I think of the Internet as the modern version of the Roman road. Just as Rome’s systems of roads facilitated the spread of the gospel and the church throughout the Roman empire in the first and second centuries, in our time the Internet has become a major facilitator of ministry, including men’s team ministry. So today I want to look at ways to use the Internet to promote and administer your men’s team ministry. I’ll start with the most obvious.
- Mass Email – When I first started New Commandment fourteen years ago, I sent out a physical newsletter by snailmail once a month. Then I discovered email marketing services like ConstantContact. It cut my mailing expenses by more than 95%. ConstantContact, and other mass email companies like MailChimp, make it easy to send out large volumes of email in a professional manner. Your men’s team ministry will benefit when you can send out virtually unlimited numbers of emails at the same time.
- Church website – Take a moment to check out your church website. Is your men’s team ministry prominently and professionally displayed on it? Below are some excellent examples of how churches are promoting their men’s team ministries on their websites.
- YouTube videos – Take videos of your teams at work and then use the simple video editing software available on the Internet to edit and produce a promotioinal video for your church. When you’re done, don’t forget to upload it onto YouTube and put a link to it in your next mass email to your men’s team ministry. Here are some examples of church promo videos on YouTube.
- Bethel Church, Choctaw, OK
- Vancouver, British Columbia, 1st Church of God
- Community Baptist Church, (Location unknown)
- Facebook – Start a dedicated Facebook group for your men’s team ministry. Create community by having your teams post pictures and comments. Check out Northpark Wesleyan Church’s men’s team ministry Facebook page. (Note: They’re using New Commandment’s logo and ministry name, something we don’t encourage, but it’s Northpark’s Facebook page.)
- Twitter – A men’s team ministry Twitter account is another way to create online community. Southgate Community Church is a great example.
- Google Groups – Another example of using the Internet creatively is Grace Bible Church in Bozeman, MT. Grace Bible uses Google Groups to manage their men’s team ministry teams.
- Cloud Data – Upload your team roster into the cloud so your men and care receivers can access it at any time. We have 85 people involved in our men’s team ministry. Because our roster is in the cloud, I can update it at any time and make those updates available immediately.
- Facebook Live Streaming – I don’t know any church that has done this…yet. But it’s just a matter of time. Try live streaming a service day to your church using Facebook’s live streaming service. It would be a great way for your church to see first hand what your teams are doing. (And if you do this, let me know. I’d like to hear how it went.)
- Home Repair Research – So how do you build that fence for your care receiver? Look it up on the Internet. You can look any project up on the Internet. Not having any experience in home repair is now no longer any excuse to not get involved in your men’s team ministry.
- Online Training – (Spoiler alert: shameless promotion ahead.) Of course, you can always join Meeting to Meet Needs, our New Commandment online membership site, and get training in men’s team ministry, tips, insights, and tons and tons of content. Take the tour here.
Have I missed anything? Are there any other ways you have used the Internet to promote and/or administer your men’s team ministry? If so, let us know in the comments section.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
A Simple Ministry Concept with Profound Implications
Teams of four men serving widows, single moms, fatherless children and others with long-term pressing needs in their churches and communities.
