I had a great time this past week at the iMinistry Conference at Lakepointe Church in Rockwall, TX. I was honored to participate in several panel discussions alongside some incredible ministry leaders from around the country. Here are my notes from several of the sessions:
Seth Farrior
- The internet is a tool
- The secret to “success” is intentionality.
- End goal is to get them connected in a physical church community.
- Online Campus experiences turnover every 6 months… and okay with that.
Guidelines to success:
1) Be humble
2) Be bold
3) Be who God created you to be
“Our strengths are nothing more than how God chooses to use us for His Kingdom.”
Small Groups
- Nate- 2 different kinds of small groups: chat based (after services), Adobe Connect (face to face)
- Jan- 7 Online Groups, all different. Facebook Groups,
- a LifeGroup that just meets as a Facebook Group
- 2 sermon based studies
- Google + hangouts
- Content is a great challenge
- one content possibility: RightNow Media
- Lecture base online kills it… quickly! – Nate
- Just because you get a no doesn’t mean it will always be a no.
- chatzy- chat room program used for LifeGroups
Volunteers
- Identify volunteers by monitoring the chat and various Social Media tools- Oscar
- Best volunteers come from Online
- Use Zoom to connect with volunteers
- Best volunteers are not always techy IT people
- Jason Morris- incorporate the value of “fun”
- “slide ruler” – interactive slides
- “chat artist” – host
- “prayer ninja” – prayer warrior
- “twitter sniper” -
- “experience captain” – oversees the entire experience and team
- What someone else is doing in their context, may not work in yours. – Jan Touchberry
- Set up area in lobby for volunteers so physical campus can see online campus.
- Question: What are you doing to invest in your leaders?
Learn to be sensitive the the Spirit and listen to your volunteers. 2 ears, 1 mouth, use in the proportion. – Oscar
- Help people to tell their story.
- freeconferencecall.com for volunteer meetings
- Pray for volunteers
- Have job descriptions written on paper
Measuring Success
How do you count?
- LifeChurch.tv- counts unique visitors
- Westside Family- uniques
- Seacoast- time on site/video length (7 minutes)
track as much as possible: unique visits, return visits, time on page, where people come from, giving…
LifeChurch.tv Campus tier
Tier 1- new campus not self supporting
Tier 2- self supporting
Tier 3- giving back and supporting new campuses
Bring in, Build Up, Train, Send Out- LifeChurch.tv Discipleship Process
Seeker, Believer, Follower, Leader- Westside Discipleship Process
Giving Options
- Service U
- Secure Give
Share your story and people will follow that vision
Alan George Interview
- Ministry is not something we do, but who we are. Cannot compartmentalize ministry.
- How many staff for Church Online? 6 looking for 7
- Use scrum to interface with staff
- Always ask what can I do to break through the next barrier?
- Not about thinking outside of the box, but thinking within restraints.
- Is your model scalable?
- Church Online Roadshow- visiting each campus promoting Church Online and recruiting volunteers
- What’s Next? Church working together to lead the way with technology and innovation
Priorities:
1) Invest in Staff Team
2) Analytics
3) Communication
