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Ministry Etiquette

Your Space Can Be MySpace!

One of the more popular places that people (including Christians) go to on the internet to get information and to meet new people is Myspace. Over the years this website has grown by leaps and bounds and millions of people have found it to be a favorite. Perhaps you have heard of Myspace and unfortunately, what you have heard may have been a bit unsettling. If so, let me share with you that Myspace is not all bad and like everything else, we still have to take the good with the bad and see if it yet has something to offer to bless us.Read more inside...

Your Space Can Be MySpace!

Marketing Your Ministry - Part 4

By Dr. Debora C. Hooper

www.DeboraHooper.com


   

We have finally come down to the end of our 4-part series about how to market your ministry.  If you recall, we first started out by talking about getting professional photos and business cards and then moved into emails and setting up a website and lastly, how to utilize email marketing. (If you've missed any of these articles, check my archives.)  What I'd like to do now to close out this series is share with you another popular online tool you can use to get your ministry out to the masses.


 


One of the more popular places that people (including Christians) go to on the internet to get information and to meet new people is Myspace.  Over the years this website has grown by leaps and bounds and millions of people have found it to be a favorite.  Perhaps you have heard of Myspace and unfortunately, what you have heard may have been a bit unsettling.  If so, let me share with you that Myspace is not all bad and like everything else, we still have to take the good with the bad and see if it yet has something to offer to bless us.


 


Myspace, as its slogan says, is "a place for friends."  Here is where you invite people to come into your "space" and see what you and your ministry are up to.  If for some reason you do not have a website or you do but are looking to attract more people to it, this is an excellent place to do so.  For starters, having a page on Myspace is like having one single web page of your own.  The good thing about it is, to set it up is both free and easy.  All you have to do is follow the simple prompts and before you know it, you have a "space" on Myspace.


 


Another advantage about Myspace is that once you've started to accumulate friends, you are able to post bulletins (as often and as many as you like) to them about upcoming events that you wish for them to know about. When you do this, all of your Myspace friends can view this bulletin and you can even ask them to let you know if they are going to attend.  Furthermore, your friends can take these bulletins and repost them to their friends to help spread the word and get your event out.


 


Bulletins, however, aren't the only thing you can post on Myspace.  You can post videos, pictures, flyers, music, and so forth.  Much of what you can do on Myspace when it comes to advertising is limitless, which is why so many people use it as a source to connect with others.  As a matter of fact, when I realized how many people were on Myspace, I decided to get me some "space" as well.  Boy was I in for a surprise!  Before I knew it, hundreds of people were asking me to be a friend and I was off to now sharing what I had to offer to the Body of Christ.  Since we are talking about marketing your ministry, I used Myspace as a place where I post upcoming events about my ministry or church and even then, direct them to my specific website.  Furthermore, I even put the video of my minister's handbook on my page and have gotten a great many sales from it.  Just recently I've started a monthly newsletter, "Ministry News You Can Use".  While I was sharing this information through another site, I decided to put the sermons on Myspace through their Blog.  Now people who won't get the newsletter elsewhere have access to the sermons on Myspace and can even respond to them.  Would you believe, I now have over 1,000 friends and all of them, at their leisure, can view my page, order my products, read my sermons and leave comments for me, all in a friendly setting?  In addition, those who do not have an (free) account with Myspace can also see your page. Although they cannot share their comments with you, they do get access to the information.  Either way, you've achieved your goal because their eyes have seen what you have to offer!


 


As you can see through this series, there are so many ways in our society today to get your ministry or church the exposure it needs.  Whether you're trying to get it out in your local community or globally, it's now possible, and some of it can be very economical or absolutely free!  So go ahead and set up your Myspace page.  Get out there!  And remember to market your ministry with excellence because I believe somebody is waiting to be blessed by that precious and anointed gift you have.


 


Before closing, I thought I'd also mention to you, if you have new or old videos of yourself ministering (preaching, teaching, singing, dancing, poetry, etc.), why not consider placing them on YouTube?  It's also free.  And millions of people go there too, looking for new products, ministries, churches and so on.  Who knows what can happen in the process of time.  As I say in my book, "no church (or ministry) grows without new souls."  So if you want the Lord to bless what you have and see it grow, and if you want souls to come into the Kingdom through your ministry, you're going to have to get it out there and the best way today, is through the world wide web!  But you'll never know it, until you show it!


 


Until next month, God's blessings to you and I hope you visit me on MySpace real soon!


 

 

About the Author

Rev. Dr. Debora C. Hooper is the Author of Hooper's Evangelist & Minister's Handbook and the Pastor of Greater Works Worship Center in Brooklyn, NY.  For ministry invites, questions and comments, reach her at debora.hooper@verizon.net or www.myspace.com/deborahooper. To receive upcoming ministry newsletters and information, join her email list at www.greaterworksworshipcenter.comor www.DeboraHooper.com