Media Tip: Pumping Life Into the Church

There is a man, let's call him Bob, who is 55 years old. Bob has lived a full life, he's seen some great times in his life and some bad times. One day, Bob was in a car accident, a pretty bad one at that. He careened off the side of the road as he fell asleep at the wheel. His car bounced off the guard rails and back into the center of the road where he was hit by an oncoming car at 60 mph. The rescue workers spent an hour prying him out his car with the "jaws of life."

They immediately put Bob on an ambulance and sent him racing toward the hospital; he was barely hanging on. As Bob was rushed into the operating room, he flat-lined. Immediately, the doctors reach for the defibrillators. He charged them up and said, "Clear!" They made a high-pitched sound and as the paddles came down, Bob's body jolted. Nothing. The doctor did it again. "Clear!" Bob's vitals reappeared. They were faint, but there.

Many churches are in Bob's position. They're lying on the operating table and they've flat-lined. They need help. They need something to bring the life back. The world we are living in is moving on and the church has stayed behind, lost in years gone by. What your church may need is a digital revolution.

This is not a guaranteed, sure-fire solution. This is no get-rich quick scheme or "become a mega church by Sunday" blog post, though I'm assure such a title would attract hundreds of readers. Your problem may be a heart problem. It may be a lack of evangelism. It may be a lost passion. Churches across the country are dead or dying and there are a multitude of issues that could be causing the problem.

Do you feel like you're doing everything right, but it's just not working? Is your church a perfectly healthy, living, breathing church as far as God is concerned, yet your struggling to get folks through the doors? Your problem may be that you've missed the digital revolution. The technology age is upon us, and churches need to embrace it.


I've discovered three reasons why every church needs to go digital.

1. Attract More People
If your church would go digital you'd attract more people. Just to make myself perfectly clear, we're not talking about compromising with the world. We're not talking about bringing in rocks bands ("affectionately" termed a worship band) or taking off the coat and tie, and preaching in jeans and a polo.

We're talking about using Powerpoint, utilizing social media, and embracing advertising (we'll talk about this more next week). I think that the two main reasons visitors don't come to church is they either don't know about your church or they think your church is boring. Is the latter attitude the right one? No, but it's the day we are living in.

You can't get more people if you aren't telling them that you exist. Hands down, advertising is the best way to do that. But let's not spoil the fun for next week.

2. Keep More People
The people that come won't stay if they think you're boring. Recently, a friend of mine approached me about his church which was struggling. I asked him if they had a media ministry or incorporated any digital aspects, and he said no. I encouraged him to help his pastor go digital and run a 4 week trial. If there wasn't a buzz of excitement among the church members (or if they actually complained), if a visitor hadn't returned, or if a single comment about the new improvements hadn't been made, then they could go back to "normal."

I encourage you to do the same thing that I suggested to him. Most churches have a projector around somewhere (and if you don't they're cheap enough). If you start using Powerpoint I believe you'll create interest. Let me remind you, this could only be considered a viable solution if you are a perfectly healthy church, but are just struggling with attendance. This isn't an overnight fix, but I believe it to be a solution.


3. Reach More People
Without doubt this is the most important aspect of going digital. Attracting and keeping more people means more people hear and live the Word of God. Your reach is increased on the home front and in your church building.

However, it doesn't stop there. If you will fully embrace the digital age, the sky is the limit. Through social media, websites, and sermon audio downloads, you can double or triple your reach (and could potentially go much, much further).

If you click the link above about sermon audio, you'll read a short testimonial I gave about Murray River Baptist Church. They are a church of about 60 people and, because of audio sermon downloads, they receive just as many downloads each week. Not only did 60 people hear the sermon in person, but 60 more heard it by mp3 download all over the world.

Your website can also be a valuable tool in giving prayer requests, posting missionary prayer letters, providing live stream of your services, and sharing the gospel.


If your church is hanging by a thread and you need something to bring the life back, going digital might be your solution. Your church needs this and Media Missions is here to help. Check out the Media Tips tab for ideas about what to do next, and the Tutorials and Setup Guide tabs will actually walk you through how to do it.

Don't wait. Get started today. Do you have questions about what to do? If we don't have the answers on this site, we'd be happy to answer them right now and provide you with an in-depth tutorial in the near future. We're here for you. We want to help your church. Let us know what we can do.

Posted in: Media Tips