The Digital in 5 Show

While companies like TikTok, Facebook and Instagram get a lot of the social media love, Twitter is still a social media platform that is perfect for Digital Missionaries. Because of all the opportunities there are to minister on Twitter, Digital Missionaries need to know how to fully utilize the platform to get the best engagement and interaction. So what do Digital Missionaries need to know to be effective on Twitter? Watch this video, listen to the audio or check out the 6 Twitter tips and tools below to find out. Utilize Search Twitter.  Follow People and Comment.  Schedule Tweets on Desktop.  Be Positive, Don't Stir Up Controversy.  Share Jesus.  Ignore the Trolls. These are 6 Twitter tips and tools for digital missionaries, but there are definitely more. For example, here are some best practices for believers on Twitter that you can check out. It is a conversation Rey De Armas and I had. Twitter can be an amazing opportunity for you to connect with others while you shine the light of Christ in a world that can be very toxic. Ask God to guide you each day and see what can impact you can have on Twitter for the kingdom of Heaven. ACTION STEPS: What do you think? What are other Twitter tips and tools Digital missionaries can use? Share below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are in Digital Ministry, be part of the Digital Ministry Twitter Community. We share daily encouragement and support to help you do ministry in this online world more effectively. Click here to be part of it. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics). SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

Your Church's website might be the most important communication tools you have at your disposal. It is often called "the front door" of your Church for people looking for more information before that attend in person. It communicates what your Church is about and shows people through videos and pictures what people experience at Church. In addition, what makes a website very valuable is that it is completely owned by you. You pay for it and you control what is and is not shown. But what happens when your website goes down? When a website fails, that does not mean you can longer communicate or get vital information out. There are other options. So how can you continue to communicate without a website? Email. Here are some tips on how you can make your email "open worthy". Social Media. Social media has a tremendous reach opportunities. You can use videos (via YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram), Twitter threads (those are increasingly popular) and Facebook Groups to inspire, engage and inform others. Are are 3 ways you can use Facebook Groups for ministry. Text. While email is a relatively traditional digital way to communicate to people, text messaging is a very effective way to communicate. In fact, the open rates for text messaging is 95%. Not only can you share updates via text messaging, but you can disciples as well. In fact, Text Discipleship Groups are really effective. Themed Text Groups that Can Start the Online Discipleship Process Using Text Messaging for Digital Discipleship How to Use Text Messaging for Your Ministry  ACTION STEPS: What do you think? What are other ways to communicate without a website? Share below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are in Digital Ministry, be part of the Digital Ministry Twitter Community. We share daily encouragement and support to help you do ministry in this online world more effectively. Click here to be part of it. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics). SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

On July 1st, Minions: Rise of Gru was released. This is the fifth installment of the very successful "Despicable Me" franchise. However, this is the first of these movies that have come out since the pandemic and just a few weeks after the highly publicized "Lightyear" film dramatically underperformed in the theaters. The big question is, how would it do? That question was answered rather quickly as it CRUSHED box office numbers. Not only did it beat "Lightyear" (which underperformed dramatically), but it broke other records on its' way to over $200 million worldwide it's very first weekend. While the movie is very good, getting very positive reviews, others are pointing to TikTok for its success. That's right, a TikTok trend had young people going to the movie in droves. Whether it was an official marketing campaign from the movie studio or something else, the reality is that it worked. So what does this mean for Churches? TikTok is for real and it is not going away. TikTok is an opportunity.  TIKTOK RESOURCES: My TikTok account. My Church's TikTok account What 1 Billion Monthly Active Users on TikTok Means for Your Church 4 TikTok Strategies for Your Church Why Student Ministries Should Utilize TikTok 5 Ways to Improve Your Short Form Video Results ACTION STEPS: What do you think? How have you seen TikTok influence others in a positive way? Share below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are in Digital Ministry, be part of the Digital Ministry Twitter Community. We share daily encouragement and support to help you do ministry in this online world more effectively. Click here to be part of it. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics). SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

Normally, during the summer, attendance at Churches and ministry events go down. Why? It is normally because people are traveling with school being out. Summer is the perfect time for traveling as families go on vacations and kids go to camps. And, considering that families may not have traveled much in the past few years, they may be itching to get away for a few days or weeks. Despite what the numbers and trends may be, I would argue that summer is actually the perfect time to jumpstart your online ministry. How so? Watch the video, listen to the audio or read the bullet points below to see what you can do. 1. Connect with Summer Travelers. 2. Start a Digital Missionary Group. 3. Provide Discipleship Resources. People may not come to in person Church as much this summer, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be going to church at all. Utilize your online ministry to connect with summer travelers and mobilize a whole new missionary group to reach people this summer. The more you can take initiative and use your online ministry this summer, the more likely you will keep your summer travelers connected and hopefully connect new people to your Church or ministry. ACTION STEPS: What do you think? What other ways can online ministry can jumpstart your Church this summer? Share below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are in Digital Ministry, be part of the Digital Ministry Twitter Community. We share daily encouragement and support to help you do ministry in this online world more effectively. Click here to be part of it. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics). SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

When I was starting out in youth ministry back in the last 90s (yes, quite a number of years ago), there was one way to receive training. That was to receive in person training. You could go to a place and receive training in a conference type setting or you could do training with your team at your Church or building. Bottom line is that to get the training, it had to be in person. While this was the most common way to get training the problem with this is that if you couldn't meet up in person, you couldn't get the training. But that has changed now. Technology has enabled us to train volunteers even when we can't all be together. Here are 3 ways you can digitally train volunteers today. Zoom Training.  On Demand Training.  Online Training via a Separate Organization.  ACTION STEPS: What do you think? What are other ways to digitally train volunteers? Share your ideas below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are in Digital Ministry, be part of the Digital Ministry Twitter Community. We share daily encouragement and support to help you do ministry in this online world more effectively. Click here to be part of it. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics). SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

Summer time is here! Well, maybe not "officially" for everyone yet, but whether kids are out of school yet or not, the reality is that summer is here. And, with summer here, that presents a variety of new social media options that you can post from your Church or ministry to encourage, engage and inspire others in your community. What are those 4 summer pieces of content your Church can share? Post Summer themed questions.  Special events in your community.  Summer Bible Study Plan.  Photo or Caption Contest.  Each season of the year provides unique opportunities for your Church or ministry to post on social media. The summer is no different. Above are 4 ideas, but there is much, much more. Be creative and be unique to your area. The more engaging and interactive you can be, the more you can hopefully reach your community and begin spiritual conversations that lead to life change. ACTION STEPS: What do you think? What other summer social media content can you share? Share your ideas below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are in Digital Ministry, be part of the Digital Ministry Twitter Community. We share daily encouragement and support to help you do ministry in this online world more effectively. Click here to be part of it. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics). SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

Short form video is really valuable content that your Church or ministry can use. TikTok started the wave but Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have caught on quickly and all three platforms are great platforms for you to put your short form videos on. In fact, I regularly post the same content on each platform. Having good short form videos on your social media platforms can help lead people to learn more about Christ, your Church and your ministry. Here are some ideas for how you can improve your short form video results: Upload the video natively to each platform.  Add Music.  Hook them Early!  Add a Hashtag, Two or More.  Cut Up Longer Form Content.  ACTION STEPS: What do you think? What are other ways to improve your short form video results? Share your ideas below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are in Digital Ministry, be part of the Digital Ministry Twitter Community. We share daily encouragement and support to help you do ministry in this online world more effectively. Click here to be part of it. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics). SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

Social Media is Social Ministry. There is lots of great opportunities to minister to people online and social media should be looked at as a huge ministry opportunity. This is 100% true. And, because of this, for the longest time, Church Communications experts have encouraged us NOT to post info and events on our Church Social Media Pages. After all, people aren't there to hear about events, they are there to be encouraged. But this isn't a black and white issue. You can minister to people while also sharing about what is happening at your Church or ministry. In this podcast, I will share why it is OK to post about your events at your Church on social media. ACTION STEPS: What do you think? Is it ok to share about events on social media? Share your ideas below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are in Digital Ministry, be part of the Digital Ministry Twitter Community. We share daily encouragement and support to help you do ministry in this online world more effectively. Click here to be part of it. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

The great news about these follow-up tips is that you can implement these after any Church service or event. The bottom line in any of these options is to make them unique and personable. If they feel sterile and like something from a template, they will fall on deaf ears. People will not respond. However, it your follow-up is authentic and engaging, they will most likely connect with people who are looking for hope and encouragement this Easter season. ACTION STEPS:  Easter is an amazing day of celebration and rejoicing of the risen Christ and the power of that moment. And while Churches do a variety of events and make Easter Sunday a joyous celebration, there is one action that you take can make or break Easter at your Church, What is that? It is follow-up. As mentioned in the Countdown to Easter Checklist, follow up might be the most important thing you do all Easter season because it allows you to connect with those who came to your Church for maybe the very first time. But how can you follow-up effectively from Easter? What can you do? There are at least 4 different ways you can follow-up effectively from Easter. In this video, audio or bullet points below, I will share 2 specific ways your Church can use Twitter Communities to reach people for Christ. Here are 4 Easter follow-up ideas that will help you effectively reach more people by diversifying your methods. Text Follow-Up. Email Follow-Up. Social Media Follow-Up. In Person Follow-Up. The great news about these follow-up tips is that you can implement these after any Church service or event. The bottom line in any of these options is to make them unique and personable. If they feel sterile and like something from a template, they will fall on deaf ears. People will not respond. However, it your follow-up is authentic and engaging, they will most likely connect with people who are looking for hope and encouragement this Easter season. ACTION STEPS: What is your plan for Easter follow-up? What else would you add? Share your ideas below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are in Digital Ministry, be part of the Digital Ministry Twitter Community. We share daily encouragement and support to help you do ministry in this online world more effectively. Click here to be part of it. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here.  SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

Twitter communities is just one of the many new things Twitter is doing to help people engage more with others. When you think about Twitter communities, you can associate them with Facebook Groups. The point of these communities is to connect people more. The biggest difference is that you can use Twitter instead of Facebook. The people on Twitter are different than the people on Facebook. They use Twitter differently than they use Facebook. That is why you can and should use Twitter Communities even if you have Facebook Groups. You will reach a different group of people and you can use organic reach a lot more effectively on Twitter. Bible Study. If you have ever had a Facebook Group Bible Study, this operates in a very similar fashion. For starters, you can pick a study you want to do. It can be centered around a book of the Bible, a Character study, a theme or something else entirely. Once you have that topic picked out, invite some friends and share the link to your community around to others. Then, depending on how you want your community to be Themed Groups. There are so many different groups you can start. You can start a parents group, a youth group, a group around a specific time of year like Christmas or Easter. There are a wide variety of Groups your Church can start that can help minister to people online. You can even use this group as a Life Group for people online. The great thing about Twitter Communities is that you can use them for a variety of communities. They can be big or you can keep them small. They can be for a specific niche or more broad. The point is you can really utilize Twitter to build community and encourage people in that specific group. It's a great ministry tool to help you reach more people for Christ. ACTION STEPS: These are just 2 ways your Church can use Twitter Communities? What are some other ways? Share your ideas below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are in Digital Ministry, be part of the Digital Ministry Twitter Community. We share daily encouragement and support to help you do ministry in this online world more effectively. Click here to be part of it. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

The LA Rams won the Super Bowl. There were many reasons why they won but Matthew Stafford was one of the reasons. In fact, he was their missing link to win the Super Bowl. How did Matthew Stafford help and how does this apply to your Church? In particular, Online Ministry? In this podcast I share 3 reasons why Church Online could be the missing link for your Church growth.   Online ministry can directly spur Church growth in a variety of ways. Here are just 3 ways. When you live stream you reach more people. When you have online groups as an option you have an opportunity to connect more people and help them grow in their faith. There are lots of online group opportunities. When you have an online ministry team you provide more service opportunities for your team to grow and learn. Without online ministry, you are limiting the potential volunteer opportunities for your congregation. ACTION STEPS: What do you think? How else can Online Ministry be your Church's missing link and lead to Church Growth? Share your ideas below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

There is no rhyme or reason on why certain things go viral. Sometimes it is just the luck of the draw. However, what seems to be a key in a lot of viral videos is that real people doing real things in creative ways. They are sharing real stories, both funny and inspirational and people are excited to hear them. People want to see transformations, life stories and impactful stories and Churches can utilize this. Watch the video, listen to the audio or read the bullet points below to see what is really going on. One of the great things about TikTok and Reels is that there are lots of people doing real things, telling real stories in creative ways and they are going viral. For instance, there is… The Couple that lost a combined 125 pounds Women singing like Celine Dion  Elyse Myers sharing stories (like this one) People sharing impactful true stories Churches and ministries can do the same. The Church has tons of stories of life change and tons of funny things they can do that can be shared online. Optimize them for TikTok or Reels and share them. Inspire and encourage others with real people doing real things. ACTION STEPS: What do you think? ? How do they apply to your ministry? Share  below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

More and more companies are getting involved with the meta-verse in some capacity. Microsoft just bought Activision Blizzard, PlayStation has just released another headset, Apple and Amazon are working on things as well. And this is just the things that we know are happening. So what does Microsoft's Metaverse plans mean for your Church or ministry? Watch the video, listen to the audio or read the bullet points below to see what is really going on. So what can your reaction be at the church? You could just simply ignore it. You could push it off and say that’s just for weird people and do whatever you want with that but we’re not gonna invest in that. The only real relationships that happened are the ones that happen in person. You can start exploring what this might look like. Exploring is not committing. It is simply exploring and see what the possibilities are. Exploring could also take months to years. There’s still so much we don’t know about the meta-verse but if you start exploring now and start looking into it you might be able to get a handle of it much sooner than other people. ACTION STEPS: What do you think? What do you think of Microsoft's Metaverse plans? How do they apply to your ministry? Share  below or on social media. Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. Looking for Digital Ministry Coaching? The Church Digital is offering a variety of digital, phygital or metaverse ministry coaching and cohorts. Just click here. SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Monday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

There are lots of reasons why people aren’t coming back to your Church. One thing is for certain, thought. Church Online is NOT the reason why your Church isn’t Growing, so stop pretending it is. Years ago, before COVID hit, having Church Online was a real fight. It was a fight for ministers who believed people can experience community and Jesus online and grow in their faith. Many Senior Leaders didn’t believe it was appropriate or possible. But then COVID hit and basicaily every Church around the world went online. And it was good. People were growing in their faith and having community. But now, Church leaders are blaming Church Online for lower attendance. But, it’s not because of Church Online that people aren’t coming back to your Church. Watch the video, listen to the audio or read the bullet points below to see what is really going on.     The reality is… * People serve online * People have community online * People sacrifice and give People aren’t coming back to your Church because it no longer meets their needs. Find out what you can do to minister to people in your community and meet their needs in person and online and you will be reaching more people for Christ. ACTION STEPS:  * What do you think? Why do you think people aren’t coming back to your Church? How can you use it? ? Share  below or on social media using the hashtag #digitalin5 to share. * Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. * SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Wednesday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it. * Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).

TikTok has just crossed over the 1 billion monthly active users threshold. They accomplished this in just 5 years (compared to 8 for Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat). It is safe to say that TikTok is the most popular social media network amongst Milennials and Gen Z. And, there are a lot of Gen Xers on it as well. So what does this mean for you? How can you use TikTok for your Church or as a Digital Missionary? In this video, on the podcast and in the bullet points below, I outline 5 tips of how you can use TikTok.     Sermon Clips. Cut up a sermon on video and post different clips on TikTok encouraging people. Share Stories. Our testimonies can be shared in 3 minutes and under (the time of a TikTok). Record them and share them on TikTok. Share Fun Stuff. Not all your content has to be spiritual. Join in on a trend (as long as it’s appropriate) and have some fun making people laugh. Mobilize Digital Missionaries. Mobilize people who love TikTok and understand it to use it to share God’s goodness and glory. Like and Comment. Some of the best ways to engage people is like and comment on other peoples posts. That can hopefully start up a conversation that leads to spiritual conversations. ACTION STEPS:  * What do you think? What does 1 billion monthly active users on TikTok mean to you? How can you use it? ? Share  below or on social media using the hashtag #digitalin5 to share. * Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. * SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Wednesday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it. * Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).

There are lots of things you can do each day as a Digital Missionary. However, there is something you can do every single day for a short amount of time but will give you lots of opportunities to have conversations on social media. What is that? Watch this video, listen to the podcast or look at the bullet points below.     By making Comments on Social Media you can increase engagement. There are two ways: * Comment on peoples posts. People post every day. Prayerfully approach social media each day and ask God to guide you to which social media posts you need to comment on. Then, as God leads you, comment and start a new conversation with someone. * Comment on Replies within Your Church’s or Ministry’s social media accounts. Whenever someone comments on the Church’s social media posts, reply to those comments and start a conversation that can ultimately lead to spiritual conversation. Making comments spurs engagement online. It leads to follow up discussions and more conversations that will hopefully lead to conversations about Christ. Make this a common practice as a Digital Missionary and see how God uses it for His Kingdom. ACTION STEPS:  * What do you think? How have positing comments spurs engagement in your ministry? Share  below or on social media using the hashtag #digitalin5 to share. * Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. * SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Wednesday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it. * Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).  

A Digital Missionary is someone who takes the message of Christ and uses digital and online tools to share about Him to others. It is a new kind of missionary opportunity for believers. While an ideal Digital Missionary is someone who uses social media and other online platforms to share about Jesus, there are other forms of digital missionaries that people take. The great news about these different types of digital missionaries is that there is no age limit on who can be effective. I have seen older and younger people minister to people in these different roles. So what are the various types of digital missionaries are there? Watch this video, listen to the podcast or look at the bullet points below.     Content Creator. A very common type of digital missionary is this. A content creator is someone who is writing about, sharing pictures about or making videos about who Jesus is and how He can impact our life. He or she is someone who is comfortable sharing their faith and inspiring others in their faith Journey. Digital Champion. This is someone who is sharing on social media about the different opportunities your Church has for the community. They have a local focus and are using their personal social media accounts to share about what is happening at the Church as a way to get the word out about events or opportunities the Church is involved with. The Responder. A responder is someone who is actively looking at your Church or Ministry’s social media platforms and looking to respond to comments posted by other people. They can also look for responses by people to then follow up and encourage them in their faith and life. Prayer Warrior. This is someone who looks for opportunities on social media to pray for others and use it as an opportunity to follow up with them and further minister to them. Chat Host. This is someone who hosts the Chat Room during your Church’s livestream. They are someone who is encouraging and engaging with others while you are experiencing Church together. ACTION STEPS:  * What do you think? What other types of digital missionaries have you seen? Share  below or on social media using the hashtag #digitalin5 to share. * Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. * SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Wednesday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it. * Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).

I love technology and am the Online Campus Pastor at my Church. I am passionate about using technology to help people discover God daily. This is also why I started the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group. I want ministers to be better equipped to do digital ministry, too. As much as I enjoy technology, we can also over do technology. We can spend countless hours on our computers working and ministering to people. We got into this mess over COVID when we were working tons of hours just trying to get everything online. But now, as more of the world is opening up, we cannot keep going at this pace. So now we need to shut down. Watch the video below, listen to the podcast version or check out below the ideas to take care of your mental health.     Burnout is real and it happening to ministers all over the world. That is why you need to shut down from time to time to take care of your mental health. ACTION STEPS:  * What do you think? What are some other mental health strategies you are implementing so you don’t burn out? Share what you do below or on social media using the hashtag #digitalin5 to share. * Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. * SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Wednesday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it. * Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).

TikTok is so much more than you think it is. While Churches may have discounted TikTok a while back, it should no longer be a “we’ll look at this platform”. It should be a platform you are using and optimizing for your ministry. In today’s Digital in 5 Show we are going to talk about 4 TikTok strategies your Church can use to reach more people for Jesus. Watch the video below, check out the podcast version or see the bullet points below the video to discover TikTok strategies.     * Use Hashtags. Just like with Instagram and Twitter, hashtags on TikTok are so valuable for organic reach. Use hashtags that are trending and those that apply to your niche. * Use What’s Trending. See what’s trending on TikTok and do a video with one of the trends. It can be a fun video. After all, not all your videos has to be spiritual. They can be fun. * Use Music. TikTok has different music selections that are trending. So use the music in the background as part of your video. Watch the video or listen to the audio to find out how you can use the music at 0 level. * Have Ministers Have Accounts. Churches should have accounts but so also should ministers. This is where ministers can be Digital Missionaries on TikTok and help reach even more people for Christ as individuals TikTok is an amazing tool Churches and ministers can use to reach people for Christ. These are just 4 TikTok strategies that will help you do that. ACTION STEPS:  * What do you think? What are some other TikTok strategies ? Share what you do below or on social media using the hashtag #digitalin5 to share. * Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. * SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Wednesday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it. * Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).

Having a call to action is really important in any video, podcast, blog or other piece of content you post from your Church or your ministry. By doing one, people don’t just watch your video, listen to your podcast or read your content and think, “gosh, that was a great story ______ shared today.” They will actually be driven to do something because they experienced your content. But what can you do to create those moments in videos? In this video, podcast or bullet points below you can see the 3 separate call to action examples you can post in EVERY single one of your Church/Ministry videos.     The 3 call to action examples are… * Connect them to a Personal Application. What can they do to grow in their faith because of what they just experienced? Share an example or 2. * Connect them to a Ministry Leader. This could be a staffer or volunteer. The bottom line is that they connect in person with someone who can help them take a next step of faith. * Connect them with a Ministry. Help them discover a next step by connecting them to a ministry they can check out and look into based on the video you created. To discover why video content is so important to your Church or ministry, click here. ACTION STEPS:  * What do you think? What other call to action examples are there? Share what you do below or on social media using the hashtag #digitalin5 to share. * Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. * SUBSCRIBE: New episodes come out every other Wednesday. Subscribe on  iTunes, on Spotify, or on YouTube to make sure you get these each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it. * Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).