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Let’s start this post off with a disclaimer:
This digital ministry downfall might not actually be your church’s downfall.
Unfortunately, for many churches, it is.
So pay close attention, because your church may be included in this number.
This downfall is something so tragic that even your most consistent posting, your most eloquent copywriting, and your most dynamic on-camera personality will not remedy.
In fact, this downfall can actually go beyond just affecting your digital ministry. It can be your church’s biggest downfall overall. It can even be your biggest downfall as a person.
Okay, enough dramatic build up.
Your church’s biggest digital ministry downfall could be:
Not knowing your “why.”
This can mean many things to many people, but we are going to focus on two specific “whys” that apply most directly to your digital ministry.
- Why do you exist as a church?
- Why are you posting online?
First things first, why does your church community exist?
This might seem somewhat irrelevant to your social media strategy, but knowing the purpose behind your existence as a church is crucial to understanding what kind of community you may be welcoming your online followers into.
In some ways, it all comes down to branding.
The word “branding” often makes church folks nervous.
They may think branding can only be used to describe businesses trying to sell a product to potential customers. While we know very well that churches are not businesses, they may actually learn quite a bit by paying attention to the way business leaders and marketers attract attention.
One way businesses actively secure the attention of their market is by branding themselves with specific colors, sounds, words, styles, songs, and concepts.
So what does this have to do with knowing your why?
If you don’t know why you exist as a church, you have nothing to brand. And if you do try to brand without understanding your “why,” it’s going to be messy.
Branding isn’t just about your colors and logos, it’s also about what and how you communicate with your people. There are limitless mission possibilities for churches.
If you don’t know what your priorities are as a church, there is a good chance that no one else knows either. The process of determining your priorities and mission takes time and hard work. It is not possible without a leadership team from your community (council, session, etc.) and input from your people as a whole.
If you don’t have a clear answer for why you exist as a church, we would recommend you pull back on your digital ministry efforts and focus more of your energy on this discovery process.
If you truly are not sure why your church exists, start by thinking about what people would miss if your church ceased to exist tomorrow. Asking these difficult questions may lead you to conclusions that you never anticipated arriving at… We recommend you be gentle with yourself through the process and try to remain open to wherever God may be leading you.
Once you know why your church community exists, you are ready to dive into Question #2.
The second question you need to clearly address is:
Why are you posting online?
Before you even plan out and initiate your digital ministry strategy, consider whether or not you know why are you posting and who are you trying to reach.
This might be new for you, but it can only help you to identify your target audience and channel your efforts at reaching them with your posts. Who are you called to reach as a church? Have you ever considered that “everyone” might not be the most effective answer for your ministry?
While “everyone” might seem like the most Christ-like you can give, attempting to reach everyone at the same time may actually make your church communication efforts unfocused and ineffective.
Instead, prayerfully consider and discuss with other church leaders who God might be calling your community to reach in particular. Who is your church uniquely equipped to welcome in?
Taking the time to fully dive into these questions might seem tedious or excessive, but the power that comes from knowing who you are trying to reach and carrying out a focused effort to reach them is sure to help your ministry to be faith-filled and effective.
If this was helpful for you, be sure to subscribe to our email list for future digital ministry tips to help you reach people with the love of Jesus online!
