FEATURED FEATURE: Promote Your Online Ministry

As we prepare to enter the Holiday Season it is of the utmost importance to shine the light and love of Jesus Christ into your community. 

Although the Holidays are a time for joy and celebration, for many they are a time of intense loneliness and depression.

Have you equipped and mobilized your congregation to get them involved in the spreading of Hope through the Word of God by promoting your Online Ministry?

Have you asked them to share your Podcast feed, Media Center, and Apps with their friends, family, co-workers, and through their social networks?  

If you are running a weekly video announcement loop in your sanctuary prior to the start of your service, this is a great time to enlist their help. Tell them to tell others!

People are much more likely and willing to initially engage your ministry online, before they are willing to step through your doors upon request. 

The internet is a great way to introduce them to you and to the God you worship. Ultimately, you encourage and invite them to visit your location in person, but first and foremost you want them to know Christ!

Below are a few suggestions to help you reach more people and grow your ministry.

• Have a Business Card to promote your church’s Online Ministry.

You can include a QR code on the business card to make it easy for them to scan and access your media. Give the cards to your congregation to distribute.

You can make the cards yourself on your computer and printer. Alternatively, you can find a local print company in your area, or an online service.  The Shepherd’s Guide (https://shepherdsguide.com/) is a directory of Christian owned businesses that may be a useful resource for your ministry.

QR CODE EXAMPLE

Here is an example of a free QR Code builder that you can use to create a link to your Media Center or media page, and print it on business cards, bulletins, signs, t-shirt, tracks… whatever you would like. This is a great way to get people to tune in!

All they will need to do is basically take a picture of the QR code, and this will take them directly to your online media – or to whatever link you assign to the QR code.

• Create a free QR code here: https://www.flowcode.com/

… for this demo, scanning that code will link to this Media Center: https://ebs.sermon.net

1. Place temporary signs out front of your building and in the yards of your congregation. 

Let passers-by know when you will be Live Streaming so that they can join in. Place your website URL and/or QR code on the sign for easy access.

Find a local print company in your area, or an online service. The Shepherd’s Guide (https://shepherdsguide.com/) is a directory of Christian owned businesses.

The messaging on your business card and signs can be as simple as…

• Submit your Podcast feed to as many free directories as possible. 

RSS feeds are a great way to automatically syndicate your media across multiple Podcast networks, and thereby increase your accessibility.

Note: By sending us your live video stream we can extract the audio and automatically add it to your Podcast feeds.

This page will link you to the most popular directories, and provide instructions on how to get set up with each:

– https://v2.sermon.net/for-the-ministry/submit-podcast-itunes/

• Have your very own media apps for Android and Apple

Sermon.net can build, submit, and host your ministry’s media app for just $125 for the first app, and $75 for the second (one-time fee).  This will provide your ministry with its own, searchable, presence within the Apple and Google/Android directories.

* Click here to learn more: https://v2.sermon.net/about-sermon-net/media-suite/

• Create accounts at Facebook (and YouTube), and live stream to them.

They are great exposure and outreach tools. You want to leverage these free platforms (while you can), BUT do not rely solely upon them. This makes it easy for those in your congregation that use Facebook to share it throughout their network of friends and contacts.

With the click of a button, week-after-week, you can send your live steam to us, and we will send it to all of your destinations – automatically, including; your website or landing page, Facebook, YouTube, Apps for Android, Apple, and Roku, and a recording to your Podcast feed.

• Run Facebook Ads to reach people in your vicinity.

It is not expensive, and you can even do it yourself. You can target a particular demographic within a certain mileage circumference around your location. Let people know you are here for them and how they can connect with you.

Do you have an outreach strategy – specifically for your Online Ministry? It’s all about letting people know and giving them access.  Some of the simple and cost effective suggestions above may make a huge difference in your outreach and impact!  

We are here and happy to help you grow your audience, and grow your ministry!