Transform your church's digital mission strategy with a free assessment 

The Digital Ministry Assessment will define where you are now, enable you to think deeper about where you want to go and, crucially, give you helpful steps to take to see improvements, writes Graeme Spencer

 
When I started working in Christian Television in the UK in the mid-1990s and helped to establish the first Christian Satellite broadcaster to launch here, I heard one common question: "Why do we need Christian TV?”
 
As someone who has always had a passion for media and saw its unique potential to “inform, educate and entertain” – words enshrined in the BBC Royal Charter even now, I found that question extremely odd.
 
If we look back to the mid-1990s, television viewing was enormous. For instance, the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997 was watched by 31 million people in the UK. Why would we, as Christians, NOT want to have the message of the Good News where the people were? And where they were back then was watching TV.
 
Today, traditional media has seen a massive decline. Instead, “user-generated content” and online platforms have grown exponentially. Did you know, for example, 694,000 hours of video are streamed every minute on YouTube, and in that same minute, more than 150,000 new videos will be uploaded to the platform? 
 
Today, digital platforms, online broadcasting and social media are where the people are.
 
That means we now have an even more incredible opportunity. We no longer “need” a broadcaster (even a Christian TV station) to reach people directly with our life-changing message.
 
That’s why I am a passionate believer in the need for the church to be present on these platforms.
 
If we want to reach people, either those who are yet to hear the Gospel or effectively disciple those who have, we need to be where they are, and digital mission is crucial.
 
The church saw the truth of this and, to an extent, the possibility of it during the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost every church was “forced” into embracing some form of digital mission.
 
However, many churches have had to navigate this on their own, and many have struggled to maintain what they have started, let alone see progress and growth, despite recognising the importance and the value of digital mission.
 
This is undoubtedly a challenge but one we can overcome.
 
As someone passionate about equipping the church to use every means at our disposal to reach people, I’ve been working on some solutions for this.
 
One thing I have created to help is a free tool that any church, organisation or individual can use to assess their “Digital Ministry”.
 
I have three aims with this tool.
 

• Firstly, to encourage churches to think deeply about digital missions. One person who took the assessment said, “Media Mentoring has provided an invaluable resource here that will offer you an instant diagnostic on the health of your digital ministry.”
• Secondly, just letting you see how you are doing isn’t enough. Instead, those who take the assessment and choose to opt in to receive an emailed report will get individualised practical next steps they can implement to improve what they are doing. After getting our free 22-page personalised report, someone told me, “The recommended actions in the report were challenging yet practical and realistic for anyone.”
• Thirdly, I also want to offer help, support, encouragement, and further resources for anyone who wants or needs input and assistance to move forward; you are not alone on this journey.

 
Is this relevant for you and your church?
 
The Revd Mike Lowe, National Communications Manager for the Baptist Union, says, ‘Digital Mission is critical to successful communication of the Gospel as we progress through the 21st century.

'Every Christian community, large or small, pioneering, or traditional need to have an active vision and ministry in this area. Graeme has a passion for digital mission and a gifting for supporting other Christians as they engage.

'The digital ministry assessment is an excellent tool, providing essential and personalised information to help successfully navigate your next steps’.
 
So, if you are serious about Digital Mission, this new FREE tool will help you.
 
I’ve already had some great feedback on the assessment; this was from a local church and summed up my hopes and aspirations for this new tool.
 

“Our church has made some good progress with our digital media but have struggled to know how to move things forward particularly in a post covid world. Graeme’s survey and report quickly highlighted and defined exactly where we are at and where we want to go.  We look forward to further conversations with Graeme so we can get things moving forward again.”

 
Wherever you are on your Digital Ministry journey, this assessment can help you. It will define where you are now, enable you to think deeper about where you want to go and, crucially, give you helpful steps to take to see improvements.
 
Take the assessment here: digitalministryassessment.com

 

Graeme Spencer is the founder of Media Mentoring, which exists to help churches excel in church production, video production, and digital ministry

Graeme is an experienced and award-winning television production executive with over 25 years in the industry, most recently as Chief Operating Officer of GOD TV

The autumn 2023 edition of Baptists Together magazine focuses on the digital revolution and what it means for churches - access it here   

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