Media Outreach

Check out my interview with Pastor Tracy Devolt from the Lighthouse Worship Center in Aurora, IL.

1.  Can you give me some background about the church and how long you have been there?

We launched the ministry in August 2009, and we have been having weekly services since October 2009.  Lighthouse Worship Center is a brand new ministry and doesn’t have a lot of background, but I’ve been in the ministry for more than 20 years.  I started at Rhema Bible College in Tulsa, OK, many years ago.  The Lord put it in my heart to plant this church about seven years ago, and it’s taken several years to make it happen, but we are now up and running with about 30 members.

2. How are you using your website to increase member involvement?

One of the things that has really been a blessing to me personally is that our members are able to use the site to minister to their friends and to invite people to visit.  My members and I are so proud to be able to say, “Just check out our website, and you can learn all about us!”  Even though we’re young and new, the website has given us a sense of ownership and has helped us to feel established.  It gives members and visitors alike the chance to see all of the wonderful things we have going on and find out how to get involved.

3. How has the use of technology changed the way you do church?

The website is extremely helpful from the perspective of getting people involved.  When events are posted on our site, it portrays to people that our events aren’t limited to our members but that we want everyone out there to be a part of what we’re doing.   Back in January, we used the site as a central point of communication to offer information and updates regarding our fast.  Those interested in participating were able to go right to the site and pull up all the information they needed rather than calling the church office frequently.  The fast felt effortless on my part and took very little teaching because everything they needed was right there.  I find that the website is helping me to instruct, to teach, and to cast the vision.

4. How has the use of technology helped your ministry change lives?

What I know we do well at Lighthouse is that we are encouragers.  The feedback that I receive from people is that they are so encouraged by things that we post. We have a page on our site called Real Experiences, and we use it to post testimonials of people who have been impacted by our ministry.  I love that page because it’s key to letting us know that we are changing lives.

What I also love about the website is that it reaches lives all the way around the world.  It goes beyond our four walls (and with a very limited budget!).  I love the fact that it can expand with our ministry as we grow and that it brings so much positive attention to our ministry and to our community.  I’ve had numerous compliments on the beauty of our site as well as how easy it is to use.    We look like a million dollars, and that makes me smile every time I visit www.lighthousewcc.org!

Learn more about the Lighthouse Worship Center project on the faithHighway Case Study page.

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Today, Greg talks about what a Podcast is and how a church should use them. He discusses the number of Podcasts the average church should have as well as the basic way a Podcast works.

pic by  theunabonger

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I’ve had a lot of conversations lately about time management. Everyone always seems to feel like there’s not enough time in a day to complete all the necessary tasks. We always want to do more and very rarely just stop.  I thrive on being busy and productive.  I am pretty much constantly on the go. With that said, I find myself running around without the time to focus on any one thing for very long.

I found a few tips to help you manage your time…Please add to the list and let us know what you do to manage your time. We can all learn from each other.

• Set aside a specific amount of time for a task and don’t work on anything else during that time. Stop when your time is up and go on to the next task.
• Organize your day based on your natural highs and lows. EX:  If you’re sleepy after lunch, don’t try to do something that requires a lot of brain energy.
• Look for pockets of time throughout your day that aren’t filled and use them to send thoughtful notes, read a chapter of a book or close your eyes. You’ll feel more relaxed and ready for the next task.
• Time must be managed like money. Don’t waste it. Use it wisely. Invest in the things that matter.
• Filing system – Having a thorough filing system will help you locate and find documents easily without having to search through thousands of emails or files.
• Spending 10-15 minutes to map out your day each morning can help keep you on track and make the most of your time

How do you manage your time?

Photo By: publicenergy

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Have you ever considered marketing your church through high quality television spots?  Most churches mistakenly assume that it is a venture that is not even financially possible for them.  Often they hear the high cost of 30 second spots at the time of the Superbowl, and jump to the conclusion that it is simply beyond their resources.  Typically, when I ask someone how much they would estimate a 30 second spot would be on their local cable affiliate, they answer in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

True cost? The national average for airing a 30 second spot on cable broadcasters (ESPN, CNN, etc….) is about $30.00.  The great thing about advertising with a cable affiliate is that you can specifically target the homes closest to your church.  By doing this, you get your message to the people that are most able to get to your place of worship.   In other words, the people the Lord has sent you to reach.

Recently we heard back from one of our clients, Reach Church in Austin, Texas pastored by Chris Gilkey, and they told us that leading up to the church launch, they did all kinds of media blitzes.  They did mail outs, door hangers, Facebook ads, and 30 second television spots.  At their first service, they had over 200 people show up.  They made an intensive effort to find out where all of the visitors had come from, and they arrived at an immediate conclusion that the 30 second television spots, which pointed potential guests to a professionally designed custom website, had been their most effective tool of all their marketing efforts

The long and short of all of this is simply this: Don’t just assume you can’t do something until you check into it. When we are trying to reach people for Christ, all avenues must be explored.

Anybody else out there know of any success stories with television commercials?

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Have you ever considered marketing your church through high quality television spots?  Most churches mistakenly assume that it is a venture that is not even financially possible for them.  Often they hear the high cost of 30 second spots at the time of the Superbowl, and jump to the conclusion that it is simply beyond their resources.  Typically, when I ask someone how much they would estimate a 30 second spot would be on their local cable affiliate, they answer in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

True cost? The national average for airing a 30 second spot on cable broadcasters (ESPN, CNN, etc….) is about $30.00.  The great thing about advertising with a cable affiliate is that you can specifically target the homes closest to your church.  By doing this, you get your message to the people that are most able to get to your place of worship.   In other words, the people the Lord has sent you to reach.

Recently we heard back from one of our clients, Reach Church in Austin, Texas pastored by Chris Gilkey, and they told us that leading up to the church launch, they did all kinds of media blitzes.  They did mail outs, door hangers, Facebook ads, and 30 second television spots.  At their first service, they had over 200 people show up.  They made an intensive effort to find out where all of the visitors had come from, and they arrived at an immediate conclusion that the 30 second television spots, which pointed potential guests to a professionally designed custom website, had been their most effective tool of all their marketing efforts

The long and short of all of this is simply this: Don’t just assume you can’t do something until you check into it. When we are trying to reach people for Christ, all avenues must be explored.

Anybody else out there know of any success stories with television commercials?

Continue Reading