Maximize your Ministry using the Internet

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copyright©2008 Your Name or Maximize your Ministry using the Internet

Maximize your Ministry

Using the Internet

Written by:

Kimberly Crawford

(Chosen Jewel Ministries)

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or passed on in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher and Author.



Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Branding your Ministry Ministry branding is incredibly important, because it’s about more

than just a nifty logo with pleasing colors. It’s about your message,

your testimony, your influence, and your role in reflecting God’s

character.

Chapter 2 Creating a Website In this chapter you will learn how using a website to expose your

ministry is relatively inexpensive and will provide a great venue for

you to reach those online.

Chapter 3 Social Media at its Best

Social media is a great tool for reaching out to people in a ministry

capacity. And they are free to join!

Chapter 4 Promoting your Ministry

If you are looking to take advantage of the growing number of people

online today, you can take these steps for your own ministry

marketing plan to promote your ministry.

Chapter 5 Generating Funds for Ministry

Following these fundraising ideas for ministry organizations will help

you raise the cash you need for your cause.

Chapter 6 Persistence and Perseverance

Why do some fall and others succeed, Persistence and Perseverance.

This chapter will encourage you through God’s word to keep going!

Chapter 7 Be Positive in your Message

Being positive is the most important factor in maximizing your

ministry using the internet. This is your platform, don’t blow it!



Chapter 1 Branding your Ministry

If you think that your ministry brand is not that important, you’re wrong.

Ministry branding is incredibly important, because it’s about more than just a

nifty logo with pleasing colors. It’s about your message, your testimony, your

influence, and your role in reflecting God’s character. In the arena of ministry

marketing, with all its perversions, distractions, and confusion, some biblical-

ly-based advice is needed.

We measure success not by just increasing numbers (though we do want to

reach more people with the truth of the Gospel), but in seeing lives truly

changed into conformity to Jesus Christ. Effective branding is designed in-

crease your exposure with people in need in this world, and to clearly com-

municate a message that will ultimately meet those needs. Before you can

successfully communicate your message to the world, you must first be able

to articulate what that message is—in essence, who you are.

What is Ministry Branding?

When I interact with leaders on the topic of branding for ministry, the first

thing that typically comes to mind is a logo. While a logo (or any visual iden-

tifier) plays a role in branding, that role is only one player in a whole cast of

characters that form a brand. If you think of your brand as synonymous with

your logo, it’s thinking that the five human senses are just the eyes. Your

brand is like a diamond; it has many different facets that beautifully reflect

the light. That reflection accurately reveals or communicates what the dia-

mond is. Your brand is made up of the various facets that you communicate

about yourself through the different touch-points someone has with your min-

istry. These touch points can be visual (like a picture, which is often the

strongest), audible (preaching, music, your receptionist’s greeting), smell,

etc. If a church visitor experiences friendly, caring people who interact with

them throughout their visit, that church visitor will leave thinking of your

brand as friendly or caring. Typically, your brand will only stand for one

thing in someone’s mind. What message are you sending to people through



each touch point they have with your ministry? Those multiple facets of

communication come together to form an impression, called your brand.

Your ministry is always communicating something, whether you’re trying to

or not. Often, ministries are actively sending certain messages without even

realizing it. For example, a web site that is disorganized, hard to navigate, or

looks poorly-designed is communicating something about what a ministry

values, or what the ministry brand stands for. A clearly organized, well-

thought-out navigation coupled with solid content and good design com-

municates that you set a high priority on order, quality, and the seriousness of

ministry. Your web site is the first touch-point a visitor has with your minis-

try. Your home page acts as the initial greeter that stands at the front door of

your ministry directing people to the right place. Ask yourself this question:

“What message am I sending about my ministry to the people who see my

site every day? Even more importantly, am I accurately reflecting the true

character of my God as revealed in Scripture?”

Here is the testimony of one Evangelist: “Branding has given [our ministry]

a unified look, recognizable image, and concrete means to communicate key

aspects of who we are and what we are doing in a simple, clear, graphic, and

attractive way. It allows our web site, print materials, signs, outreach, and

gospel literature to have a cohesive look and clear connection. As we contin-

ue to keep an active web presence, pass out gospel literature and church invi-

tations, and put up signs, our logo and thus our church becomes recognizable

in our community. Only the Lord knows the real effectiveness of branding in

getting the gospel to our community, but we it helps us maximize our obedi-

ence to His commission.”



How can church branding help my ministry?

In my experience working, teaching, and consulting with over 100 pastors, I

have found that branding helps in two specific ways—one internal and one

external. Let’s start with the internal purpose, because that is what is often

neglected when churches consider rebranding.

1. Branding will give people in your ministry an “elevator speech.” It is

widely said in sales that if you can’t clearly communicate what your

business is to someone in 1-3 sentences or less (i.e. the time it takes to

take the elevator to travel from the ground floor to your 4th floor of-

fice), you don’t really understand what you do. The same principle ap-

plies to ministries. Most ministries don’t really know how to clearly ex-

plain to someone what their ministry is all about. Imagine you were get-

ting on the elevator on with someone you know from another office.

You are discussing your past weekend experiences and mention that

you had a ministry. Your friend then asks what your ministry is all

about. Hmm…you struggle to really know what to say or how to say it.

You know what your ministry is like, but how do you articulate it – and

before the elevator stops at the next floor? Effective branding can help

give people 3-4 short, succinct defining statements that they can use to

clearly communicate what your ministry is all about. It’s important that

those defining statements are clearly and carefully explained. Repetition

aids learning.

2. Branding clearly communicates what your ministry is all about to the

world. This is perhaps the most obvious purpose of branding, so we’ll

not spend much time here. Taking those 3-4 defining statements we

discussed in the previous point and making them the central messages

of your outreach communication materials (including your web site)

will directly influence what will come to a person’s mind when an indi-

vidual hears the name of your ministry. If they know about you, your

community will be thinking something about your ministry. It’s im-

portant to influence that positively.



So where do we start? By this point, you may be ready to jump into the

practical steps on how to brand your ministry (or how to afford it). Let’s get

started. I’ll cover three steps.

Three steps to branding your ministry:

Step 1: Define who you are (a.k.a. your brand, described by 3-5 de-

fining statements)

Step 2: Identify your touch-points

Step 3: Create pieces to use for each touch-point

Step 1: Defining who you are (This is at no cost)

Since branding is all about clearly communicating who you are, the founda-

tional step is to define exactly who you are. Think about it like this: water is

made up of Hydrogen and Oxygen. If water didn’t contain those two ele-

ments, it would cease to be what we know as water. What foundational roots

of your ministry make the ministry what it is? You can think about it in terms

of an individual’s unique personality—what about someone’s personality

makes it uniquely him? We’re not necessarily trying to differentiate you from

other ministries. We’re trying to find out what makes you who you are. Take

a moment right now and jot down 3-5 defining statements. You don’t want

any less than 3, and you want no more than 5. Once you’ve got those defin-

ing statements, run them by another trusted leader or personal acquaintance

that knows your ministry. Find out if those statements accurately define your

ministry. Once you have your defining statements refined and complete, you

now have a clear message to communicate. The next two steps, identifying

your touch-points (step 2) and creating the actual pieces to use for each

touch-point (step 3), will be the steps whereby you will identify the venues

(logo, web, print, social media, etc.) to broadcast your brand.



Step 2: Identify your touch-points

Virtual Touch-Points:

Web site

Social media

E-mail outreach/newsletters

Video/DVD/Infomercials

Radio

Web TV

Phone

Text

You should make sure that you are utilizing as many touch points as possible,

since you may be able to reach some people with one venue that you won’t

be able to reach with another. It is important that you be consistent, empha-

sizing your defining statements within each touch-point so that as internet

viewers continues to see those statements repeated, your brand begins to take

shape in their minds. For example, you may have come up with three actual

defining statements (your message). One strategy you can use to educate the

internet community on who you are is to e-mail (your touch-point) pieces

(your messengers) to the internet community over the course of 3 weeks.

You’ll want to sit down and decide which defining statement would be im-

portant to highlight with each e-mail. Then decide what other type of content

information you want to include in the e-mail (e.g., logo, tagline, gospel mes-

sage, etc.).

Step 3: Create the pieces to use for each touch-point

Below are 3 ministry communication tools (messengers) that we typically

create when branding a ministry. All these tools are inexpensive.

1. Logo design, which often includes other collateral materials such busi-

ness cards and future products that can help generate revenue to expand

your ministry.



2. Web site design, which often includes search optimization, social me-

dia, e-mail newsletters, etc.

3. Video/DVDs for use on the web, for visitors, etc.

8 Ideas for Branding on a Budget

1. Buy a domain name for your ministry ($10yr.) and link it to a free

Wordpress blog.

2. Advertise your site using Google Adwords.

3. Have other sites link to you to increase your search engine traffic.

4. Start a Facebook page for your ministry.

5. Include your web site on everything (e-mail signature, signage, etc.).

6. Set up a free blog and post updates. (wordpress.com – free).

7. Use Gmail for your e-mail (free) & a Google Calendar (free).

8. Use e-mail newsletters to get the word out to your people ($10 per

campaign 3cents per recipient).

Wrapping it all up

It is critical that your ministry be clearly communicating the right message.

This message must be consistent with the character of our God as revealed in

Scripture and one that clearly typifies what your ministry exists to do. At the

end of the day, it is God who is to receive the glory forever, through lives

who have heard the clear, simple message of His Son, embraced genuine re-

demptive change, and continue to live out that faith through lives conformed

to Jesus Christ. That’s the ultimate message of the ages – and getting that

message across is what ministry branding is all about.



Chapter 2 Creating a Website

Using the Internet to reach an unlimited amount of people is an excellent

opportunity to grow your ministry. Creating a ministry website includes

naming your site, adding important information to web pages and submitting

the site to search engines so people can locate it. Economically speaking,

using a website to expose your ministry is relatively inexpensive and

provides a great venue for you to reach those online.

As your ministry grows, you will be able to upgrade your website to a custom

website. To get started, it is much easier to use templates to create your

website. This process can be simply or complicated. If you are in a financial

position to hire a web designer, then you can make it as complicated as you

would like. But remember, if the website is not user friendly, visitors will not

return. It is about the message. Don’t put to many bell and whistles on your

web page. It will take away from the message you are trying to relate to the

people. If you prefer to create the website yourself, templates are your best

option. It is simple and quick.

Here are the steps to create a website:

1. Make a list of the basic features your website needs. Examples

include a description of what the ministry does, details of events,

Christian resources such as videos and articles and contact

information. If you do not run the ministry yourself, collaborate

with the pastor or ministry leader on this step.

2. Make a list of between five and 10 key words or terms that

describe your website and the ministry. They should be simple

words and phrases that Internet users are likely to type into a

search engine. For example, if the ministry is a women's outreach

in L.A., your key words might be "women's ministry," "Bible

teaching," "Christian growth" and "Los Angeles."



3. Write a short description of the website. It should feature key

words and summarize the ministry and the content of the website.

It will be the first thing people read when they find your website

through a search engine.

Technical Requirements

4. Buy a domain name from a site such as Christian-Domains.com,

GoDaddy.com or Domain.com. The domain name is what people

type into the address bar to find the website, for example

www.ehow.com. Memorable addresses contain the name of the

ministry or a key word or phrase.

5. Buy hosting from a site such as TruePath.com,

ChristianHosting.com or HostGator.com. Start with a less

expensive package, unless you expect large visitor numbers

straightaway.

6. Get a web design program. You can get free software from a site

such as NetObjects.com, buy a very basic, inexpensive program

from GoDaddy.com or invest in more substantial software such as

Microsoft Expression Web.

Design and Publish

7. Create the first page using a template. Templates are available

through most design programs, or you can find free Christian

ministry templates at sites like MagicTemplate.com,

ChristianTemplatesOnline.com and WebTemplatesGallery.com.

Use a template with colors, design features and layout that will

appeal to your Christian audience.

8. Add a menu, listing the main pages in the website, with links. The

menu usually appears in the same place on every page. Update the



menu as you add more pages, such as Sermons, etc.

Adding finishing touches

Add text. If you want people to find the content easily through search

engines, use simple language that they might use if typing in a search query,

e.g. "How to pray" or "Find a church in my city," especially in headings and

subheadings.

Add images. Most web design programs come with clip art. You can find free

Christian clip art at ChristArt.com, GospelGifs.com and CrossDaily.com.

Add your key words and description. Most web design programs tell you

where to add this information so it is not visible on the page but visible to

search engines. To add it manually to the html code, add the following code

between < HEAD> and </HEAD>, adding the relevant information after

"CONTENT=": <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="add key words

here"><META NAME="description" CONTENT="add description here">.

Repeat steps 1 to 5 for other pages.

Upload the website to your hosting account. It will require a user name and

password from your hosting provider. Consult the instructions for the web

design program, as each program has its own procedure for publishing the

website.

This was the not so simple version. It will give you a custom website that

you can create yourself.

There are many different companies that have free websites. For example,

www.wix.com or www.weebly.com if you are on a tight budget, start here.

These sites also provide technical support. You can always upgrade at a later

time.

http://www.wix.com/

http://www.weebly.com/



Chapter 3 Social Media at its Best

Are you connected?

Social media is a great tool for reaching out to people in a minis-

try capacity. There are so many benefits of blogging, social net-

working, and other activities that are now available in the online

world. You can broaden the reach of your messages by utilizing

the internet. You can also promote events and engage people in a

conversation in ways that might not have been possible in the

past. Building new relationships, communicating with followers,

donors, and others, and sharing your ministry with anyone who

wants to access it are just some of the benefits of social media in

ministry today.

Return on Influence

While you might not receive a measurable dollar return on your

investment in social media, if done correctly you can and WILL receive



a return on your influence.

In ministry terms that mean more and more people will come to Christ

because they are able to identify with what your ministry is doing in a

way that is relevant to them.

You can't put a price tag on the ROIn that you receive by implementing

a winning social media strategy in your church or organization.

And joining is free! You invest nothing and gain souls for the kingdom!

That is the main purpose for ministry.

List of Social Media Sites that can enhance your ministry

Social networking – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+

Social networking sites allow users to add friends, send messages and share

content. People on social networking sites group in communities of like-

minded interest. IMPORTANT: 1) The other types of social media outlined

here also allow for networking, though they’re typically more focused on

content sharing. 2) Don’t assume your audience isn’t participating in social

networking. The growth of Facebook for example is phenomenal. The rate at

which it is growing with men and women in their 60′s even is staggering.

Pinterest is currently the "social media darling"

Curation Sites – Pinterest, Storify, Paper.li

http://kevinmcintosh.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/pinterest-logo6.jpg



Curation sites allow you to act as curator of content, which typically will be

content, created by others. This is the fastest growing area of social media

here in early 2012. A great benefit of curation social marketing is that it can

be done with relatively little time spent as the curator is typically sharing

content. Key, as with all social media, is to stay highly niched. Also, keep in

mind copyright protection laws when sharing the content of others. Estimated

unique visitors to Pinterest.com increased by 429% from September to De-

cember 2011, jumping from 1.68 million visitors to 7.21 million visitors.

Social bookmarking – Digg, Delicious, Reddit, StumbleUpon

Social bookmarking applications allow users to share their favorite online

content with one another while also creating online bookmarks that the user

can refer to in the same way he would a bookmark created offline in his web

browser. Bookmarks may also count as a vote; hence content with lots of

votes can rise to the top of the page results in that community.

Blogs – WordPress, TypePad, Posterous, Tumblr, Blogger as well as

non-branded blogging platforms

Blogs are online journals where the author can write (blog) about any interest

he wants. The blogger can also use the blog to share content picked up from

other social media sites (YouTube, Issuu) by taking advantage of the simple

embed codes offered by those content hosts.

Wikis - Wikipedia

A wiki refers to content created online as a result of multiple users working

on the same content, but at different times and from different places.

Photosharing - Flickr, Photobucket

Photosharing sites are where people can upload photos to share either pri-

vately with only selected other users or publicly. Creative Commons licens-

ing rights can grant permissions for others to use the photos by simply em-

bedding the codes in their blogs. That is how I get most of the photos on my

blog.



Geolocation-Gowalla, Foursquare, FacebookPlaces

Geolocation sites are typically accessed through the user’s smart mobile

phone. These sites feature “check-in” capabilities so that users can, if they

choose, share their location with their social connections. This is a fast-

growing area of social media as it has strong possibilities for retail marketing.

And a new segment that’s growing really fast here in early 2012 is ambient

location social networks.

Video Sharing - YouTube, Vimeo, iMemories

Similar to photosharing. Users upload video content to a site for sharing ei-

ther privately or public.

Presentation Sharing - Slideshare.net, Scribd, Issuu

Files can be uploaded as PDF’s and they are then converted to work with the

online presentation applications. You’ll notice these presentation tools in-

clude embed codes and email options as well, making it easy for the content

to be shared online.

Meetups/Events – Meetup.com and Facebook Events

Meetup.com and Facebook event invites for example. These types of social

media allow you to plan and organize events including sending out invita-

tions through your social network and also receiving RSVP’s.

ShoutLife, Xianz, or BlabLive.com (Christian Social Sites)

Blablive.com/videoministry, Tango (Christian Video Site)

Wow, I know this is a lot of information. Take your time and join all these

social media sites and watch God move in your ministry.



Chapter 4 Promoting your Ministry

Now that you have branded your ministry, created a website, signed up

for of all the social media sites you are ready to promote your ministry.

If you are looking to take advantage of the growing number of people

online today, you can take these steps for your own ministry marketing

plan to promote your ministry.

The great thing about these steps is most of them only require your time

and not as much from your wallet.

Step 1

WHO? Who is your target audience? Who are you trying to connect

with in your particular group in your ministry marketing plan? For

example, a Southern Gospel singer will not pursue a contemporary

Christian music audience. He'll focus on those who are familiar with the

sounds of Southern Gospel Music. Narrow it down to a specific niche.

This list can go on but the sites above would be a great start for you as

you start to promote your ministry online.

Step 2 What do you have to add VALUE to your niche market? What can you

provide for free to develop a list of contacts? This in turn leads to what

you have of value that you can market and sell to your niche audience.

FREE:

Blogs--To share your thoughts, your wisdom, your gifts and talents

E-Book



Videos

Webinars

Music

To Sell/offer at a price:

Your own product(s)

Affiliate products

Information products

Webinars

DVD's/videos

Teaching/Speaking engagements

Performances (musicians)

Step 3 When do you communicate with your niche audience? This is a key and

one powerful step to your ministry marketing plan. Find a great auto-

responder, a computer program that automatically answers and sends e-

mail. I prefer Aweber. As you give away information, you can ask for a

name and e-mail first. Before you know it, you have a list that you can

communicate with and develop trust.

Step 4

Where can your target audience find you online? Can they find you? It's

not enough just to set up a web site and think people will flock to your

site. A good understanding of search engine optimization is a must in

any market plan online.

Here are other simple SEO steps to learn:

-How To Get High Rankings For FreeGetting

-Pay Per Click Strategies

-Understanding keywords (free keyword tools)

-Understanding Google's advanced and extra options



These steps will be a great foundation from which to spring into action

for your own ministry marketing plan online to promote your ministry,

to promote you!

The bottom line is this. If you want to get the word out about your

ministry, give your visitors useful information and encouragement.

Keep adding new, fresh information on a regular basis. If your ministry

is genuinely helping people, they will tell others. Make the whole point

of your ministry to help others. That is the purpose of it in the first

place. Use your advertising material to give out that help and word will

get around.



Chapter 5 Generating Funds for Ministry The following fundraising ideas for ministry organizations will help

you raise the cash you need for your cause. These top fundraising ideas

can be used by ministries, charities, churches and more to increase the

revenues entering the coffers in an effective and fun way. Take a look at

these top money generating methods and then take action and you will

have the money your organization needs, or at least get you on track.

1. eBook, Affiliated Marketing and other products

EBooks are a great way to generate funds for your ministry. There is no

startup cost. (I have a book coming out call “How to write an eBook for free)

As you build your ministry you will have your potential clients, your

followers, through your website and social media sites. Affiliated Marketing

will go perfect with your eBook or directly attach a link on to your website

where your followers can purchase products or services from companies that

you feel are of service to your ministry. And the company in return will

compensate you for promoting their product or service. If you enjoy a

product or service why not promote it. As you build your ministry you can

add t-shirts, mugs, etc. for your followers to purchase. This form of

fundraising is called “Networking”.

2. Leverage Your Reach

Your ministry or charity has a valuable resource, the most valuable of all

resources, and the reach of your communication to those that trust you.

Leverage the relationships your ministry has built and add value to

everyone's life, while you raise funds for your projects. Consider including



advertising opportunities within your newsletters, mailings, or

communications. A large following will have quality advertisers lining up to

present their services to your followers.

3. Joint Ventures

Consider joining forces with other ministries to accomplish more through

combined effort. Your ministry might have certain systems in place that

would be an asset to other ministries. Discover what value your ministry has

and offer to join forces with another ministry or business to reach mutual

goals. Instead of creating your own event, join an event that has already been

established and leverage the benefits that have been built by others, but

remember to approach the relationship with what you have to offer.

4. Host A Community Event

Churches and ministries have known the power of this technique for

fundraising for many generations. Consider hosting a community event for

families and children to enjoy, and soft sell your services for indirect

fundraising. With volunteers and creativity a community wide event can be

sponsored that will engender the communities respect and encourage

donation and or purchases of fundraising products.

5. Set Up An Estate Program

If your ministry promotes a worthy cause, you might want to consider setting

up an endowment program and encouraging followers to consider allowing

their assets to promote their favorite cause after they die. It seems a little out

there, but you never know whose heart God my touch to bless your ministry.

6. Leverage Your Members Creativity

There is nothing so powerful in non-profit fundraising than harnessing the

creativity of your human resources. Confer with your followers as to what

their passions are and encourage them to pursue them in the name of your

cause. A ministry that has a large number of followers usually has productive



and creative individuals that would be willing to contribute their expertise

and talents towards the growth of your ministry.

7. Volunteer Power

Fundraising is just as much about not wasting resources as it is bringing in

new funding. Harness the power of volunteer workers and save thousands on

paid labor. If your cause is inspirational and your goals lofty you will have no

trouble finding dedicated volunteers to help offset the costs of operation.

8. Provide Value In All You Do

Fundraising is no different than business. A constant haranguing your

followers for funds with little or no perceived return will only sour your

efforts. Seek opportunity to provide return oriented value to people's lives

and you will not stray from the path. We have all heard of the monks that

now make millions refilling ink cartridges over the internet solving their

fundraising needs. Find a need, and seek to fill it.

9. In Times of Crisis, Expand not Contract

Take them to heart, when you find yourself in a financial crisis, it is time to

redouble your efforts and seek streams of insight otherwise not sought.

Approach businesses, create products, and pursue new members. Use the

resources you have at hand and succeed!

10. Grow Your Influence

Ultimately, your organizations reach will determine its availability of funds.

Seek to add value to your members by using your social media resources, and

to create benefit for all that come in contact with your ministry. Those that

benefit from you will seek to return the favor. Inspire with your selflessness

and your rewards will be many. The world is filled with people waiting to

discover a path for their passion. Provide the leadership for your ministry and

your message and you will overcome any challenge you face.



11. Get started! Faith without works is dead. By generating funds for your

ministry, you will be able to reach more souls.



Chapter 6 Persistence and Perseverance

Why do some fail and others do not?

You know, many of us have sometimes wondered. We've wondered why

some do well in ministry, why others do not? We wonder how some are

able to persevere, why others are not.

And we also wonder about these same situations in our own lives. In

the ministries we have been called too.

The struggle to persevere

In times of trials and suffering, some drop away from ministry. Some

even go as far as leaving their ministry completely.

...And some, sadly enough, even from the Lord.

What is it that causes many to fall? What is it that discourages others?

Discourages us?

Well, for those who have worked in ministry you already know many of

the struggles! But those starting out, and those not in ministries, you

may not know (yet?).

First, and very important for all to know, when you are in ministry you

have a bull’s eye "painted" on your back by the evil one. Unfortunately

there's not a very gentle way of saying this. The more that you are being

used for the kingdom, the bigger the "bull’s eye". And he will use

whatever means he can to destroy you. Even by influencing others

against you. Whether it is brothers and sisters in Christ, other leaders,

family and friends, or the world, he will try to stop you. The devil will



even use your own weaknesses and struggles against you. Such as sin

areas in your life that have been, or can be a struggle for you to

overcome.

You should come to expect it!

You see the evil one is very crafty:

"And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of

light."

(1 Corinthians 11:14 NKJV)

And he knows what he is doing! He's had thousands of years of

practice. And we should never underestimate what he will do to harm,

or stop us!

That's why we are warned in God's word, to be careful:

"Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious

at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion

roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour."

(1 Peter 5:8 Amp. B.)

You see he is out to destroy us. And to destroy God's work in us. Now,

we know in the end, that he has been defeated already. But that will not

stop him from trying to destroy God's work, or His people. Trying to

take as many as he can with him!

Perhaps like the old saying, "misery likes company"?

Second, the "human factor" itself, is a big problem for all of us.

Especially in ministry!

Our good intentions, wanting to make a difference when we start out in



ministry, it is very commendable and correct. But that can change

quickly, we can become worldly. And that can turn into "big" egos,

pride, selfishness and a myriad of other problems.

Whether they are our own, or those coming from others!

None of us are perfect. Whether we have good intentions, or not, we

will make mistakes. A dear brother and mentor in ministry once told

me, years ago, "The same people inside the church are the same ones

outside". And this is so true!

Yes, we are held to higher standards (James 3:1). But yet we are still

human, we are still "imperfect". And we all need to remember this!

Why? Because it can be dangerous if we do not:

"Pride comes before destruction,

And an arrogant spirit before a fall."

(Proverbs 16:18 HCSB)

Now, before we even go into ministry. We must have that "call" on our

life. Where we know in our heart, that God has called us too ministry.

And sometimes that takes time (to know for sure). As we all have to be

careful to hear God's voice and not our own. (Or the influence of

others) We need to be clear in our own hearts that He is calling us. In

fact this is a reason why some fail in ministry. They attempted to put

themselves in a ministry that they were not appointed too (by God).

Either by deceiving themselves (going ahead without confirmation,

etc.), or by allowing others to influence them, without God's leading.

Now, this does not mean if you struggle you haven't been "called" to

ministry. In fact ministry is not naturally easy! We must always be led

and depend on God.

So we all need to have that "call". Such as God calling Moses:



And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people

who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters,

for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of

the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a

good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place

of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites

and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the

children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression

with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I

will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of

Israel, out of Egypt."

(Exodus 3:7-10 NKJV)

So here we have God calling Moses to lead the children of Israel out of

Egypt. Now, if we all remember the story of Moses? The "call" he

received from God was not an easy one! So we must remember that not

many ministries can be termed as "trouble free", or "easy". In fact most

are not!

Next, integrity is very important. In fact it is paramount, at the "top" of

the list. A person must have high moral character. What they teach,

preach, etc., must reflect how they live in their own lives.

After all, who would take someone serious who does not live what they

preach? And how could they be trusted? If they show themselves to be

untrustworthy in small matters:

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who

is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."

(Luke 16:10 NKJV)

Also, maturity plays a part in this. Especially, and most of all spiritual

maturity; in fact Paul himself spoke about the qualifications on an



overseer:

"Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an

overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above

reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled,

respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not

violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must

manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with

proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own

family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent

convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment

as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that

he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap."

(1 Timothy 3:1-7 NIV)

Now, I'm sure you would agree that God would not want to entrust His

people to someone who could do them harm, whether it is purposeful,

or not. So He grows us by our own life situations and those around us.

No matter whatever the circumstances may be.

He "prunes" us:

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in

Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears

fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

(John 15:1-2 NKJV)

He "prunes" us into who He would have us be (-come). And this takes

time and patience. Which, if you are like me? You probably do not have

much of!

So we know that we need to have a "call" in our lives. And we need to

be patient that God is working out things in our own lives, (and in the

background) to prepare us for what He has for us (to do).



Now, the next thing we have to remember is this. We are dealing with

the same people inside the church. Who are outside the church! (Just as

we talked about earlier) The same kind of "flawed" human beings that

we are! So there will be personality conflicts. Ego problems, pride, etc.

Basically, the problems of people, life, etc.!

Everyone has good and bad days, etc. So we must get use to it! It's the

human "condition"!

Now, hopefully we are all continuing to grow in the Lord. But we are

still "human". And this of course is the very factor in itself. Ourselves!

This is our biggest struggle. So when hard times come, we want to quit.

When others hurt us, or don't appreciate us. We want to quit. When we

are too heavily tasked we want to quit!

In other words, we are human! We want to feel wanted, we want to feel

appreciated. We want affirmation! And when we have been hurt, we

feel we are worn out. (Burned out) We want to walk away! But we have

to remember that we are in this for the Lord and not ourselves, or

others:

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I

trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be

a servant of Christ."

(Galatians 1:10 NIV)

We are here to be faithful to the one we are "running" the race for! The

one who enlised us!

"No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this

life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if

anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes

according to the rules."



(2 Timothy 2:4-5 NKJV)

Now, when we are overburdened, wanting to quit, is very

understandable. And there are circumstances and situations when we

must speak up. If we are being overburdened, then we must "lay" some

things down in order to stay functioning healthy. (But only after careful

prayer and seeking God's guidance)

You see we cannot do it all! If we try too, then we will be spread so

"thin", that we cannot do everything well at all. We will be "in-

effective". And in turn, the ministry we do will suffer. Others will

suffer. And we will too! Much like the relay runner who tries to run

fifteen miles on one bottle of water! Not only will he not make it. But

his teammates will suffer also!

Now, there is one more thing that is most important of all. In fact we

CANNOT EVER forget this! We MUST keep our relationship with the

Lord, in "tip top" shape! This means that we spend the necessary time

with Him, in personal prayer time, fellowship with Him, reading His

word and worshipping Him in our own private time, etc.

You see if we do not maintain our personal relationship with Him. How

can we follow Him and His will effectively? And How can we be "in

tune" with His voice?

You see all those who came before us; from Abraham, to Jacob, to

Moses, to David, to Elijah, to Paul, all kept their fellowship with the

Lord! Their personal relationships with Him!! By prayer, worship,

study, etc.

In fact Jesus Himself, the very Son of God, and our Lord, gave us the

same example:

"And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the

mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone



there."

(Matthew 14; 23 NKJV)

"Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He

went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed."

(Mark 1:35 NKJV)

"And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to

pray."

(Mark 6:46 NKJV)

"So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed."

(Luke 5:16 NKJV)

So if Jesus, our Lord and Savior had to spend time with the Father. Who

are we not too spend even more time (even much more so)?

So Jesus gave us examples so that we would know that we need to

maintain our relationship with the Father!

We need to by prayer (JN 14:14, 16:23), reading and studying His word

(2 Tim. 3:16), and by worship (PS 99:9).

After all, how can we follow Him, know Him, become more like Him

(Rom. 8:29), lead others to Him; if we do not spend the time we need

with Him?

You see it all comes down to this. We all have certain giftings.

Gifting’s’ that God has given us for the benefit of His kingdom

purposes. And we all are called in some way, or another of serving

(whatever ministry that may be). Whether it is full time ministry, lay

ministry, or whatever type of ministry it may be, we have a duty to



serve in ministry.

We need to be prayerful with what tasks we are to take on. And what

tasks we must pass on!

This is something that should be remembered, if God has gifted you

then you will be used! And what often happens is this, people that are

gifted are often times overworked. (Given too many tasks) Like the old

saying, "twenty percent of the church does eighty percent of the work".

What happens? They "burn out". So we must know when to say, "Yes"

and "no".

After all, God will not give you more than you are capable of. So you

must pray as to His leading for what you should and should not. Do not

be afraid to ask God for confirmation.

Now, one last thing, just because we are called to serve, it does not

mean that we will not fall. That we will sometimes fail. Or feel that we

have failed. But, that does not disqualify us for ministry! It just means

that we have had "setbacks". And there is no one in history who got it

right all the time. (But Jesus of course)

It all comes down to this; God uses imperfect vessels to accomplish His

purposes on this earth. We all can be used. He has gifted us all, in some

way, or another. And He has a given task, or tasks, for each and every

one of us to complete. But we are imperfect and we will make mistakes.

The important thing is this. That we do not give up. But we get back up

and "dust ourselves off". And we persevere!

And if we maintain our relationship with Him, we will be solid!

Remember that solid foundation? The one we need in our lives:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into

practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain



came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that

house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But

everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into

practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain

came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that

house, and it fell with a great crash."

(Matthew 7:24-27 NIV)

It's the same one we need in the ministry we are entrusted with!

After all, remember what Jesus said?

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in

him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

(John 15:5 NIV)

Having a personal relationship with God is very important. It was not a

mistake to repeat it more than one time. Without God we are nothing!

No matter what, you must push, press and pray your way through!

Remember it is not about you, but about HIM (GOD)! There are souls

tied to your name that need to hear your message on a daily basis.

Press your way through!



Chapter 7 Positive Influence

How to be a Positive Influence:

1. Personal Renewal = Know Your God

Continue to nurture your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul

said, “I want to know Christ and be found in him” (Philippians 3:8-9).

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul!

You must not forget about your own soul. So many get caught up in

titles and forget we are overcomers by the words of our testimony.

Make you spend time daily with God. Keep your relationship with God

personal.

What is one action you can implement this month?

2. Relational Renewal = Know Your Ministry Team

Continue to invest in building loving and enriching relationships with

those who serve with you. Don’t attempt to go at it alone in any

ministry. Avoid isolationism by enlisting others to go with you. “For we

are God’s fellow workers” (I Corinthians 3:9). Nurture enriching and

loving relationships with those in the Network. We must not only

model, but mentor this amongst the Network. Don’t go at it alone. I’m a

product of influencers with whom I’ve connected. Avoid isolation. One

can put 1,000 to flight but two can put 10,000 to flight. You need help!


3. Mission Renewal = Know Your Mission/Vision



Where you going and what are you trying to accomplish this year? Do

people know your focus? Remember what God has called you to do.

“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all

wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end

I labor” (Colossians 1:28-29).

I read over my mission statement weekly. It is so easy to get side

tracked. People will bring so many different ideas at you in the name of

Jesus. You must stay focus on the vision God gave you!


4. Structural Renewal = Know Your Ministry Plan

Refuse to become static or stuck in your ministry. Determine to increase

in your influence and impact this year. You might be on the right track,

but if you are just sitting there you’ll get run over. Cultivate and grow!

“Now the body is not made up of one part but of many… Now you are

the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians

12:12, 27).

Also, write the vision and make it plain! You need a plan. Ask God

how to execute the vision He gave you! He will direct your path.


5. Cultural Renewal = Know your Audience

Speak in a way that those you are trying to reach understand. Stay

current without compromising biblical commands or values. People will

listen if they understand what you are saying. “Men of Issachar, who

understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (I Chronicles

12:32).

This part could be another eBook. Keep your message plain and



simple. The word says, “Don’t add and don’t take away”. There is no

need to show people how deep you are. Just follow the guidance of the

Holy Spirit and the spirit will speak it so plain that even a babe in Christ

could understand. Remember, you are reaching people via the internet.

Your message has to have such an impact on them that they will

continue to support your ministry. The word says, “If you lift me up, I

(not you but God) will draw all men unto me (God). Just speak the

word!


Jesus said, “…Let your light shine before men, that they may see your

good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” You are an influencer!

Be positive in your message. It is not what you are saying but how you

present it. I was in a church service one Sunday and the guest Pastor

was speaking on Hell. Normally you would think this type of sermon

would offend some and others would not receive it. The Pastor did not

compromise the Gospel but he presented it in a way that no one could

be offended. The Pastor received a standing ovation at the end of his

sermon. I had never heard any one teach the truth about Hell with such

a positive attitude. He is now the Pastor of a mega church after only 4

years of being in ministry. The world has so much negativity in it. The

people need to be encouraged. A kind word goes a long way!

Now that you have been equipped with the tools to “Maximize your

Ministry using the Internet” go on the internet and spread your

messages. So many people are waiting!

Blessings to you all as you go in Peace!

Maximize your Ministry using the Internet

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