A Church of God pastor in Virginia has applied his skills in media to advance the ministry of the local church.
According to comscore.com [1], there are over 90 million smart phone users in the United States.
“Many of them are sitting in our pews,” says Mike Kirby, senior pastor of the Lynchburg, Virginia Church of God. “What if we could connect with our people on a deeper level with the media source they love the most… their phones?”
As a Church of God pastor, Kirby says he knows the importance of making connection with members and visitors each Sunday.
“I only have a couple hours a week to connect with them and create a strong impression that will last all week,” Kirby stated. “I’ve found a way to make a connection before they leave the pew by using a mobile optimized site created by www.mymediapastor.com [2]. With a simple scan of a QR Code located in my bulletin and visitor cards, people can pay their tithes, fill out a visitor card, volunteer for a ministry, email me or my staff, submit a prayer request, or connect to our church’s social media. What’s great is on Monday morning I simply reply to every visitor, volunteer, and request as they go directly to my inbox.”
“I know the power and effectiveness of media first hand,” Kirby continued. “ In 2009, as a 28 year old with seven years of full time youth ministry experience, I was given an opportunity to take my first church as senior pastor. A small church of 30 people meant my salary was to be cut in half and I became bi-vocational for the first time. I knew it was going to be a step of faith, but my wife and I were sure this was what God had for us. We struggled to find a niche, but finally decided to use my expertise in media to help re-launch our church. Three years later, we are running over 100 people every Sunday and have visitors every week. The average age went from 55 to 65 when I got here in 2009, now it’s between 20 and 45 and our seniors love it, too! They love the new life that was breathed in to our congregation.”
Kirby points their success, first to God.
“He has masterfully orchestrated everything. We give a lot of our credit to our website and media. Out of 770 churches in the Lynchburg area, our church website (www.lynchburgcog.org [3]) shows up on the first page of Google, gps, and mobile searches. Our mobile website is simply the latest, greatest technique we are utilizing.”
Kirby stated the goal as a business is to make these tools available to every church. Where most Mobile Optimized Sites start around $800 to develop, Kirby’s ministry is providing mobile websites for only $249 to the general public and $199 to Church of God Churches.
To find out more, visit www.mymediapastor.com [2].