Common Digital Evangelism MistakesAnd Solutions

About

The Center for Online Evangelism is an independent ministry that serves as a hub for online missionaries in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. COE provides resources and training for churches and individuals.

This Guide is designed to help you improve your online presence by discussing the common mistakes and solutions.

To learn more, visit our website.

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Why online evangelism?

The online world is the biggest mission field.

The biggest mission field is online.

3 Billion

People have access to the internet.

52.4%

Of users access the internet through their mobile devices.

2 Billion

Social media accounts are active.

4 Hours

Average time spent on the internet everyday.

Mistake #1:Poor Quality Church Websites

Your Church Needs a proper online PlatformPeople Google search for churches online before visiting.

Of the following, which door are you most likely to walk through?

This one?

Or this one?

Your Website is like your front door.

People will decide whether to go in based on how your front door looks.

Church Website No-Nos

Stock photos

Outdated content

Long bios and history

Antiquated look

Poor content

Church Website Must-Haves

Visitor’s Section

Relevant content/Blog

About Us

Clear contact details

Schedule/ Events

Links to social media

Questions to Ask

1. Who is my website for?

2. What are the goals of our

website?

3. Who will form the team?

4. What training resources are we providing for the

team?

One Hour Website Checklist1. Post your church bulletin by Thursday each week (2-5

minutes to post the finished document)

2. Enter any new events in the calendar (10-20 minutes)

3. Write, revise, or update a page of web copy to be “massively useful” for your target audience (10-15 minutes)

4. Answer emails (5-10 minutes)

(Source: Heidi Baumgartner)

One Hour Website Checklist5. Run through a section of your maintenance log (10+ minutes)

(Check links, Update welcome message, Check statistics)

6. Review the accuracy of current content (addresses, phone

numbers, email contact, events, etc.)

7. Share and cross promote your bulletin or a preview of

Sabbath services on social media (2-5 minutes)

8. Have your A/V team upload or archive the sermon after

church (upload time)

(Source: Heidi Baumgartner)

Mistake #2:We don’t Know our Audience

There’s a lesson we can learn from Always’ #LikeAGirl Campaign

Watch video here.

90m+ views; number two viral video globally

1100+ earned-media placements and 4.4bn+ media

impressions in the first three months.

Twitter followers tripled in the first three months; YouTube

subscribers grew 4339%

177,000 #LikeAGirl tweets in the first three months,

including many celebrities.

Purchase intent grew more than 50% among our target.

In a study conducted in December 2014, almost 70% of

women and 60% of men claimed that "The video changed

my perception of the phrase 'like a girl’”.

Source: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/case-study-always-likeagirl/1366870

Why was this campaign successful?

Always targeted the needs of their audience

They met those needs through blogs, videos, and promos

There is no overt promotion of their products

They have a YouTube channel and social media presence

They were successful because they knew their audience.

Who are you creating content for?

Who is Jesus Sending You To?

Jesus gives us each a target audience.“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” ( Matthew 10: 5-6 NKJV).

Their target was the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

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Knowing your audience helps you to:

Choose your Platform

Figure out your format

Know the best way to present your content

Create relatable content

Questions to Answer:

1. Basics: Age, location, gender, ethnicity/race/language, interests?

2. Does your audience have a Christian background?

3. Are the Seventh-day Adventists or not?

4. What’s their age range?

5. What issues are they facing?

6. Do they have Bible knowledge?

7. What’s the cultural background of your audience?

Failing to know your audience results in:

1. Speaking Adventese

2. Creating unrelatable content

3. Lack of connection

4. Shallow relationships

5. Lack of results

It is essential that we not only communicate

clearly, but that we also take the time to

deeply understand our audience. It doesn’t

matter if you know what you mean. Put

yourself in your audience’s shoes and speak to

them accordingly. Speak to your audience in a

way and with the words that enable them to

understand and connect with your message.

– Jamie Domm, SDA Big Data

As a digital missionary, take the time to figure out who your audience is.

Mistake #3:We Go Live without Prepping

The Live Button is one of the most powerful tools we have to share our story.

Common Mistakes

Only streaming divine services

Not monitoring conversations

Vertical orientation on your phone

Failing to promote the live events

Disorganized, unplanned streaming

Poor video/audio quality

Here are some creative things

you can do whengoing live:

Give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at what happens

before the service begins

Shadow your church pastor for a day

Host a Church Q&A

Answer comments from your church’s page

Pray for requests

Answer Bible questions

Interview church members

Tip: End your live streams with a Call to Action.

Ask yourself, what actiondo I want my viewers to take after watching this video? Give them directions on how to get it done.

CTA Examples

• Join our online support groupJoin

• Text #### to receive Bible studiesText

• Download this free devotionalDownload

• Visit our websiteVisit

• Listen to …. PodcastListen

• Watch ….Watch

• Visit your local Adventist churchVisit

Mistake #4:We Set Vague Goals

Common things digital missionaries say:

“I want to reach everyone.”

“I want people to learn about Jesus.”

“I want to have a successful ministry.”

“We want to reach people online.”

But how will you know if you achieved these goals?

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What do you want to accomplish through your ministry?

Ministry Goals

SPECIFIC

MEASURABLE

ATTAINABLE

RELEVANT

Avoid setting vague goals that cannot be measured (e.g. Reach more souls for Christ). When a goal is specific, you will know when it is accomplished (e.g. Get 5 Bible study signups in 3 days.)

To help measure success, there must be some physical manifestation of the results. Because you specifically set out to get 5 Bible study sign up in 3 days, you will know whether your campaign was successful or if you need to make improvements based on the results.

Make sure you are being reasonable with what you want to

accomplish. Be careful of confusing rashness with faith. Goals should

match the time and energy can afford to put in, while allowing God

to work.

Why do you want to accomplish these goals? Ensure that your goals

matter to you and line up with God’s purpose for your life.

TIMELY

Set deadlines and stick to your timelines. This will greatly affect the success of

your ministry.

Answer these Questions❑Why does this ministry matter to me?

❑What do I want to accomplish in the next 6 months?

❑What specific prayer requests will I place before God?

❑How many people do I want to reach in the next 6 months?

❑How will I know that I accomplished my goals?

❑How many people do I want to refer to a local church?

❑How much time am I able to dedicate to this ministry every week?

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Examples of Specific Goals

Build an online small group of 10 women in the next 2 months

Increase engagement on our FB page by 40% in 3 months

Gain 100 downloads for podcast in one month through planning & distribution

Mistake #5:We Fight Online

Scroll through your timeline and it probably won’t be long before you see an active, ongoing debate taking place. While nothing is wrong in having a healthy discussion, over the years, there has been an explosion of mean and hurtful debates taking place, even between believers.

When there is a disagreement over a topic (political, moral, biblical, etc.) many social media users seem to throw out the fact that they are Christians and they turn to mudslinging.

What does online fighting do?

We are killing the Gospel story.

People are turned away from the faith because we give a bad report.

Venting your frustration about the church online can do more harm than good.

It makes the fighter appear hypocritical

It hinders the work of online missionaries

How Should You Handle an Online Disagreement?

Avoid heated debates on topics that cannot be solved under an online post

Be respectful and patient toward others

Remember that you are speaking to a human, not a machine

Engage with the idea – do not attack the person

Don’t take comments from strangers personally

How Should You Handle an Online Disagreement?

Control your temper before responding – don’t respond out of emotion

Stand to be corrected

Do not mislabel, judge, name call individuals who disagree with you

Consider whether you have the time to engage in online debates

If you wouldn’t say it to their face, don’t post it

Show grace toward leaders, even if you don’t agree

How do we manage negative comments?

Try to determine the person’s attitude

Send a personal message

Hide comments

Ban the person from your page

Leave the comment and follow the engagement

Mistake #6:We Don’t Want to Pay for Quality Work

It takes Time & Money to Create Quality Online Content

These cost money

➢ Creating graphics

➢ Editing audio or video

➢ Recording audio or video

➢ Stock photos or videos

➢ Storage

➢ Software & Hardware

➢ Training

➢ Digital Advertising

➢ SEO

➢ Living

3 Ways to Fund Online Mission Work1. Proper budgeting

2. Patreon

3. Offer products and services for donations

Mistake #7:Not Using Digital Ads

Use Digital Ads

Digital advertisement is a great way to reach more people to let them know about your church or ministry.

Many digital missionaries do very well creatingcontent but spend little time distributing or promoting that content.

Make sure your work receives as much coverage as possible.

Benefits of Digital Ads1. Budget friendly

2. That is where the masses are

3. You can target your exact audience

4. Increases traffic to your website

5. Measurable

How to Build a Strong Digital Foundation

➢Include digital strategies in short- and long-term visions and goals.

➢Dedicate funds for social media promotions.

➢Dedicate time for training you and your staff.

➢Identify staff who could take on social media as part of their job duties

➢Invest in young people; give them space to utilize their skills in this area for the Church.

(Source: SDAdata.org)

Bonus Tip

Learn MoreAs a digital missionary, it’s important to stay up to date with ways to improve your ministry.

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