Biblical Ministry Partnerships and Networking: Part One - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

Sorry for the delay in posting again. An aging truck and dental repairs kept me away from my keyboard...

As I search high and low across the web for networks of believers seeking to partner together for the glory of God, I'm struck by a hard reality. Many believers want to team with other Christians, but missing from most of these partnerships is a grounding in "the truth [that] is in Jesus," (Eph. 4:21).

The Holy Spirit clearly commands us to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." This exhortation naturally extends to our ministry partnerships. At the same time, the end goal of the Spirit's giving apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers is "unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God" which leads to a "mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." In other words, unity in the Spirit is rooted in the knowledge of the Son of God and living according to the truth of the Spirit as measured by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Therefore, we are not to pursue unity for unity's sake. We are to continually maintain the unity of the Spirit based in the truth of Jesus Christ our Lord.

So how should this play out in our ministry partnerships? Should we team with those whose theology is relatively weak or who make room for sin? What about those we simply disagree with on certain non-essential truths?

Thankfully, our Lord has provided us with clear examples of biblical cooperation, both in the sense of what sort of partnerships to avoid and in regard to legitimate working relationships for God's glory. For more insight, let's quickly look at the lives/teachings of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter.

Paul, called out of an uber self-righteous Pharisaical life, carried a Spirit-given hatred for false teaching and sheer disdain for false teachers. When God removed the scales from Paul's eyes (literally and figuratively), He berthed in Paul an extreme passion for the Spirit-revealed truth of God and seeing the church grow in that truth. Anyone or anything that "exalted itself against the knowledge of God" was completely unacceptable.

As is still true today, false teachers and deceptive teaching in the first century presented a very real threat to the Body of Christ. Thus the Holy Spirit led Paul to crusade against them. In fact, based on Paul's teachings in Ephesians 4-5 and the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus), we realize that perhaps the primary role of overseers is that of encouraging sound doctrine and defending biblical truth.

Paul's Spirit-led stand for the truth of Christ took some interesting turns. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul declares that if anyone--apostle, angel, or otherwise--comes declaring a good news of Jesus Christ other than what the Galatians initially received, let that person or angel be damned to hell forever! Pretty strong words, indeed. But they were a natural outgrowth of shepherding the Body of Christ according to the truth of Christ. Elsewhere, Paul opposed even the Apostle Peter, when Peter hypocritically picked sides between the Jews and Gentiles in Antioch, (Galatians 2:11-21).

But contrary to his mis-steps in Antioch, Peter habitually stood for truth and opposed false teachers. Especially notice the significant time Peter spends in his second epistle warning his readers against coming false teachers and notice his blunt description of such wicked wolves: "who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves," (2 Peter 2:1).

Also in Ephesians, the Spirit declares that the church has been built upon the apostles and prophets (in context the New Testament prophets such as Agabus), with Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone." The foundation of the apostles and prophets includes their example, as Paul said, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ."

Not only did Paul and Peter refuse to team with people simply claiming to be Christians or even those who named Christ but failed to do so according to Scriptural truth that is in Christ Jesus. No, Paul and Peter (and the other apostles with them) opposed unbiblical teaching and deceptive schemers publicly, with great regularity, and filled with Spirit-led indignation for "arrogant obstacles to the obedience of Christ" and those who dare build such barriers.

As we consider whom to partner with, we should avoid relationships with those who have strayed from the truth in Christ Jesus and "even expose" the unfruitful deeds of darkness, (Eph. 5:11). We should also avoid partnerships with non-believers which would in any way reduce their perception of their guilt before God. The sons of disobedience should never get the impression that we (much less God) are okay with their sin or that they're not that bad off spiritually. In fact, the Holy Spirit commands us through Paul to "not be partakers with them, for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light," (Eph 5:7-8).

The impulse to partner with other believers is a godly one. But we must "be careful how (we) walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of (our) time, because the days are evil," (Eph. 4:15). We must not team with those who are not living and preaching according to the truth that is in Jesus.

The standard for our lives and our locking arms with other believers is the eternal word of the living God. Paul and Peter and John and others took on false teaching and false teachers; they did not let core doctrines and dedication to wholeheartedly seeking Christ Jesus according to His revealed truth slide.

Then who should we partner with and what Scriptural examples of godly partnerships should we emulate? That's the subject of my next post...

Why You Should Care About Big News from Google at the Mobile World Congress - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

As I watched to this morning to a video featuring Google's VP of Mobile, my wife asked me why I'm interested in what's happening in emerging mobile markets. So why should we, as those seeking God's glory and to advance His kingdom, care about what's happening with techno growth? I'll get to that question in a second...

One oversized piece of news from Google out of this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is that IPhone users are accessing Google's web searches 50 times as much as those without the IPhone! Google's VP of Mobile explains why in the clip linked above. Also in the clip is news that Google anticipates mobile search to overtake PC-based search in the next several years. The takeaway for ministries: mobile is and will be a huge mission field/equipping territory going forward and you should plan your ministry accordingly (including subscribe by cell phone, Blue Tooth alerts, handheld bible study tools, and more).

Back to my wife's question...Why should we care about what's happening in emerging technologies? Because knowing what's coming & getting ahead of the curve should afford us an incredible opportunity to plan and successfully execute ministry, for God' glory!

You may be thinking, "I'm the pastor of a small church in the middle of Indiana. What does a Chinese mobile provider have to do with me?" Let me answer your question with a few questions of my own.

Do you support missionaries? Do you pray for & give to overseas ministries, or plan to do so in the near future? Wouldn't it be in keeping with Jesus' command to be "wise as serpents" for you to be able to better evaluate ministries in China, India, Africa, and beyond, based on their use of mobile technologies that are exploding in those locales?

For you parachurch leaders, what are you doing to tap the burgeoning mobile market? Are you delivering ministry alerts to members' cell phones? Are you Blue Tooth broadcasting at major events and on Sunday mornings?

The bottom line for this blog and the Lucky Rock ministry is to bring glory to God by "equipping the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the Body of Christ," primarily through better ministry strategy, with a special focus on staying ahead of the technology/marketing game and directing ministry accordingly. Don't let your ministry lag and don't fool yourself into thinking it's too hard to keep up. God will supply all the wisdom & insight you need and He will provide the human resources (including yours truly) to capitalize on the incredible tools at our disposal to spread the good news of our great God and King, Jesus Christ.

Try reading your Bible with forward thinking in mind and start praying about how to revamp your ministry to more efficiently build people in Christ and make new disciples. Then subscribe to our blog, link to us, and tell others about how they too can "get 'er done" for Jesus Christ.

PS: One more Blue Tooth broadcasting idea...For major evangelistic events such as Luis Palau Festival or other mass gatherings, why not broadcast Blue Tooth invites to the surrounding community throughout your activity? If you really want to go nuts, you could set up Blue Tooth units at large participating churches, which would help spread the word beyond the immediate vicinity of your venue. This would be especially strategic if your conference spans several days.

Your Website - Is It The Taj Mahal Nobody Knows About? - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

One of my biggest frustrations as a sometime web designer and full-time ministry consultant is the near-universal tendency of ministries to spend all of their web budget on a killer-looking site that nobody outside of their members/friends ever sees. Ministries usually don't realize that optimizing their sites to be picked up by the major search engines, especially Google, is just as important as building a fabulous web home.

Before I dive into quick fixes for your website search rankings, let me say that search engine optimization (SEO) is not just about adding a couple of things to your site and watching it zoom. You must feature a solid amount of content people actually want, organized in a way that's easy to navigate and keeps people coming back for more. That said, and no offense to the SEO pros reading this, you can make some simple changes to your website that will make it pop in search engines. How do I know? Because these changes have done wonders for me.

1) Page title. Check out the top navigation bar in Internet Explorer or Firefox the next time you visit one of your favorite websites. It doesn't just list the organization name; it describes the ministry. Churches should include their geographical area, ministry distinctives, and denomination. Parachurches should detail their location (if pertinent) and ministry focus, in general terms like "Evangelize Africa," or "Feed America's Poor". Keep your title to just two or three key phrases that people are most likely to use when searching for your kind of website, then list your ministry name.

2) Description and meta tags. For those of you who don't know, meta tags, often in the form of keywords, feed information about your website content to all the search engines and crawlers that visit you.

I can't tell you how many times SEO experts have declared, "Meta tags are dead!" If that's the case, why do all of the best-optimized websites still use them? List the keywords that describe your ministry, such as "Orange County Baptist Church, biblical teaching, poor ministry, financial ministry, web ministry, web outreach, free plumber, free auto repairs." As with your page title, the trick is to use keywords and phrases that people are most likely to punch in when searching for your website.

3) Label all your photos. You do have lots of high-quality photos that tell your ministry story, don't you? Use alt tags to label all of your ministry photos.

Search engines don't read photos, they read text. And alt tags give Google and friends something to chew on and will pop up if your photos don't load. Consider tags such as "Heights Calvary Chapel in Chicago city-wide baptism," or "new Northpoint Atlanta community center opening."

4) Make your site contagious. Offer ways for people to subscribe by email, mobile, rss reader, and whatever else and be sure to include means for people to forward your page to friends by email, text message, etc. "Viral" websites get linked to more often, which leads to hire search engine rankings. Which brings me too...

5) You like me. You really like me! Links are a great way to boost your search engine ranking. In search engine-think, if other sites like you, you must be important. If you support or partner with other ministries, be sure to swap links with them. And if you have a blog, list it on all the major blog search engines (put in a Google search to find them).

Hopefully these tips will greatly improve your site's visibility and ministry reach. (For quick fixes to your website itself, check out this recent post.)

If you implement these changes and they work for you, I'd love to hear about it. In that event, I'd also love for you to send a few bucks our way so we can help other ministries.

I freely invite any SEO pros to add their suggestions/corrections via commenting on this blog. Let's work together to improve ministry websites, to bring God glory and advance His Kingdom...

Blue Tooth Marketing for Christian Businesses...Make Some Money, Give to Ministry - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

I promised you I'd post another round yesterday, but seminary reading and company coming to town proved too formidable a duo. I digress...

This post is for all you Christian business owners. I just can't resist "tearing the roof off" of your techno-understanding, (sorry to steal your term, Francis Schaefer). Christian business owners need to wake up to new Blue Tooth revenue streams and use the excess cash to fund ministry.

A few Blue Tooth broadcasting possibilities...

1) Radio stations. We've all heard remote broadcasts at car dealerships. Imagine a radio station booking additional revenue by offering to broadcast on-site Blue Tooth alerts about the hottest vehicles. Suddenly the dealership is generating leads that they otherwise may not get, because most folks don't want to talk to a salesperson and just want the info on the car(s) they're interested in.

2) Grocery stores, coffee shops, bookstores (basically any retail outlet). Why aren't you using Blue Tooth to broadcast coupons, new merchandise, this week's specials, and so much more? Get a long-range dongle, buy some software, and amaze your nearby customers with your technical prowess and with the deals you're advertising.

3) Got an oil change yesterday. Now wondering why they're not setting themselves apart from the other oil change joint right across the street, by using Blue Tooth to broadcast their car repair specials.

4) Concerts. Use Blue Tooth to sell band merchandise right over the phone, to be mailed or picked up at the table in the back. Blue Tooth broadcast fan club subscriptions, album info, upcoming events, etc.

5) Movie theaters. Blue Tooth snack bar specials and opt-ins for your frequent movie watcher club.

The list goes on. The possibilities are endless. Praise the Lord! Make some cash and give it to ministry, (maybe the Lucky Rock).

By the way, if you're not sure how to manage your business or your money God's way, check out Crown Financial Ministries' great website and buy a copy of the classic CD series God's Principles for Operating a Business.

Internet Evangelism Day - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

Quickly...Check out the Internet Evangelism Day website. Though they obviously focus on a once-a-year push for web-based ministry, IED also offers great resources on all sorts of ways to use technology in ministry. Enjoy.

I'll post another column later today...

Follow-up to Blue Tooth, Location-Based, Mobile Ministry - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

In my last post I mentioned the incredible potential of Blue Tooth marketing. Again, the range of at least one low-cost device is purported to be 900 feet (600 feet from dongle to phones)!

As you consider Blue Tooth broadcasting (for which the Spirit-led possibilities for helping people know and grow in Christ are pretty much endless), please be sure of the following:

1) Supplemental signage is key. Don't just broadcast into oblivion; put notice of Blue Tooth alerts on your church sign and on billboards. Also put adverts in your church bulletin. And if you use video monitors to show the worship service, add a small graphic letting folks know about your Blue Tooth content. Such signage will also help you reach folks who've turned off their Blue Tooth devices, who obviously would not otherwise be reached by your Blue Toothing.

2) Less is more. Even though Blue Tooth is opt-in, don't just constantly stream a thousand different ads to see what sticks. Certainly some experimentation will help refine your messaging, but don't go nuts. Whether you're a church or parachurch ministry, keeping it to simple ministry info and interest surveys is probably best.

3) Keep file sizes to 10K or less (unless you're located in Europe or Japan). Most phones simply can't process big files efficiently, thus your latest super cool church video will just be annoying and likely off-putting. A slick graphic with links will fit within a 10K limit.

Alright, I can't resist giving you a couple more Blue Tooth ministry ideas...

1) Set up a short-range (150 feet) Blue Tooth dongle in your Sunday school/education wing. Broadcast a simple listing of the various classes available with links to more info.

2) Youth/college events. I know, I know youth and college are worlds apart. But they use Blue Tooth like it's hardwired into them (HA!), therefore Blue Toothing them should work better than other groups. Send out evangelistic info, news of upcoming Bible studies/discipleship opportunities, and a calendar of upcoming events.

3) PRAYER!!!! Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul commanded, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints," (Eph. 6:18). Send out Blue Tooth invites to submit prayer needs to everyone who walks through your doors and to your community. The goal is not to let folks know that the "great genie in the sky" is now granting wishes. Rather, we're proactively fulfilling the Spirit's exhortation to pray at all times for the saints and we're presenting God as sovereign, able, and loving to the lost. Praying for lost and found according to God's will is absolutely biblical and I quite frankly can't think of many better ways to use Blue Tooth than to efficiently collect prayer needs.

Nuff said for now. Feedback?

Blue Tooth Location-Based Mobile Ministry - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

What in the Wide World of Sports is Blue Tooth, location-based mobile ministry? It's a means of effectively reaching folks that is easy to accomplish and could absolutely revolutionize your ministry impact. In a nutshell, Blue Tooth broadcasting (BTB) through a simple USB adapter or through a Blue Tooth transmitter, will allow any computer to become a broadcast hub for your ministry.

Though I'm still in the midst of feverish research and gathering price quotes, I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about the ministry prospects of Blue Tooth broadcasting. For all you techno-challenged folks like me, let's briefly survey the technology involved with BTB. Then I'll offer a few ideas for using Blue Tooth broadcasting in your ministry.

Thankfully, the technology involved in BTB is quite minimal. Basically you need a Blue Tooth dongle (a silly word, indeed) or a Blue Tooth adapter, and software to run an ad campaign to folks within range of your transmission. The BT transmitter sends out a signal to any passers-by with Blue Tooth devices and lets them know that content is available. If recipients opt-in, then they'll get your ministry info, links to websites, coupons, and more (the possibilities are pretty much endless).

Proxiblaster has the best deal I've found for Blue Tooth ad software ($129) and they offer a n affordable long-range dongle (range up to 900 feet for $129). They also sell relatively cheap software that will run campaigns on multiple computers ($199). No, I don't work for Proxiblaster; they're simply the best BTB solution I've found thus far.

Onto the ministry possibilities...

With Blue Tooth your church could:

1) Send church invites and evangelistic info with web links to folks in your neighborhood.
2) Give attendees the opportunity to learn more about specific ministries, without their ever having to stop by a ministry table or fill out an interest survey. Blue Tooth could be especially helpful during ministry fairs and serving-focused teaching series.
3) Offer coupons for discounts at your church bookstore/coffee shop.
4) Send missions updates, prayer requests, and more to interested members.
5) Broadcast church info to folks visiting your church for a major outside event (concerts, bible conferences, etc.).

For ministries who regularly host conferences & events, you could:

1) Gather contact info through a simple form Blue-Toothed to a attendees. As a former fundraiser and event organizer, I know follow-up is an incredible challenge after ministry dinners and conferences. Folks who are jazzed up/thrilled/inspired at events, often fail to provide their contact info/avoid you like the plague after an event. Not anymore. With BTB, you could capture their contact info, interests, and maybe even donations at the event!

2) Blue Tooth a simple menu that allows folks to choose the ministry(ies) they'd most like to receive info on. If you've got a new project requiring funding for personnel, technology, and more, you could recruit folks to give to those things they're most interested in. Or if you're running many different ministries with diverse focuses and goals, you could use Blue Tooth to capture attendees most interested in specific projects/ministries.

A few closing thoughts...

In case you missed it, BTB is permission-based. Folks have to opt-in to receive content. You won't just be spamming them into oblivion.

No more "kitchen sink" follow-up letters. Through BTB you'll already know what the folks you're writing to are most passionate about. Rather than throw all your projects into your ask letter and hope something jumps out at them. BTB should empower you to highlight specific opportunities they've already expressed interest in and perhaps even help you tailor the gift amount you seek.

Best practices worth mentioning. Proxiblaster also offers an informative guide to BTB content. Among their tips, they suggest you keep file sizes to 10k or less and post signage letting folks know they can receive your Blue Tooth content.

I'll keep you posted as I dive deeper into BTB. If you're already using Blue Tooth location-based marketing, I'd love to hear about your successes and failures.

Read the next installment in this series here.

Happy Blue Toothing...

Fundraising Quick Tips: Organic Fundraising - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

Today's post is the first in a here-and-there series about fundraising--a subject few want to talk about and many see as a mere necessary evil in ministry. As a former "development officer" and now part-time fundraising consultant (Jesus salesman, panhandler, beggar-for-hire...all names my friends have called yours truly), I will now deign to offer my insights into this most hated activity and how you can stop despising it and transform fundraising into an integral, maybe even organic, aspect of your ministry.

Fundraising should be an organic part of your ministry. Scripture teaches that giving is just one of many acts of devotion to Christ and should evidence/be accompanied by total Christian living, (1 Cor. 13:3, 1 John 3:17). Mirroring this integrated approach, you should weave opportunities for folks to financially partner with you throughout your ministry relationships.

No, this doesn't mean simply adding more "donate now" buttons to your website. (You do use online giving, don't you?)

Biblical, organic fundraising also requires you to call folks more than just once-a-year to "hit 'em up" for more ministry cash. You should actually live out your love for your ministry partners by praying for them, ministering to them, and if they own a business or provide a service, actually ask them how it's going and pray about folks you might send their way, (see Gal. 6:2, Phil. 2:4).

But how do we make fundraising a more organic part of our ministry? A few ideas...

1) Put a link on your homepage to a testimonials section featuring folks who've given to the ministry and seen God move through their efforts. This helps build community and establishes giving as a vital part of the ministry's continued health. If you have audio or video, that's even better than simple written testimonies. If you only have written stories, include a picture of the giver and/or the group ministered to through their gift.

2) Don't just talk about giving at the end of your newsletters and emails. No more "Oh, and by the way, we need money." Start your correspondence with, or at least include in almost every communication, a story of the Lord's work in an individual or group through your ministry and thank everyone who gave to help make it happen.

3) Implement strategic volunteering throughout your ministry. One great way that the Holy Spirit builds up the Body of Christ through the "proper working of each part," is through folks doing more than stuffing/licking envelopes until their fingers bleed and their taste buds fail. Use your partners'/members' skills, not just their load-bearing capabilities.

Do you know a CPA or CFP? Why not ask her to give an hour a week to help with the books or, even better, plan your ministry's investment strategies?

Do you know a plumber or electrician? Why not approach him to fill that critical need of a remodeled bathroom for your outreach center/church, and couch it in terms of the potential ministry impact of their labor?

Do you know a handful of successful business owners with a solid biblical foundation (and I mean biblical)? Why not recruit them to prayerfully help you plan the future of your ministry?

This strategic volunteering should be preceded by your commitment to/clear communication about your desire to best utilize the many fellow workers God has brought your way, beyond their ability to write big checks. Don't accept their buy-off; prayerfully seek their buy-in. Now that's organic!

Next time I blog about fundraising, I'll share four key aspects of nearly every successful ministry communication. Feedback?