The Digital in 5 Show Tom Pounder

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.