The framework
The Digital Ministry Path
Foundation, Presence, Prayer, Reach, Growth. The five stages every church moves through online, in the order that actually works.
How to read it
Three rules that decide the order
In order, not all at once
Each stage rests on the one before it. Promotion before a working website only sends more people to a dead end.
Start where you are weakest
Most churches have three stages half-built. The gain comes from the weakest one, not from polishing the strongest.
Your people have to be able to run it
Anything only we can maintain becomes outdated the moment the project ends. We build for volunteers.
The path
Five stages, in order
You do not have to finish one stage before you begin the next. But skipping one always shows up later, usually as effort spent on a stage further along.
Foundation
Build a home worth finding
A clear identity and a website a visitor understands in ten seconds, run by systems your volunteers can actually keep up with.
When it is missing
Everything after this stage sends people somewhere that does not answer their questions. Ads, invitations and events all point at a door that is stuck.
When it is working
A stranger can find your service time, your address and one next step without asking anyone.
Presence
Open the doors
Be visible where people actually look: Google, Maps and social media, with accurate Sabbath times and a voice that sounds like your church.
When it is missing
Your church exists, but only to the people who already know it exists. Newcomers move to the congregation three streets away that is easier to find.
When it is working
People arrive saying they found you online, not that someone brought them.
Prayer
Pray for people you have not met
Before we invite, we pray. A prayer ministry that welcomes requests from anyone and keeps your church interceding for its community.
When it is missing
You reach people you have never prayed for, and the first thing you ask of them is to attend something.
When it is working
Requests arrive from outside your membership, and every one of them gets an answer from a person.
Reach
Invite with confidence
Series, events and Bible studies promoted clearly, with a real next step for everyone who responds.
When it is missing
You run a series, collect names, and a month later nobody can say what happened to them.
When it is working
Every event has a page, every response has an owner, and every interest has a next step.
Growth
Walk with them
Help new believers, young people and long-time members keep growing: in Sabbath School, in youth ministry, and during the week.
When it is missing
People come in through the front door at roughly the speed they leave through the back one.
When it is working
Members have something to study between Sabbaths, and someone notices when a family stops coming.
Not sure which stage you are on?
The free Church Digital Checkup scores all five in three minutes and tells you which one to work on first.