The Challenge of Online Ministry
The Foundation for Evangelism’s 2011 Culture of the Call Church is Collegiate United Methodist Church in Ames, Iowa. The Culture of the Call Church Award is presented annually to one United Methodist Church with a history of having people 35 of younger respond to God’s call to fulltime Christian service as a result of their being active in the life of the church. Director of Discipleship, Technology and Communication, Wil Ranney, took a moment to discuss their move into using today’s Social Media tools to communicate and build relationships with their congregation online…
The biggest challenge facing established churches in online ministry is internet literacy amongst our oldest members. Often times, decision makers will have these great wizbang ideas that never catch on, because they can’t seem to get the critical mass involved that it takes to form a vibrant online community. Since our elders make up the majority of established congregations, they must also make up the core of our online ministries. The second problem is related to the first: you can’t just start a website or a Facebook page and expect people to use them. It takes a deliberate plan to get people involved, just like any other church program. The good news is that once online ministries are up and running, they often take less effort to maintain, as the community itself is empowered to contribute.
