Start your Digital Ministry now!
Pre-school children learn this rhyme and finger game in Sunday School. The question it raises is at the heart of solving the challenges of today’s neighborhood churches.
Where are the people?
Here's the church
Here's the steeple
Open the doors
Where are the people?
Today's answer is simple! ONLINE!
The decline of neighborhood churches is church-wide and decades old.
Is your congregation showing symptoms?
COMMON SYMPTOMS OF CHURCH DECLINE FROM A PASTOR’S POINT OF VIEW
- Church activity is limited to worship and fellowship—and endless meetings.
- You are frustrated that all your effort preaching reaches the same 20 people week after week.
- You settle for whatever resources you can find—for free.
- Impressive news stories of amazing church turnarounds, meant to inspire, actually leave you feeling hopeless. Your church doesn't have the support or resources to replicate these newsworthy (because they are rare) successes.
- You spend a lot of time wondering just how long your church can survive and what that means for you, your family, the congregation and the community.
- Having given your all, month after month, year after year, with slim results, you have considered changing your middle name to Sisyphus!
It may seem as if you are alone, but thousands of pastors are experiencing the same problems.
No pastor wants “closing congregations” as a legacy!
There are problems. There have to be solutions.
The go-to strategies of recent yesteryear—strategies that relied on an unpaid staff of stay-at-home wives and mothers and generous contributions of business leader members—no longer work.
Ministry becomes a weekly, daily struggle—with an unhappy ending looming.
Stop right now.
Small churches, from the days of Peter and Paul, have faced challenges—challenges that seemed enormous at the time!
Today’s small churches are fortunate. There are modern answers for modern challenges.
Let’s take a look at how we got to where we are today.
THE NEED FOR A
NEW MINISTRY MODEL
Pastors go into ministry to teach, preach, celebrate life passages and provide comfort, support and guidance during life challenges.
You may never have considered using technology in ministry. It wasn’t expected. The church was one place, it seemed, that could avoid the technology revolution. Ministry is a people business!
“Our people don’t use the internet,” became the litany refrain to a list of other excuses.
While small church leaders found security in tradition, traditions in every other aspect of life changed. The society and people around us became rewired. Education models adapted teaching styles for shorter attention spans. Lecturing became almost obsolete. People expected to have voice in classrooms and in the workplace. Engagement methods were developed for education and soon crossed-over to the workplace.
The pace of change in the church has been much slower.
Technology is now integral to every aspect of modern life. Younger generations don’t take seriously organizations that are not actively present in the digital world. A static, rarely updated website may be worse than no website! It advertises that your church is not serious about connecting. It won’t take long for visitors to move on.
Failing to embrace technology played into the decline in small church ministries. Fortunately, churches can catch up with a little help.
Before going further, there are two important things to note.
- It's not your fault.
- Just as important—it’s not your members’ fault either. Your members are likely to be equally frustrated and concerned.
Pastors and members are in this together.
Here’s some advice.
Don’t spend one more second wondering if your church will be the next to close.
Don’t spend one more minute trying to replicate your past.
Remember it.
Celebrate it.
Learn from it.
It's time to concentrate on finding modern answers to modern challenges.
2020: A TURNING POINT
The 2020-2021 pandemic was a turning point for small churches. We figured out how to use technology to stream worship and hold meetings and Bible study online. That’s a big deal. Kudos! Go ahead—high five your members. Pat yourself on the back!
Point your church in one direction—forward. Continue using modern tools.
Technology can be your friend in every aspect of ministry.
Have your heard these common complaints from leaders of small churches? Some of these are true. Some of these WERE ONCE TRUE—30 years ago. Some represent our fears more than reality. Regardless, all are obstacles to ministry. They blind our vision and become a false reality.
- We don’t have the people.
- We don’t have time.
- We can't afford resources—unless they are free.
- Our people don’t use the internet.
- Our pastor doesn’t know technology.
- We have a website. That’s enough.
- Social media is dangerous.
- We can’t do what we need to do and use technology too.
- Techology is too expensive.
- Why can’t we attract more visitors?
- Why don’t our visitors return?
- That won’t work with our people.
- What if we try something new and fail?
- We can’t afford to lose anyone—especially our pastor.
- Nothing we try works. We’ve tried everything.
“Our people are old. They don’t use the internet.”
True, perhaps, in 1990. Today’s seniors were in their 30s at the start of the tech revolution. They were tech pioneers.
Besides, the people you need to reach ARE on the internet.
How did
Small Church Toolbox
come to be?
I’m Judy Gotwald. I created Small Church Toolbox. I could not have developed this concept if I were a parish pastor. I would have been focused on my parish like every other pastor.
My role as a lay leader would have kept me busy. No time for innovation!
But our church had been challenged! I was made responsible for whether or not our church survived.
It was a long journey. It began with a visit to our bishop some 25 years ago. Four experiences (I call them epiphanies) occurred in years since that combined to shape a new concept for small church ministry.
“We don’t have pastors for churches like yours.”
This message from our bishop was troubling enough. His next sentence, said as we walked out of his office, was chilling.
“You’ll die a natural death in ten years.”
The message was clear. We were on our own. Church leaders had a plan for us. They were waiting for us to die!
The bishop meant what he said. We never again had help calling a pastor.
For a few years we managed with supply pastors or part-time pastors we found on our own. We relied on member skills.
We held our own, but we had to do better if we hoped to prove our bishop wrong.
Then one foggy Christmas Eve, I discovered our pastor had scheduled elective surgery for Christmas Eve. He forgot to tell us. He also forgot to find a supply pastor. I had just a few hours to put together a Christmas Eve service—one of the most important events of the year. I scanned the internet for ideas. I found a sermon written by a pastor in Australia that seemed to speak to our people. I replaced references to Australian culture with a few illustrations closer to home.
The improvised service went well! I contacted the Australian pastor. I thanked him for making his sermons available online. He gave permission for us to continue using his online library of sermons—about twenty years’ worth, indexed by the Common Lectionary. His resources were organized in a way that I could quickly find what I needed!
When our pastor moved on, we stopped using supply pastors. We used the gentle, consistent voice of a pastor we had never met. We started creating worship that fit both our current members but was welcoming to visitors—and we usually had visitors. We grew—slowly at first—but we began attracting new demographics in our neighborhood.
We did not die a natural death in ten years. We grew seven-fold. We managed to do something larger churches struggle with. We diversified. We had new members representing both Asian and African countries as well as Americans of differing races. We had students, professionals, and families. While our regional body envisioned us as a dozen silver-haired senior citizens barely hanging on, our median age was closer to 35. Miraculously, we hadn’t lost any of our existing members.
We had found few resources for the challenges we faced. We could have used help:
- preparing our vulnerable members for change,
- training our members to be welcoming while recognizing their insecurities,
- ministering to people who spoke English as a second (or third) language,
- training people with little background in church to understand the responsibilities of church membership—and more.
I looked back at the advice we had been given from church leaders.
- We had been told to diversify—but we were never told how.
- We were told to start a website. We didn’t know the first step.
- We were told to empower the laity. We weren’t sure what that meant!
- We were told to connect with our neighborhoods. Weren’t we already doing that?
- We were never told how to achieve these worthy goals with the resources we had—a part-time pastor, an aging congregation, and money we couldn’t afford to waste.
We had to figure out everything without a pastor.
There still were no pastors for churches like ours.
• • •
KEY TAKEAWAY
HMMM. We fueled our ministry with resources found online.
What if all churches could easily find resources online? Resources in one place. Resources ready to download and use.
This is the segment of a longer story that shaped the concept of Small Church Toolbox.
CLICK ON EACH STAR
FOR A QUICK, FUN LOOK AT
4 EPIPHANIES
THAT LED TO
SMALL CHURCH TOOLBOX
I ran a communications company for 40 years. I helped church organizations, small businesses, healthcare providers, school administrators and others figure out how to make their ideas practical and achieve their goals. I tapped these secular skills, applying them to church challenges.
The first step in helping a client is to understand current realities and the various viewpoints of those involved.
Three points of view to consider in church life
PASTOR’S POINT OF VIEW
If you are a pastor, you probably have a pretty good idea of how to divide your time. It’s what you love about ministry. It’s why you invested time and money in seminary.
- planning services
- studying and writing sermons
- visiting members
- counseling
- leading
- taking part in community events
- planning baptisms, funerals, and weddings
- overseeing education and outreach
Larger churches with these needs simply hire another pastor. In the small church, you are it!
The word “technology” may never had been uttered by your seminary professors.
MEMBERS’ POINT OF VIEW
Now consider how things look from your members’ points of view.
Some lay leaders are likely to have a great deal of experience in local ministry. They might be aware of what other churches (the churches of neighbors, work peers, and friends) are doing. They know your church. They know the members. (Many are likely to be sitting at the same Thanksgiving table!) They know your community. They see their congregation’s influence slipping away. Many have post-graduate and graduate degrees. They have modern skills learned on the job. They sense their church isn’t using technology to full advantage. They’d like to try some things. They’re not sure how to go about it. And as for the offering plate, they are wondering if their money can be put to better use elsewhere.
COMMUNITY POINT OF VIEW
One more point of view to consider: your community’s view. Of course, they don’t have a say. But they are the people you serve. They are on the outside looking in.
- Do they see you caring about the community?
- Do they consider your congregation partners in community efforts?
- If and when they visit, would they feel welcome (no matter what the sign near the front door says)?
- Do they feel they will be able to take part?
- How are they to know you?
All viewpoints have merit!
Focus on the key challenges for each:
PASTOR: Finding the time and support to do more than is already being done
MEMBERS: Putting concerns, ideas and skills to work without disturbing the status quo in a harmful way
ADDRESSING THE COMMUNITY:
How to tell your story. How to connect. How to be inviting and welcoming.
Where do we start?
WWJD? or WWP&PD?
Occasionally, an old saying that dates back to the 1800s resurfaces.
What would Jesus do? WWJD?
Let’s change that a bit.
WWP&PD?
What would Peter and Paul do?
Don't stop there! What would the woman at the well do? Keep going! There are many early evangelists in the Bible. They had no manual to follow!
If these early evangelists were telling their stories today, they would surely be doing it online.
A huge part of ministry is finding people.
Once upon a time, small churches grew as families grew and as communities grew with few demographic changes.
Families are smaller and more scattered. Neighborhood demographics change every few years! The small church of the future will be constantly changing, too!
Waiting for people to visit church on Sunday—or even to attend a cultural event—is a gamble—not a strategy. We have to reach out to others.
Small churches need modern strategies for reaching new demographics.
These strategies must be additive. Loyal members cannot be ignored while churches crave regeneration.
Changing times created the problem.
Changing times can solve the problem.
The modern faith journey
Compare the typical path to church membership of someone born in the 1950s to the typical path to church membership today.
FAITH JOURNEY OF THE PAST
- Born to a Christian family
- Baptized as infant or youth
- Attends Sunday School weekly
- Studies Catechism
- Is confirmed and becomes a member (usually at age 12-16)
FAITH JOURNEY OF THE FUTURE
- Begins journey with little family church background
- Becomes aware of your church, possibly by passing by or overhearing a friend/coworker's comment
- Sees something about your church online
- Takes a first action: "likes" a social media post, for example
- Downloads something you offered online, which adds them to your email list
- Accepts being on your list
- Signs up for something you publicize online
- Takes part in an online event
- Checks out your worship online
- Gets to know members in online Zoom events
- Attends an onsite event (probably not worship)
- Is asked to take part in an onsite activity, perhaps to help
- Attends worship a few times
- Expresses interest in joining
- Joins a membership class
- Affirms baptism or is baptized.
- Joins your church.
Today's churches must plan to be in contact with each potential member 9-12 times before they even visit your church.
Looks like a lot more work.
How’s a small church to manage?
This brings us to a key understanding of why churches struggle today.
Traditionally, small churches are not structured to do the modern work that needs doing.
These things involve modern skills that aren’t part of the typical small church leader’s job description! The people may still be waiting to be asked before offering their skills and talents. We can all look at each other, shrug our shoulders and say “Not my job!”
So nothing happens!
There is good news! This can change.
There is another old adage usually associated with academia.
Publish or perish!
The adage once applied to academia. Universities were among the pioneers of publishing. Now everyone can publish. Small mom and pop stores along with huge corporations have discovered the power of being in touch with their followers. Not just once a week on Sunday. Not just with a monthly newsletter. EVERY DAY.
Churches must make room for this new modern opportunity.
The very technology small churches
have avoided for the last 30 years
may be the key to revival.
Digital Ministry can support education and outreach. It can enrich worship and create community. It can do the work that 20 or 30 or many more volunteers used to do. Once daunting, technology is now much easier to use. Most people between 12 and 80 have the skills.
What's missing is content.
Digital Ministry requires content. Content means words, images, sound and video. Large churches hire content creators and community managers. They form communications teams and create a communications committee. Small churches don't need communications teams if they have content.
Small churches must deal with reality.
- People still crave closeness to God.
- People still long for community.
- People still like to belong to organizations where they can make a difference and use their God-given gifts.
Small churches are particularly aware of their role as keepers of traditions from generation to generation.
Using technology doesn’t challenge this! It makes it easier.
With 20/20 hindsight, we may have started in the wrong place. The early advice was to start a website—and that was daunting to small churches, requiring skills (like coding) we had yet to develop. Churches, large and small, had every reason to balk.
Technology has evolved. There are now easy, everyday technologies to power small church ministry. Now, we CAN do this! Where do we start?
AN ANSWER!
POWER YOUR MINISTRY WITH EMAIL
WHAT’S INVOLVED?
Email is the perfect place for a small church to begin a Digital Ministry.
- Most churches already have the technology. Everyone uses email.
- Email is social media without the problems that come with commercial platforms like Facebook and Twitter. It is YOUR platform. Your account won't suddenly disappear. No changing algorithms.
- Email is inexpensive.
- Email is opt-in. People agree to get your emails. You won't be viewed as spamming.
- Emails can be converted to Facebook for expanded reach.
Does it still sound like too much work?
There is one thing that might hold you back. Content! Who is going to provide the content?
Small Church Toolbox can help.
Small Church Toolbox provides content—in many forms. It’s waiting for you to download. There’s fresh content for you to use every week. It’s formatted in the easiest possible way for you to use.
SCT has done 90% of the work. It’s up to you to use it!
Much of the content is designed to be used in emails, online newsletters, and social media or are in PDF or presentation form. These are common formats in modern life.
A GREAT FIRST STEP
Right now, Small Church Toolbox is offering a program to introduce your church to the power of email.
As the Spirit Moves is a program that offers weekly email campaigns based on the Common Lectionary readings for the upcoming Sunday. Each day (once or twice per day) your congregation will received an email containing sharable content. The series uses curated videos, art and music to enhance the coming worship experience.
Imagine preaching to a congregation that has already "studied" the scriptures for the week.
The first benefit to the program is engagement with your congregation. They'll find things that move them and they'll want to share.
Soon, your messages will be reaching beyond your walls and into the community. You'll be reaching new people. The day will soon come when you invite them to a special event and they'll want to come—because they'll feel they already know you.
As the Spirit Moves: A Testimonial
A pilot pastor talks about how easy and effective our "done-for-you” email campaigns are. The resource she speaks of is called As the Spirit Moves. This resource is offered as a first step in developing Digital Ministry. It is easy to use and helps churches get together what they need for Digital Ministry.
The steps are simple.
- Someone needs to review the content to make sure it fits your needs and edit if desired.
- Someone needs to add your church logo and contact information.
- Someone needs to hit SEND.
Pastors, have you just thrown up your hands in frustration? "More work for me?" No worries! This person does not have to be the pastor! But if you choose to be the point person, it takes minutes as opposed to hours or days.
The Rev. Christine Olson, in the mountains of Virginia, piloted As the Spirit Moves—our "done-for-you" email campaigns. Hear her story.
I'm Judy Gotwald. I developed Small Church Toolbox from my 20 years experience creating resources for several denominational publishers and my work serving as a lay leader in small churches. I am dedicated to finding solutions for Small Church Ministry—solutions that small churches can embrace with success. Each subscriber is guaranteed help getting their Digital Ministry up and running.
Book a call. We'll talk about your challenges and how to get started. We'll also talk about what to expect in your trial month and what the next steps might be in creating your church's Digital Ministry.
WHAT WE’LL COVER IN AN EXPLORATORY CALL
This is an exploratory call—not a sales call.
We'll talk about your congregation and ministry to make sure our Introductory Offer is right for you. We'll answer your questions and explain the process, the technology, the content and how email can help you reach your congregation and new demographics.
SMALL CHURCH TOOLBOX’s
INTRODUCTORY OFFER
THE DETAILS
Now, for a limited time, Small Church Toolbox is offering a single resource to help small churches take a first step in developing a Digital Ministry.
As the Spirit Moves is a weekly subscription of "done for you" email campaigns. By using just this one resource, you will create the foundation for using technology in many other ways.
This introductory offer is designed to help small churches take a first step into what may seem a daunting mission.
With this program:
- Your church can set up a digital ministry using the technology you already have.
- You'll be able to tap into free help with your technology.
- Your congregation can safely explore new ways of doing ministry.
All you need is a computer, access to the internet and the ability to cut and paste.
We'll get you set up.
Each week, your designated church leader(s) will receive access to download a collection of emails to send to members and friends. The emails will be seen as if they were created by your church.
The emails complement the scriptures for the upcoming Sunday’s Common Lectionary scripture readings.
A typical sequence provides an overall look at how the four scriptures work together, some background information about the texts, and curated videos, music, art and poetry that relate to the scriptures.
When your members come to church on Sunday, they'll have already spent some time understanding the scriptures! That will make your sermon and the hymn choices all the more meaningful.
Here's how it works. The process is simple.
- Download the emails.
- Review the emails, choose all or only the ones that suit you.
- Edit as desired.
- Add your logo and contact information.
- Hit send.
- The emails are already timed to go out on schedule. Just schedule the first one.
Would you like to see some samples?
We're offering the first month free. This includes helping you get set up.
We want you to get the start-up out of the way, so you can begin enjoying sending the emails.
One caution:
Digital Ministry is a process. The process takes time.
You'll see early results among your current members. They are likely to find them personally enriching. Soon they will want to share.
One month is enough time to get set up. It's enough time for your members to see the benefits. It's enough time for you to feel comfortable and confident.
But it is not enough time to see strong evangelism results. This takes at least a year.
Take another look at the chart (below) which shows the typical growth of organizations who commit to using email. You'll see some results in the first few months, but the real results start to kick in after the first year.
The success of this approach to outreach has been proven in the corporate and nonprofit worlds.
A small church might be tempted to quit too soon, adding this to a list of other strategies they've tried without success, because they stopped too soon.
For this reason, after your trial month, we require a prepaid commitment of one year ($125 per month or $1500). During this year, we'll give you tips for using Facebook and your website in tandem. But it's important to do this in a measured way, so you and your members don't become overwhelmed. We know how hard it is for churches to work through challenges. We are committed to helping you succeed.
After the first year, your church can shift to monthly payments.
$125 per month
$1500 per year
Does $1500 sound like a lot of money?
Compare $1500 to what you invest in traditional church jobs such as organist or office staff or sexton—important jobs that add to the quality of church life. You are probably playing at least $100 a week for each of these jobs. At this modest rate, you'll spend $15,600 per year on these jobs. You can start a Digital Ministry for about 1% of these costs—and Digital Ministry will develop new skills and open doors for broader, more effective ministry.
Starting a Digital Ministry will help your church grow in mission and numbers. Digital Ministry has the potential to create new revenue sources. Digital Ministry is an investment in the future.
TRY ONE MONTH FREE NOW.
LET'S GET STARTED!
We talk with church leaders when they sign up to make sure you get the help you need to start using As the Spirit Moves. Remember, using this one tool prepares you for all the resources coming up. We want you to be ready. If you have others interested in learning more, a group call an be arranged.
Not sure this is for you!
It's hard to be sure of new strategies.
What if it fails? Will it drag us down?
Most churches are coming to realize the strategies of the past are not going to yield results in the future. This IS proven.
Digital strategies—fairly new in mainline churches—have been used with strong results by evangelicals for years.
Digital strategies are fueling the growth of business at every level.
And then there are nonprofits. Think of your members spending a typical afternoon watching daytime television. In three hours, your members will see close to an hour of advertisements soliciting support. St. Jude's, Shriners Children's Hospitals. Save the Elephants, Animal rescue, Heart Association, etc. These organizations have discovered the power of being in front of people daily. They tell their story and ask over and over again for "just 63¢ per day” to make a huge difference.
People like to see their money at work.
Small Church Toolbox provides strategies that keep the churches names in front of their members and friends. They tell their stories, but they do more. They deepen the faith of members and provide trainings and tools for them to represent your church by caring and serving.
Small churches can't afford to stay inside their sanctuaries. Members and leaders need to meet future members where they are—online.
Wouldn't it be a shame to close more churches without trying something that has been proven, if not in churches, in similar organizations.
Try As the Spirit Moves for one month. Continue for a year and see if the winds of change start blowing in your direction.
Look at the potential of using email.
These statistics represent the typical trajectory of the power of email campaigns. They represent one email sent by a company (with similar demographics to a church) to selected clients with links to their website. You can see a slow but steady start. After the first 12-18 months —WOW! In eight years, their web traffic went from 3 to 545 average visitors per DAY. Imagine your small church reaching that many people in your community every day. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can begin to see your own results.
AVERAGE MONTHLY VISITS
AVERAGE DAILY VISITS
Why start now?
Simple! The sooner you start the sooner you'll see results. Digital Ministry is a process—a process with great potential. The future of small churches relies on taking action. One of the reasons for church decline is failure to embrace technology as it became available. The only way to reverse the resulting damage is to take action now.
Small Church Toolbox is here to help.
Book a call today!
A VISION FOR DIGITAL MINISTRY
Small Church Toolbox provides resources and strategies for Digital Ministry. Its growing library resources will fully launch in June.
Digital Ministry is the church online. Streaming worship and calling zoom meetings is the tip of the iceberg.
Digital Ministry can revive your education, outreach, stewardship, witness, fellowship and social justice ministries. Here’s a booklet that describes digital ministry and how it can become the hub of your church ministry—beyond pandemic minimums.
Download it now. It’s free.
Take advantage of the Introductory offer and subscribe to As the Spirit Moves weekly email campaigns.
The subscription includes:
- One free month during which we work with you to set up the technology to start sending automated emails with your logo and contact information.
- Four weeks of content: 8-13 emails, ready to send, every week.
As we dream of post-pandemic days, what are we going to do with our new skills—revert to the past or hitch our wagons to the future?
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.
THE TOOLBOX OPENS IN JUNE!
Here are some early reviews
of Small Church Toolbox resources
[Your family lessons] are great! ! I love how you put this together with elements from varying places. It gives it life and something old, new and in-between.
Rev. D.P., Lutheran pastor
This is exactly what small churches need—and no one else is doing it.
Pastor advocate for small church ministry
I could see small churches really engaging with this type of content.
Rev. C.M., Pastor,
Regional Leader for Digital Ministry
I think you have done an excellent job with both the content and presentation. The content is very modifiable. I think you also provide some excellent suggestions for training in “worship skills” (odd term) for both children and adults. I find your writing style to be very encouraging and engaging, not likely to overwhelm anyone.
Dr. M.R.
Presbyterian pastor
This is an excellent collection of resources for at-home learning and worship with children. Church leaders and families can easily access a wide variety of activities, including art, crafts, music, stories, and videos. The units are coordinated with the lectionary and deeply enrich the lessons with ideas that span traditional to modern resources. The leaders can pick from the wide selection to customize the experience to each participant’s learning and worship styles. Everyone will find something here that is perfect for them. The concept of worship and instruction in the home is important and easily encouraged with this. It is well organized so leaders don’t have to expend their energies putting together a program. The creator offers background and ideas on presentation to help participants relate the lessons to life. The resources provide expertise and resources to fill in any personal gaps in expertise. For example, you don’t have to be a musician to present enriching and varied music for the children! Excellent examples are linked for you. It is very accessible to all online; this is very important for small churches, or anyone in this time of social distancing! I recommend that you explore this resource. We need to find ways to reach out creatively, and this is a prime opportunity to help you do this.
S.K., lay leader, professional teacher
These lessons are outstanding!
They are so thoughtful, well organized and easy to follow. As a music ministry and choir leader, these lessons enrich my store of knowledge and experience. As I was going through the lessons, I was wishing I could be a young mother again and use these lessons with my children. I struggled to find meaningful, well organized resources back then and this would’ve been extremely helpful.
Also, for all parents during the pandemic right now, this is such a supportive, comforting resource. If I were still raising young children during this pandemic, this resource would be my lifeline. I struggled to find resources back then!
E.M., Roman Catholic worship leader and parochial school music teacher