10 Ways to Use Electronic Media to Strengthen Your Church

I know the combination of “electronic media” and “church” may make little sense to some readers, but I want to encourage you to use the tools available to us to grow God’s church. Whether it’s Skype or FaceTime or some other means, here are some options to consider:

1. Keep in touch with missionaries on the field. Too many missionaries go to the field, and their sending church then forgets them. We have no excuse to let that happen when we have such access to the world through the Internet. I’ve even seen missionaries give a church a brief tour of their home or their immediate surroundings through an Internet-based conversation.  
2. Minister to college students away from home. It takes some work to find time to walk with college students from a distance, but my experience is that many students welcome a regular electronic visit from their church and its leaders.
3. Use brief personal stories as sermon illustrations. It works to tell somebody else’s story as part of a sermon, but to invite the subject to tell his or her own story can be even more powerful. Record the story ahead of time to meet time limitations and avoid Internet snafus.
4. Mentor young church leaders around the country. As a leader, you have a responsibility to raise up new leaders. Investing in a leader someplace else in the country – even over the Internet – will (a) help keep you outwardly focused, (b) broaden your perspective, and (c) encourage somebody who may have few other mentors.
5. Invite missionaries to join your service live to participate in the musical worship. Sure, they can listen to recorded services, but many churches record only the sermon. There’s something special about joining a congregation worshiping live in the missionary’s mother language, so help make this possible for missionaries your church supports.
6. Provide training for your congregation. I often invite people to speak to my seminary class electronically, always for lower cost for the seminary and less time commitment for the guest. Your church can do the same thing (in fact, I sometimes join churches via the Internet to talk about one of my studies they’ve completed).
7. Interview potential staff members. Many churches are already doing this, of course. It’s a lot cheaper than search committee members and staff candidates traveling around the country to meet.
8. Record invitations from future guests. It’s one thing to give a pulpit announcement nobody hears or write a bulletin memo nobody reads. It’s another matter to have a “face and voice” invitation from a future guest speaker whose passion can capture an audience in only a few moments.
9. Get reports from short-term mission teams. Churches typically pray for mission teams before they leave, and they hear a report after the trip. During the trip, though, we often forget about the team. Live reports from the field can change this pattern.
10. Connect your church with denominational leaders. I realize that many denominational leaders don’t have the time for this kind of commitment, but I know some who make the time for a brief conversation. You never know until you ask. 

What other ideas would you add?