Your youth minister had just been arrested for soliciting sex with an underage girl on the Internet who was actually an undercover police officer. This is the nightmare scenario that keeps church leaders awake at night. When the trust is broken that had been placed in the hands of someone, who was adored by many, the shockwaves will ripple through an entire ministry.

It’s this kind of news that can leave a church leader stunned and at least for a while unable to think clearly. The problem is this very moment is when you need to have your A game in play. The next few minutes will set the tone and direction of everything that is to follow. You want to make it count. This is why you want to establish protocols before anything happens.

The initial response is almost always to shut down, not to speak to anyone and hope it goes away. THIS IS THE WORST POSSIBLE RESPONSE. It won’t go away. It will only fester, gain pressure and explode. Ministries are particularly vulnerable to outrage and rightfully so. We need to be mindful of our particular place in society and the role we play in people’s lives. We need to set the example even in the worst of situations.

So to get you started, I want to imbed one main point. We represent Christ. We do the right thing, even in the worst of situations. We don’t hide. We don’t make excuses. We do the right thing. Repeat it to yourself and write it at the top of the first page of your notebook in bold letters. I want it to be the very first thing you see in that moment of sober realization of whatever tragedy has just occurred. Those words will help you find clarity and could save your ministry.

Next week: Get the facts.

Have you dealt with a crisis in your ministry? Please comment and let us know!

The first area of growth will be learning. This happens especially with a volunteer social ministry team. As they spend time focused on their ministry, they will learn important things about it. They will learn about when the right time to post will be. They will learn the most effective ways to get the community involved. They will also be learning how to minister online and use the tools. Learning these things will help not just the ministry grow, but it will also help the ones doing the ministry grow in their vocations.

Reach

Reach is a word used in social circles. As a ministry grows, the ministry's reach grows. This comes with the learning. As the social ministry team members grow comfortable in their work, they will find where they can reach the online realm. Reaching leads to the next step, which is the community.

Community

As the ministry grows through learning and reach, the community builds. This is where the numbers will grow. Obviously it’s not all about numbers but numbers are a part of growth. As the community comes together they will be able to point the ministry on where to reach out. The ministry will also continue to grow in their learning as the community grows. That is the neat thing about growing: every part of the growth is tied together. The most important thing is the last area of growth we will look at today.

Ministry

With the growth that happens in the other three areas we have looked at today, it expands our capacity for ministry. Ultimately what we are seeking with any ministry is to be able to grow in what we are doing. Ministry growth happens in more ways than numbers though. As a social ministry grows online, the social ministry team will have more avenues to do ministry -- and not just for more people but in more meaningful ways also. This is where the learning growth is applied. Ministry leaders will know how to be more effective and thus do more ministry through their growth. With a strengthened community, ministry has a stronger impact in an individual’s life because of the support network. As stated before, when we are able to see how each of these growth areas are interconnected, we will be able to even further grow the ministry.

The largest takeaway we can have from this article is to document growth. Document each experience so that, down the road, the ministry will be able to evaluate what it needs to do in order to continue on the trend it is on. Through documentation the ministry can also see areas where it can further grow.

As always, we'd love to hear from you!

Too often organizations believe it can’t happen to them. Then they find themselves on the evening news. Completely unprepared. Churches are extremely vulnerable because of the high expectations of morality that are associated with them. If those expectations get violated, it can shake a ministry to its core unless they’re prepared.

I can also tell you that when it happens, there’s a very good chance it’ll be by someone you know and never suspected. It’s in these moments that we go into crisis communication mode. There are good ways and terrible ways to handle these situations. The problem is the terrible ways seem like good ideas at the time, but the consequences simply make the problem worse.

So let’s prepare. Over the next few Wednesdays we’ll be going through the process of developing a crisis communication plan and what to do in times of crisis. Here’s your homework for the week: Compile a list of scenarios that would be worse-case situations. Then think about how you would handle them. What would you say to reporters, employees and family members? Comment and share them with us and we'll do our best to examine your particular example.

We’ll pick it up from there next week.

Outreach

What should always be on our mind is reaching out to people around us. This is included in social ministries. We should be looking for ways to reach out to those in our community online and see how our social ministry can help them. Engaging through outreach can be a sensitive situation. At times there will be people who do not want to be reached. We must be very respectful in our conversation. Remember that any conversation we have online as a ministry plays into our reputation both online and offline. So when reaching out and engaging we must be mindful of these things.

Conversations

With social ministry there will be conversations. People are engaging us as a ministry. When people engage us as ministries, we need to be prepared for how we will respond. Every ministry should set a time frame on responses and, in particular, know how to respond when adversity comes. Conversations can be a great way to allow people to see how a ministry will operate. So once again we must remember that holding ourselves in the most upright manner is what we are called to do.

Inreach

A social ministry is a great way to reach within our ministry and keep ourselves connected. Using the ministry to reach within ourselves and maintain relationships is a great engaging opportunity. When we take the time to reach within our ministry and engage each other, it allows us to build community like never before. As stated earlier in the series, a social ministry is a great way to keep a ministry connected. This is where inreach comes in. A social ministry should have a plan on how to keep the ministry community they have built engaged and active. An engaged and active ministry community will do leaps above any other plan on how to engage others.

With these three sections in mind, we now can go and build a plan on how to engage or keep engaged a ministry community. A plan for engagement will set us up for next week's topic. So come back next Monday and we will tackle the next part of our social ministry series. If you have any questions about creating an engagement plan, we would love to start a conversation with you!

The most effective way I’ve discovered to ensure plans become realities is to put them on a calendar with firm deadlines. Then put that calendar in a very visible location to make sure everyone on the team sees it every day. For some, this may take the form of project management software, others MS Outlook. For me I’m old fashioned and like to blanket a wall with the information.

For example, as Christmas approaches you might have tasks like: mail outs and/or e-mail blasts, updating the website, graphic design, shooting videos and running commercials. These are all things that need to be planned well in advance of their publish dates. Putting them on the calendar helps keep you organized and forces you to view the tasks as definitive things to be done and not just good ideas to get around to if you have the time. Incidentally, if you’re wondering when you should start planning for Christmas, the time is now.

For my plans I like to have an over-arching yearly calendar followed by a detailed monthly calendar. This lets me keep the big picture in mind while I’m attending to the details.

Do you have a great idea on how to stay organized? We’d love to hear it!

Too Many Platforms

We all get excited about new things. We want the latest and greatest. When it comes to social ministry, we must think about whether or not it will help further the ministry. With too many platforms the people running the social ministry can feel overwhelmed. This overwhelming feeling can lead to a mis-management of sites. It can also lead to a lack of interaction.

Over Management

Over management can take many forms. There is over management through excessive scheduling. This is when the site has so much information being pushed through it that followers feel overwhelmed. Also during this “over social” time the important information gets lost in the noise of other messages. A second way of over management is to focus too much on providing a response. Everyone needs a response; a timely response is important, but people should not feel obligated to drop everything simply to reply to a question. A third way this happens is through too many managers. It is best to have the least amount of people sending out messages as possible. This keeps all of the messages consistent in content and format.

Too Much Content

Stemming from the first part of over management, sending out too much content is overwhelming. This can happen through management issues. It can also happen from having too many people managing the sites. In this way no one knows who is posting and thus multiple people post different messages really close together. This can lead to confusion among followers. Also posting above and beyond the scheduled content can lead to this problem.

These are three areas where a ministry can be over social. Most of these happen in isolated incidents. To move past these issues, the first step is to create goals as a social ministry team. The next is to make sure each team member has defined roles to play. Finally approving a schedule and proper posting etiquette will help round out a defined social ministry team.

If you have any other suggestions to add or questions about social ministry do not hesitate to start a conversation through the comments section!

In any form of storytelling, it is crucial to consider what you want the audience to walk away with. If there is a point or question that you want them to truly consider, then it helps to identify it from the beginning. Afterward your task is simplified and your objective is to get the audience to that point.

Communication plans aren’t any different. You need to define what your ultimate goal is for the plan and then break it down into manageable benchmarks. You’re not necessarily laying down specific solutions yet, but rather drawing a map of how to achieve the destination. But if your goal is to reach 1,000 Facebook fans in six months, then you need to have a firm understanding of monthly benchmarks to hit that number by the deadline. Or if you want to start a YouTube channel with regular video posts, then consider what it will take to establish that channel, content creation and publication.

Next week we’ll put it all together.

Have questions or comments? We'd love to hear them!

The Active Ministry

A ministry on the go needs to stay in constant communication. Being a social ministry helps, even in the simple things -- whether it is reminding people of a schedule change or simply keeping them in contact. A ministry that is active does not have the time to stay connected to everyone. When an active ministry integrates social into their ministry, people are able to connect with them and thus keep the ministry even more active than it was before.

The Outreach Ministry

Every ministry is called to reach out to others. However one way an outreach ministry can be even more intentional than ever is to add social to its ways of ministering. There are more people online than there are in most countries. If a ministry is searching for a way to grow their outreach ministry, going online and becoming social could be a great tool. Even if they focus on reaching their community, there will be people who could be reached through the Internet who would never be found going door-to-door doing outreach.

The Contemporary Ministry

If you are a ministry dedicated to reaching this generation and the one before it, then social is the way to go. We know that this age bracket comprises the main majority of active Internet users. With this in mind, know that it will definitely be easier to invite them or inform them about a ministry and its activities through social means than it ever would be through traditional mailings or advertisements.

The Growing Ministry

Very similar to the active ministry, if a ministry is growing, then there are many things people will need to keep up with. In contemporary churches occasionally there is a venue change; other times a technology break down or a plea for extra volunteers. As a ministry that will be trying new things, social is a great thing to add to the list that won’t be going away anytime soon.

There are more ministries than these four that fit on the list. Leave a comment with a ministry area you think would benefit from being social. As you go away from this article think about the ministry you are involved in and whether or not it is taking the steps it needs to be social. Also does it need to take the steps to be social? There are some ministries that are not ready or really do not have a need to be social. There are others who can really benefit. Where does yours stand?

This brings us to step three which is considered the golden rule of communication: Know Thy Audience. So before you start making brochures and updating your website, spend some time examining the audience you want to reach with your message. A classic rookie mistake is to dive headlong into a campaign by assuming you know what your audience needs/wants to hear. Which brings me to an addition to this rule: You reach people by going where they are, not where you want them to be. Duck hunters don’t go to the desert; neither should you focus your efforts reaching people in the places they’re not simply because that's where you hang out.

Think about this one for a long time. If you want to reach people, you have to put your messages in language that is common to them, focus it around topics that are important to them and target it in the places they are going to be anyway. Incidentally, Jesus was really good at this one.

Here is your assignment. Find a few people that fit the demographic you want to reach. While it’s tempting to use people already in your church to pull information from, don’t solely rely on them. They’re already part of your community and therefore biased. For that particular group, find out what helped them to connect. For people outside of the ministry, find out what kind of things would cause them to consider connecting with your community. Don’t feed them answers. Let it come out in a natural conversation. Figure out where they are in life. What are their distractions? Do they feel as if anything is missing from their lives? What are the things that inspire them?

Now compare those answers to the answers you found about your own ministry and see how well they line up. In some cases you may feel the need to adapt some of your ministries, but avoid trying to be all things to all people. Primarily focus on the places where their desires line up with your strengths. Once you have identified those places and developed a strong understanding of the group of people you want to reach, you are now ready to start crafting your plan.

What is a social ministry?

A social ministry can be a few different things. The first requirement is that it must be outgoing (social). Whether this is in-person outreach and visitation or online, it must be willing to reach out. Second and more specifically to what we are speaking on is that it deals with online communications. It means having an active presence reaching out and communicating to everyone through social media forms.

How does it work?

Typically, volunteers and staff work together to run a social ministry. Only in larger ministries is there a staff member who heads up the social ministry. These people work diligently to connect with organization members, visitors, and prospects online through ministry communication sites. As they build these connections, they are able to stay in touch at all times to strengthen ministry outreach and follow-up.

Who participates?

Though there are a select few who are in charge of the social ministry, it takes everyone. If only one or two people are being social online then the ministry seems very small or inactive. It takes everyone being willing to reach out to those who they connect with naturally to be social and draw them into the physical ministry.

Why should an organization extend itself into social ministry?

As we know and can see through reading this blog, the world is moving online. Ministries must be cutting edge. The in-face visitation is nice, but it’s quicker and more time-conducive to connect through an online social form first and then reach out in person. More people are going to be searching online before they begin to search in person. When a ministry puts itself out there first, they have the potential and opportunity to reach a person before they even know they need to be reached.

Where do we start?

That’s the kicker, right? What is it that we can do to begin to be social? We would love to begin the conversation here. Drop us a comment with questions or ideas, and we would love to dialogue with you about the possibilities. Obviously the first step is prayer to see if that is where God is leading you. The next step is going before the organization and seeing if it is something viable not only to them but their ministry goals. If these things line up, then begin lining out a plan. This way the organization has a set path and goals to adhere to. Then become familiar with the tools you will be using. It is important to know what you are getting into first before you dive in. Remember don’t take on too much in the beginning, start slow and see what God has in store for your ministry!

This brings us to step two. It’s time to define your focus. This one may take some time, patience, energy and more patience. Let me offer a warning. This is the time to pay attention to all the feedback you received from step one. Your job now is to find a commonality among the answers and find your focus among them. This is NOT the time to ignore all the congregational thoughts and throw down your own vision.

This is one of the places that communication ministry runs right into the overall ministry leadership. If you don’t have a ministry focus, then it’s next to impossible to have a clearly defined communication plan. This will take collaboration. Let me say that again. This will take collaboration.

Solid work by the communication team/person can be worth its weight in gold to ministry leaders. Understanding what the congregation feels is the focus and comparing it what they actually do helps establish what are the unedited values held by the members.

In other words… we know what the leadership’s focus is. We know what the congregation says its focus is. And we now know where their actual focus is. Where all three of those intersect, that’s where you start building your plan. Ministry and Communication. Or as we like to say around here… the intersection between ministry and technology.

You have work to do. We’ll talk again next week.

In recent years we have seen a lot of growth online. This includes growth of ministries moving online. Some have reaped the benefits of moving online. Others are waiting around wondering when online will show up. There are also those who have seen the brutal end which moving online too quickly can put on a ministry. There is an entire spectrum of outcomes a ministry moving online can see.

A segment of that online movement deals with being social. In case you have not noticed, social is the new big word nowadays. It’s the happening thing online. So maybe instead of a ministry being completely integrated online they are thinking about becoming a more social ministry.

Over the next weeks we will look at what a social ministry should be comprised of, how a social ministry should handle itself, and what others will be expecting from said social ministry.

What must be understood is that social ministry is not for everyone. Social ministry is not something which is as simple as creating a Facebook page or a Twitter account either. These are simply steps to becoming a social ministry.

We will look beyond the typical social media thought and line out what a social ministry should and should not be. Ministries will be able to know through this series how to better serve through being social.

For some reason with the move online some churches have lost the social aspect. This series will help ministries see that to be a social ministry is more than just what happens online. This is an idea which must become a way of life beyond just online. To be a social ministry the ministry must embrace every aspect of ministry.

As we prepare to start this series, be considering what a social ministry would look like to you. What would you think a social ministry structure would consist of?

Today what are your thoughts? Have you stepped into social ministry or seen someone who has? What was it like?

We would love to see some dialogue happening here in the blog!

With any good communication or ministry plan, it’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know who you are. Though it seems obvious, it’s surprising how many organizations and ministries don’t really know the answer to that question. Here’s a test -- go around to the staff and congregation of your church and ask the following question:

What is our ministry’s focus?

If your leadership has never addressed this question, then you’re probably going to get a lot of variety in the answers. If your leadership has addressed this, then you’re probably going to get consistency in the answers. If your leadership has really done their homework, those answers can be delivered in ten seconds or less.

A little warning if your mind has already started twirling the term “mission statement” around in your head. That is not what our goal is for this process. Mission statements are too often wordy, generic and seldom adopted by entire congregations. We’re looking for specific and tangible. Think in terms of the things the ministry is great at doing. An example is, “We’re fantastic at small groups and children’s ministry.”

Here is this week's assignment: Figure out what your congregation believes is the ministry’s overall focus. Write down all the answers you get and group them according to the focus. You may be surprised at what your congregation thinks, especially if it doesn’t line up with your ideas. We’ll pick up next week on sharpening that focus as the next step to crafting your communication plan.

This person is typically in charge of all technology, design, and aesthetics. This is a large responsibility. The coordinator position should typically involve a highly skilled individual who receives a very decent salary. Most of the time, however, this is not the case.

There are several ways that church communications coordinator positions are filled which are less than ideal.

The Volunteer (with no experience)

This person has probably heard of Photoshop. They can log onto a computer and run basic functions. The person may be a teenager who has a “knack for that sort of thing”. This position can be good for a church that doesn’t have the means to place any other sort of person in the position.

The Volunteer (with experience)

This is typically an individual who owns or works for a local business within a category that fits communications coordinator. This person is a big help. However, they tend to stay stuck in their comfort zone. They do what they can but get stressed if a church begins to expect too much. This is a great help as long as the church doesn’t overwork the person.

The Committee (with no experience)

Churches love committees. However, a committee with no experience is a train wreck waiting to happen. They can do great to cast vision for the church; however, unless they go to training for the equipment, they probably won’t be useful for much else.

The Committee (with experience)

This is great because they can work together as a team. The hardest part is getting them into a room together. Also the church must remember that they have real jobs too, so don’t ask too much.

The Part-Time Individual (with no experience)

The church had some funds they could afford to pay an individual to work on the communications. The hard part is knowing what to expect since they have no experience. Working with their schedule can also sometimes be tricky.

The Part-Time Individual (with experience)

This person is great because they know what they are doing. Don’t overwork them, though. They do have to make money elsewhere. The hard part here is knowing how much to give them for a budget while also compensating them for the time they work.

This can be compounded down into a full-time individual also. Regardless of the position, make sure that they (or you if this is who you are) are respecting the Labor Day holiday as well and taking a break. Church communications coordinators are often the unsung heroes of the church.

At the conference I ran on coffee, chocolate, soda, beef jerky, more coffee, the occasional Iced Frappuccino and generally fours hours of sleep per night.

Inevitably, a few times during the conference some preacher/speaker would ignore my deadline and walk up to me five minutes before they were supposed to speak, hand me a scratched up CD and tell me “Here’s my PowerPoint”, and “Oh by-the-way, could you make a few changes that I wrote here on this napkin?” Without fail, the CD wouldn’t load or the file would be corrupted or something would happen to cause an epic fail on screen, leaving the speaker asking the guy behind the curtain to fix the problem. People would laugh. People would get angry. The guy behind the screen would catch the blame.

I could go on. Most days I just felt like the Wizard of Oz hiding behind a curtain, jacked up on caffeine.

Those days are past and that job now is in the hands of another. But it left a big impression on me. Because I’ve heard enough horror stories from others in the field to know that my story isn’t an isolated event. So I came up with this list of things to remember about your media team or person.

1.) Don’t hand them content at the last minute, especially if you’re asking them to build the media files. If you want it free from typos and running correctly, give them adequate time to put it together.

2.) It takes longer than you think to put multimedia presentations together. This time process can be technical, complicated and tedious. In many cases, these people are creating art and good art takes time.

3.) A good sound person is worth their weight in gold and just as hard to find. They can make the stage sound amazing or make the best band sound terrible. But if they tell you they need to do a sound check, give them that time.

4.) Don’t try to talk to them in the middle of a live event. A lot of what goes on in live events takes a lot of concentration. They don’t need someone trying to ask a bunch of questions or look at something else while they’re performing their duties.

5.) Say “Thank You.” Very often people running sound or media never hear a word from anyone unless something goes wrong. Then they tend to hear a lot of words.

6.) A big pile of snack food and a mini-fridge full of caffeine will go a long way to keeping the team happy. Extra points will be awarded for Mountain Dew and Red Bull.

The application sent me to my church because I had taken the time to activate our Google Places account and claim our local listing. When activated, this also places the church in a Google Plus account.

What’s the big deal?

Even if a church or ministry doesn’t have a website (which you should at this point in time), please take the time to activate this. Without this activated, the only place your church has any Internet activity is either in white pages or a local church directory. Without having this activated, it makes it very hard for potential visitors to find the location of your church online. We shared a statistic earlier in the year via Twitter that says over 15% of all new church visitors will search online for your website before they even consider visiting.

It’s more than just a locator.

With the transition Google Places is making the transition to Google Plus pages, there will be more opportunities than simply being located in searches. This Google Plus account can act as an active profile for the ministry. It will be a place where the ministry can keep searchers updated about the events and activities happening every week or even on special occasions.

What must be realized?

1. It helps people find the physical location of the ministry.

2. It makes the ministry visible online for free.

3. It is a place where the ministry can have updated information about it and its activities.

4. It could help lead someone to the ministry.

5. The results after this are essentially endless.

We always are looking for opportunities like this for our ministries. When we have one more way to be visible as a ministry, we are putting ourselves out there just a little bit further to be found. Don’t hesitate to take the first step.

For some, this is just another year among many to conduct this ritual. For other youngsters, the first few days of school are a completely new experience. Stepping into classrooms with freshly waxed floors and newly decorated bulletin boards is a world-changing experience. There are new faces and new expectations compounded with strange new schedules and social structures.

It’s probably a lot like going to a church for the first time.

The advantage teachers have is that there is a consistent day and time that those newcomers are going to walk in the door. There is always the first day of school.

Churches don’t have that luxury.

For churches, any day can be the first day. Whether it’s Sunday morning or Thursday afternoon, the first contact with a newcomer can make or break a potential community member. This can create all kinds of obstacles and opportunities for faith communities. There are all kinds of things that a church can do to communicate that they’re welcoming. They can have the right signs in the right places; they can run commercials that say they’re welcoming. But, if someone walks through the door looking for someone to talk to and a staff member who is late for a meeting blows them off, then you have a marketing problem. That one encounter successfully discredited your entire marketing campaign.

My advice. Before you spend 10s, 100s, or 1,000s of dollars on marketing, make sure you have hospitality down to an art. Because just like a warm smile from a kindergarten teacher can sooth the worry in a child’s soul, so can a warm smile from a member of your faith community relieve a weary traveler bringing a host of baggage with them.

The key in going viral is that it should never be a numbers game. Viral is something which deals more with emotions than just people. So what happens is, indirectly through going viral a ministry may increase in numbers. Having a purpose helps prepare the ministry better should something go viral.

We will look at two examples where a ministry could go viral with a purpose. In the end they will build upon each other.

To Inspire Community

There are several ways in which a community may be inspired. We could spend an entire post talking about different communities that have been inspired. For the sake of time and explanation, we will look to a television commercial. A few years ago, Liberty Mutual ran an advertisement campaign that was all about paying it forward. The commercial was inspiring -- and something a ministry could learn from. A key way for a ministry to go viral is to do something which inspires people. When a community begins to be inspired great things can happen.

To Raise Awareness

One of the ways a community can be inspired is through raising awareness. Whether for a local or international ministry, raising awareness for a specific topic can really take a ministry places. One of the best examples of this would be KONY 2012. Regardless of how you feel about the subject, this was a viral campaign. It raised significant awareness about what is happening in Africa today. Since the current generation is such a social justice-minded people, when a ministry seeks to raise awareness, if people are inspired to do so, then things can go viral very quickly.

Remember This…

As we leave, there are several things to consider. First, remember viral cannot be forced. Viral happens. There are ways a ministry can prepare for viral, and we have done our best to help provide those. Second, should someone mention “Let's do something that will go viral” remember back to this article series. Think twice before attempting the practically impossible.

Years ago, I attended a small church that had a parking lot that bordered the high school football field. Specifically, it bordered the scoreboard end zone. I realized this created an interesting marketing opportunity. At least four or five Friday nights of every fall, half of our small town was sitting in the bleachers staring at our church building.

So I did what any self-respecting communication person would do. I bought a 14-foot freestanding projection screen and started marketing like a madman at every home game. That effort paid off one night when due to an electrical problem in the stadium, half the lights and scoreboard went out. The game was paused until the coaches and refs decided to continue.

That’s when our phone rang. The press box called and asked if we could act as the scoreboard until they got the problem fixed. I’m not exaggerating when I say the stands went absolutely crazy when from a dimly lit end zone, our screen lit up with the score. It was a proud, proud moment. People were still talking about that night years later.

This is obviously a unique example, and that’s the point. There was something unique about the location of our ministry, and we leveraged it to our advantage. Which begs the question: What makes your ministry unique? Is there anything creative that you can do to allow that distinction to work in your favor? Let your creative juices flow out of the box, and I bet you can come up with something fantastic.

Why go Viral?

Some want to go viral as a way to spread the word about their ministry. This would be in hopes they can reach more people because of the “viral” aspect to their communications and marketing campaign. They would be seeking to use the “viral” to reach more followers or simply just spread the message of what they are doing.

Other ministries want to go viral for the popularity. As humans we want to be accepted. People can use the popularity as a rally point to find new people who are interested in like-minded causes to push and make their ministry the focal point.

These can all be good goals to reach; however, are they what is best for the ministry?

What happens when a ministry goes Viral?

First, a ministry will see an influx in interested people. Is your ministry equipped to handle that? Will the servers for the computers crash or will the website withstand the barrage of new traffic? With this influx of people will also come media inquiries so the ministry must be prepared to handle the increase in inquiries.

Second, has the ministry planned how to maintain the new people? Are they equipped to put these new followers into action? This is essentially the largest outreach opportunity the ministry has ever had; they should be equipped to handle it effectively. These questions lead us to the third set of questions.

Third, is going viral really what the ministry is seeking? We have seen what happens when something goes viral. So we must step back and ask ourselves if going viral is really what the ministry is seeking.

What should we do?

As we move forward, ministries should sit down and actually consider what they would do should something of theirs go “viral.” Also they should consider if they really want to push something to go viral. It would seem that in most cases a ministry simply wants to reach out to their community, not actually “go viral” across the web.

How does Viral Happen?

The interesting thing about the concept of “viral” is there is no blueprint. There is no guide on how a ministry can be viral. Just like all the plans in the world cannot bring people into our ministry, all the plans in the world cannot ensure content will go viral.

Viral happens when everything aligns in a way which content rises to popularity quickly. This means it has to be something which will be accepted and shared by a wide base of individuals. However, there has never been a set pattern to determine how this happens. Several have tried to put together patterns but none can be found.

Making Viral is a Myth

What it boils down to is the odds of creating something with the sole purpose being to go viral is almost zero to none. Viral is not something which can be forced. We must realize that we can produce content which will be popular, but producing content which will go viral is like a needle in a haystack.

What can we do?

Over the next two weeks we will look at reasons why “going viral” is not the best idea. Then we will look at how as ministries we can set ourselves up to go viral in a good way.

This week

Try to think of what you think viral is. How you would quantify it and what elements are needed for something to go viral. (Even though we have previously stated there really is no set pattern, it’s fun trying to figure one out.) Come back and leave those thoughts in the comments.

Also consider what your ministry could do to potentially make themselves go viral. This shouldn’t be anything which would go viral through bad press, but through good press. Leave those in the blog comments also, and we may feature them in the final blog article (with your permission of course).

We want to be a learning community. Do not hesitate to leave your thoughts in the comments about whether or not you feel viral is a myth or if it is an attainable action. We would love to create some learning and insightful dialogue!

There’s only one problem with this. It doesn’t mesh well with the ideal work environment with noise addicts. These are the folks who can’t stand silence and have to have a TV or music playing to be most effective. It isn’t a criticism; we just probably shouldn’t share the same cubical.

In my case, I shouldn’t be in a cubical at all. I actually changed my major in college when I realized that my career path was leading me to an open work environment. For me, a hermetic work existence is the ideal. Alone, I’m able to lose myself in my thoughts without any real worry of interruption. So I often work late at night, shut my door, or escape to my cabin for a few days to get stuff accomplished.

I bring this up because I’ve had job experiences in the past that weren’t conducive or friendly to this mindset. I’ve been accused of being anti-social and secretive because I kept my office door closed, and co-workers who didn’t really understand my frustration when they would pop in for some random question. The truth is, I (and others like me) just want to be able to focus.

So here’s my one request.

If you have someone who likes the quiet, respect that quiet. We don’t expect people to creep around us in socked feet, but if you see that we’re deep in thought and buried in our keyboards, that is not the time to ask one of us a question. No joke, it may take an hour for us to get back to that level of focus. We’re not being anti-social, we’re just trying to do the best job we can.

Now go be awesome.

Viral (v) is when an item or subject takes off in popularity rapidly, practically to the point of becoming a household name. Most of the time viral happens with little to no fore planning of popularity.

Typically we see this happening with YouTube videos, though we do see it in other forms of media as well.

As stated in the definition, this happens typically in an unplanned fashion. That's why we refer to it as an accident in the title. As we delve further into the topic, we will look at how a ministry should respond if they are a part of a viral item.

We went viral, now what?

So maybe your ministry went viral due to a guest: http://youtu.be/2D5148rRIkw. Maybe it was due to a piece of media you created meaning well: http://youtu.be/1IAhDGYlpqY. Or maybe your ministry is simply changing and people find that interesting: http://youtu.be/Vg-qgmJ7nzA. There are several ways in which what your ministry is doing can go viral without you even realizing it.

But where do you go from there? Here are five steps to take should your ministry go viral on accident.

Take a deep breath. Things are about to get crazy.

2. Attempt to understand why the item went viral. We gave you a few examples but there are always different reasons. Try to understand them to the best of your ability.

3. Be prepared to talk to the media. If this thing gets real big, you need to have a story for the viral object and hopefully use it to point to your ministry in a positive way.

4. Understand things will be different now. Try to put together a plan for how to move forward past the viral situation. Either the positive how to continue to grow or the negative how to turn into a positive.

5. Don’t try to push another viral circumstance. As we will see in the upcoming weeks, viral doesn’t do well planned and when something does go viral, the replications very rarely maintain the notoriety of the original.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to leave them in the comments section!

What should a plan look like?

Putting the plan into action

Moving Forward

Here are a few tips to help you on your way.

1. Skim posts, don’t stalk people. If you do, don’t be obvious about it, people find that creepy.

2. Don’t jump to conclusions too soon. Patterns emerge over time, so give space for the ebb and flow of life.

3. Make mental notes of red flags or things of interest. These can be great conversation starters when you actually are sitting down with the person.

4. Remember your purpose is to minister to those who need you, not to be nosey.

5. Have an online personality of your own. Remember that social media is a social environment. Engage with people, post the silly things in your life and let people respond.

The Preparation

To Communicate with Ministry Members

To Promote Events

To Reach New Members

Quality is better than Quantity

Promoting within the ministry

Social Media Branding

So why don’t we have followers?

1. The freedom of speech and religion are core to who we are as a nation.

2. The First Amendment is about giving people the right to believe and say what they wish. Even if we don’t agree with it.

3. Too many people have suffered and died to give you the freedom to believe and communicate what matters most to you. Don’t waste it.

The Reach

The Response

The SEO

The Reality

1. Actually be excited. We’ve covered this part already. Enthusiasm is contagious so if you’re doing something great in your ministry, be excited about it.

2. Post often about things in motion, not meetings. You know how a little kid who just did something great wants to tell you all about it? Be like that little kid. There are great things going on in your community, and you might just explode if you don’t get a chance to tell someone. The opposite is using your web presence as simply a bulletin board for announcements of things on a calendar… that’s not as exciting.

3. Use action words and exclamation points. Words on a page need a boost to convey enthusiasm. So remember the old Batman series as a reference…bam isn’t nearly as exciting as BAM!!!

4. Take pictures of people being awesome and tag them. This creates a viral effect in the social media world. Every time you tag someone in a photo, it’s generally getting broadcast to all of their friends. This shows that you think their friend is awesome, and it gives them a direct pathway back to your site and ultimately your ministry.

5. Finally, be positive. Always be positive. Save complaining about the world for other venues. People want to associate with people and groups that make them feel like the best versions of themselves. Don’t be a downer.

- Twitter – Yes, I said Twitter. Pose some questions, tweet them, encourage your flock (get it? Flock? Tweet?… OK it was a bad joke) to respond.

- Audio and Video – These are nothing new, but if you’re capable of live streaming, you give people an opportunity to listen or watch live. If not live, then use our E-Zekiel.TV to let folks listen and watch from the road.

- Create Vacation Scavenger Hunts – If these people are going to be gone, give them something to do that will not only be entertaining but also turn vacation into a spiritual quest.

- Vacation Diaries – As people travel across the country and the world, encourage them to journal or blog about the ways they see God at work in the places they visit or travel through.

Personal Safety

1. Privacy Settings: Understand how they work. Set them according to how much information you want to be known.
2. User Agreements: Read them. Make sure there are no back doors through which information can be leaked.

Ministry Safety

1. Practice what you preach: We hear this all the time. However, the truth of the matter is, with social media people are always watching. Making sure you practice what you preach will help keep your ministry safe online.
2. Don’t Over Promise/Share: This is something which comes from the business world, however it fits here. There is a time and place for everything. Knowing what is safe to share and within your limitations as a ministry is key.
3. Proof Everything: This should go without saying. When proofing, we aren’t just looking for spelling errors though. We are also checking the content to ensure it stands alongside what the ministry's core values are also.

Conclusion

What is Social Media?

Why trust Axletree?

BONUS

That little dancing Jesus represented a reputation the Christian community has gotten in the rest of the art world -- that we create low-end, cheesy material lacking in substance, quality and creativity.

Unfortunately, there is a great deal of truth to that statement. And that’s sad because there is so much amazing work that has been created by Christian artists in the past. And truth be told, there is still a lot of great work being done. But one little cheesy dancing Jesus can wreck a reputation.

There’s a recurring theme I’ve encountered with people in small churches or students from small schools that don’t have big budgets. There seems to be this belief that they’re incapable of creating first-rate media productions simply because they don’t have the pedigree or the resources to pull it off.

For starters, the film is rated PG-13 which is a head turner for those who are used to the status quo of family friendly such as 2008’s Fireproof and the follow-up Courageous by the Kendrick brothers (whose executive pastor apparently gave less than glowing reviews). Blue Like Jazz makes no bones about it not being something family friendly. In fact, Miller has gone on to say that there is much about Christianity that isn’t family friendly and we shouldn’t pretend it is.

If you read the book, you know that Blue Like Jazz is a redemption story. But it’s less about the central character’s redemption than it is Miller coming to terms with a religion he’s become confused by and disenchanted with in its seemingly irrelevant influence and often offensive treatment for those outside of its culture.

Those who work in ministry understand that there is a fundamental difference in the Sunday morning experience depending on which direction you’re facing. For those in the seats and or pews, Sunday morning can very much feel like a social occasion, and often does by design. Folks arrive in their Sunday best, get a cup of coffee, attend classes, sing along with the band or choir, fumble with their announcement sheet/bulletin/sermon notes, read along with the stuff on the screen and hopefully listen to the preacher.

For those who sit facing the crowd, as much as we try to keep focused on worship, the reality for many is that it’s very much a production. The bigger and more elaborate the service, from a logistical sense, the bigger the production. That stuff just doesn’t magically appear. Somebody had to design those graphics, somebody had to layout that bulletin, the musicians had to select and practice the music, and the pastor had to research, write and rehearse that sermon.

I’ll be honest -- as someone who has been on the production side of the church for a couple of decades, it can be exhausting. After church on Sunday, I eat lunch and then there’s typically only one thing on my mind. A nap. Get out of my way, there’s a couch calling me.

To further that issue, pretty much from November until Easter is a holiday blur of one planning meeting after another. And I can guarantee you that there are at least some of you out there who are already sketching out the next holiday season.

I don’t know what the weather is like where you are today, but let’s hope for the best. Turn off your computer. Go for a walk. Go fishing. Do something other than work on the next big project.

You need to maintain your sanity. You need to maintain your focus. You need to remember why you got into this gig in the first place.

We’re broken down into 140-character status updates and photo captions that slice our days into play-by-play freeze-frames. On the television, it’s not much better. News stories that are over almost before they’ve started give us the what, but very seldom the why. MTV set the tone 25 years ago when they shortened the average video edit down to three seconds. Billboard advertisers know that if their message takes more than two seconds to read then it’s too long.

It’s a big enough problem that online moderators really need to have an organized approach to dealing with negativity on your site. Here are a few ideas that might help you along that path.