Hey all! I am coming to the end of my mini series on digital ministry. So far I have talked about what digital ministry is and the role that it serves in reaching others through the Gospel, especially those perhaps who are younger, such as millennials. Next, I talked about some other influencers who are doing a great job in this space sharing their stories and their love for Jesus. Finally, now that we have covered what digital ministry is and some people who are rocking it, it seems like we should learn how to do it so we can share the love of Christ to others digitally! I’ve taken some inspiration from two main sources and combined them into a guide of sorts with both action steps as well as stages to think about in your ministry. Here goes nothing!
- Awareness: Well, first things first. I’m sorry to say but without anyone knowing who you are and your personal story or your platform, you can’t even begin to minster to others! This is where some serious advertising, posting, and content is going to come in handy. Introduce yourself! This is where people are going to begin learning about you and hopefully consider becoming more engaged. In my opinion, this could be the hardest part of ministry but I think it’s worth it!
- Engagement: Ok, so now hopefully you have some people who seem to be interested in what you are doing, whether that means looking at your advertising or interacting in small ways with your content and posting. Now we have to draw them into your ministry and see them more fully integrated into what you are doing. Maybe this is where you do some content brainstorming or polling from your audience? If viewers and readers are in some way tangibly tied to what you are posting about, they may be more interested in continuing to interact with you and your ministry.
- Conversion: Here’s where, in my humble opinion, the rubber meets the road. You have gotten people interested in what you are doing and they now have some reason to remain engaged with you and interact with your content, posts, advertising, etc. This could look like interacting more closely with your followers on a more personal level. Respond to their comments on social media and connect with them through other channels, texts, a face to face at church, etc. Basically, just let them know how thankful you are for their continued presence and support. Another way to stay connected is to do a collaboration with another digital minister. Now, this is a two edged sword but only in the best way possible! Your original followers remain interested in what you are doing with this new influencer while also possibly gaining traction with new followers interested in you!
- Retention: Basically, you just want to make sure that you are retaining your followers to the best of your ability. Keep an eye on what seems to be popular with your followers and focus your efforts in that area. Now that you know your followers are interested and sticking with you, how you can you make sure they stay?
- Advocacy: Ok, now you want your people to be telling others about you and advocating for your ministry! If your followers can share their personal experiences with you and let others know the positive things about your ministry, the cycle and stages of digital ministry begin all over again! This stage seems to be a bit more self explanatory so I’ll leave this stage just as it is.
Well, congratulations! You made it through this bear of a post, my apologies for my verbosity! I hope that throughout this mini series you have learned something about digital ministry and have maybe even been inspired to start a platform of your own or maybe gained some inspiration for what you already have. Until next time! Cheers!
Sources:
https://www.cru.org/content/dam/cru/Digital-Ministry/digital-experience-cheat-sheet.pdf
https://aboundant.com/5tasks/