You may have a small church, but you can have a big reach, thanks to technology. We live in the age of a global reach. Employing technology tools for God’s glory is a sobering responsibility. While technology has pitfalls and dangers, Sharefaith is a proponent of giving Christians the knowledge and ability to use it for God’s glory. Here’s how you can reach farther with your sermon.
- Start recording your sermons in video and audio. The place to start is with a simple recording tool and software. This is not an expensive move. Simply getting your sermons recorded in digital format is important, even if you have no immediate plans to publish them on the web.
- Start uploading your sermons to YouTube. More people are likely to watch a video clip than listen to a full-length sermon. Although YouTube only allows ten-minute clip lengths, you can upload sermons to YouTube in segments. Or you can upload a portion of the sermon, and provide a link to your church website where the entire sermon may be downloaded. YouTube videos are one of the most viral-prone assets on the Internet today. A short video is likely to travel around the globe and reach thousands of people faster than any other medium.
- Start uploading your sermons to Vimeo. Vimeo is the fastest-growing video network on the site. Musicians, politicians, performers, and entertainers value Vimeo for its unlimited-length and HD-quality publishing. Vimeo videos are also highly likely to go viral. What’s more, unlike YouTube, you can upload long videos to Vimeo, perfect for preaching and sermons. Vimeo is free, and only requires that you sign up with the site before you can start publishing videos.
- Keep your people informed by means of a monthly newsletter. Constant communication within a church is crucial. It’s the best way to cement relationships, nurture fellowship, and encourage involvement. One communication tool is the church newsletter. “Newsletter” may provoke thoughts of “Don’t have time,” “where do I start,” and “what do I write about?” Never fear. First, check out a few quick articles on the “how-to” of writing, creating, and using a church newsletter. Then, sign up with Constant Contact, a church-friendly newsletter sponsorship. Their easy-to-use templates and powerful tools will make you want to write the monthly newsletter. Click here to find out more, and be sure to check out our newsletter templates. Using your newsletter, you can promote sermon segments, encourage sharing, and provide links for people to download and listen to your sermons.
- Remind people of sermons using Facebook and Twitter. Pastors and church leaders can use Twitter and Facebook effectively to keep in touch with their people throughout the week. Sharing verses from the sermon, providing links to the sermon, tweeting the theme of the sermon, etc., are helpful ways to remind people of the messages that they have heard, and encourage them to listen to it again.
- Post your sermons on your website. One of the best ways to keep your sermons alive and allow them to continue having an impact is by uploading them to your church’s website. Allow your website to function as a sermon library where church members or web surfers can download and listen to your sermon. Providing a weekly podcast or searchable sermon archive is a great way to maintain that global reach with your sermon.
While these ideas may be helpful, there is only one indispensable factor. It is the Holy Spirit. Any sermon, regardless of its precision, brilliance, and oratorical perfection, will be futile apart from God’s empowerment. Make your ministry a God-dependent one. Using your feeble human grasp to try to attain a viral sermon or be the most-watched minister on YouTube is prideful and damaging. Depend on God. Pray without ceasing. Humbly give your ministry to God for His blessing.