Digital Ministry

It's hard to fathom, but religious activity among American young people is at a notable all-time low. Millennials (born ~1980-2000) are less religious than their parents or grandparents, and, though little data has been collected on Millennials little brothers and sisters (Gen Zers, 2000-Present), it is safe to assume they aren’t pumped about revival meetings or Bar Mitzvahs either.

As I talk to church leaders, I'm amazed by the consistency of challenges the face. One of the biggest questions they ask comes down to their church communications... How do we get people to respond to communications and attend events?

We all know and realize that most pastors and ministry staff operate on tight church and personal budgets. It's just the reality of being in ministry. Expensive degrees and copious years of schooling to do not promise a luxurious salary. However, if you get creative (or have a spouse who works at a more high-paying position) this doesn't have to be a deterrent to being in ministry. At Christmastime, however, often we feel the penny-pinch both in our church finances and in our personal finances.

Defining the purpose of your website is most likely going to dictate the direction of a lot more than you likely realize. Here is the reality: by now, as church leaders, we know several things. We know that we need a website, it needs to feel modern, and it needs to look attractive. We know (or should know) that it needs to be responsive, that we want it to show up in Google, that we want it to be easy to add events and sermons … the list can go on and on.

Giving is a big deal, especially this time of year when churches often find themselves in the red, instead of the black. Once Thanksgiving and Giving Tuesday have passed, the race is on to encourage generosity and elicit donations from congregations. While trusting God to help close the year in the black is, of course, the goal, most pastors and church staff find themselves "sweating it" if even just a little. The annual State of the Plate survey is quite timely and offers insight into people's giving patterns.

Giving Tuesday - the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday - has turned into a phenomenon that delightfully transforms our focus, if only for one day, from shopping and consumerism to giving and generosity. According to WikiPedia, "Giving Tuesday was started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a response to commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving season.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, what better time than now to take time as a church staff to thank your volunteers? Having just come off Pastor Appreciation Month where congregations have (hopefully) been encouraged to thank their pastors, turning now to approach the myriad of volunteers in your church and community and showering them with appreciation seems, well, just natural.

Churches build community and support their mission through a wide range of programs: fundraisers, community work, study groups and more. Behind the scenes, however, keeping these programs running requires staying on top of a tedious expense management process.