What are your goals for your ministry using streaming?
- Grow my Local Congregation – I want to put more butts in the seats and grow my local congregation.
- Reach the World with the Gospel – I have a more global approach and I want to reach as many people as possible with the good news of Jesus Christ.
- Start Another Campus – I want to eventually plant another church either in town or at a new specific location.
- Create an Online Church Congregation – I want to replicate what I have going at my local church (fellowship, worship, teaching), but online with a group that primarily meets and interacts online.
- Provide an Alternative for those Unable to Attend in Person – I want to provide a means for those already committed to my ministry that are either out of town, or unable to attend in person for other reasons to attend the service.
- Add Another Service to Reach those that can’t Attend Weekends – I want to provide a worship, teaching and fellowship experience for those that can’t attend on weekends due to other family or work commitments.
- All or a mix of the above?
Primary Ingredients to a Successful Streaming Strategy
- Marketing and Promotion – How, when, where and why you create awareness of your online streaming ministry
- Message Content – How you address the online crowd, how you tailor your sermons, etc.
- Fellowship Investment – How important is fellowship with the online attenders? What fellowship environment do I create for my online attenders.
Let’s dig into some suggestions and approaches for using these three primary ingredients in different ways to achieve your specific goal.
Goal #1 – Grow my Local Congregation
Marketing and Promotion
- Since with this goal, my focus is on my local congregation, I will limit my marketing and promotion to those close to my physical facility.
- Facebook and Google ads will run only in my neighborhood or within a short drive to my facility.
- I may also create a blitz campaign to catch those in my neighborhood online Sunday mornings to drop into my online services.
- I will promote the online service heavily on social media where my congregation is already connected with the church leadership on social platforms.
- I will equip my members to invite their neighbors and co-workers to the online experience.
Message Content
- Since my goal is local growth, my message can reference things local to my church (ie – the weather, the local college or pro sports team, city events, etc.). I can also reference the current time (“good morning everyone, isn’t this a beautiful cool morning here in Austin?”).
- I will make sure to let the congregation know that we’re broadcasting and how to let their friends and neighbors know how to join the service online.
Fellowship Investment
- Those acting as online greeters and hosts should examine where each online attender is viewing from and act accordingly (ie – encourage those nearby to drop in on a future service in person).
- Recognize first timers and have your best online greeters and hosts observe that there are a lot of first timers and treat them special. Perhaps ask “how did you hear about us?”, etc.
- Make people feel comfortable and give them a taste of the nature of your church and it’s people.
Goal #2 Reach the World with the Gospel
Marketing and Promotion
- Since with this goal my focus is on reaching the world or a nation, I will expand my marketing and promotion to those around the globe or in my targeted nation
- Facebook and Google ads will run nationally or globally.
- Since my target is global, I won’t focus too much on my social network since that is typically limited to my friends and my area. And instead focus on tools that have a more global reach.
- I may also create a blitz campaign to catch those online Sunday mornings to drop into my online services.
Message Content
- Since my goal is to reach the world with the Good News, my message will not reference things local to my church (ie – the weather, the local college or pro sports team, city events, etc.). I will also not reference the current time since while it may be morning here, it may be evening for the viewer.
- I will include a message that would be appropriate to different cultures, regions and nations.
- Modeling my message after the tenets of a message that Billy Graham would have preached would be appropriate.
Fellowship Investment
- Those acting as online greeters and hosts should be very gospel oriented.
- Provide opportunities to pray online with viewers.
- Online hosts should be equipped to answer questions about their faith.
Goal #3 Start Another Campus
Marketing and Promotion
- With this goal, I will target the area immediately surrounding my planned campus.
- Facebook and Google ads will run only in my neighborhood or within a short drive to this location.
- I will promote the online service on social media where my congregation is already connected with the church leadership on social platforms.
- I will equip the future leaders of the new campus with tools to invite those they interact with daily.
- I may do some physical marketing like posting signs about the future campus at the campus location and prominently promoting the online services that are already underway.
- I may do some of my initial services as video services using broadcasts from the primary campus.
Message Content
- If the campus is in the same town or area, my message can reference things local to my church (ie – the weather, the local college or pro sports team, city events, etc.). I can also reference the current time (“good morning everyone, isn’t this a beautiful cool morning here in Austin?”).
- I will cast the vision of the new location to generate interests, volunteers, leadership, etc.
Fellowship Investment
- My online hosts may consist of the future leadership of the future campus.
- Those acting as online greeters and hosts should examine where each online attender is viewing from and act accordingly (ie – alert those nearby to the future location and opening dates, invitations to reach out to them in person for a quick introduction meeting).
- Discussions on the online platform should include discussions and details of the future campus.
Goal #4 Create an Online Church Congregation
Marketing and Promotion
- Facebook and Google ads will target those I want to reach for online fellowship.
- I may target a specific group that would be open to relationships online. Maybe those already socially active online, or those that would have a likelihood of making friends online.
Message Content
- Reference those attending online as “our online campus”. Reference staff dedicated to the online campus and the ministry that occurs there.
- Create opportunities for online participation beyond the weekend services (bible studies, small groups, etc.).
Fellowship Investment
- My online hosts will be outgoing, welcoming and someone good at fostering relationships online.
- Promote online activities outside the weekend services that the online viewers can attend and participate in.
Goal #5 Provide an Alternative for those Unable to Attend in Person
Marketing and Promotion
- My marketing will be pointed to those already attending my services in person.
- Signs and messages around the physical facility. At Alive, they have a sign as you enter the sanctuary saying “live video broadcasting underway…”.
- My existing marketing material to my congregation (ie – newsletters, email, social media, etc.) will reference the fact that we also provide live streaming if you can’t make it in person.
Message Content
- My message can reference things local to my church (ie – the weather, the local college or pro sports team, city events, etc.). I can also reference the current time (“good morning everyone, isn’t this a beautiful cool morning here in Austin?”).
- I may pray for those that we know aren’t able to attend due to unfortunate circumstances (in the hospital, major life events, etc.)
Fellowship Investment
- My online hosts will pray for those that are experiencing issues that may keep them from attending in person.
- My online host may highlight some of the things that those attending online may be missing out on since they aren’t at the facility.
Goal #6: Add Another Service to Reach Those Who Can’t Attend Weekends
Marketing and Promotion
- My existing marketing material to my congregation (ie – newsletters, email, social media, etc.) will reference the fact that we also provide a mid-week service for those that can’t attend on weekends.
- Update website and other materials to list the mid-week service.
Message Content
- Since this service is from a recorded service over the weekend, there should be no mention to time based things (ie – good morning, good evening, happy Sunday, big game today, etc.) by anyone (announcements person, worship leader, sermon/message).
Fellowship Investment
- Even though the service isn’t actually live, having a live web host is a must.
- My online hosts will answer questions, address guests, etc. The online host will be forthright if anyone asks if the video is live, but won’t make a point of explaining the video is recorded unless a viewer asks.
We hope this material is helpful. As always, Phil and Steve would love to get your thoughts on the podcasts and material covered. Send your emails to [email protected]