Every process in your ministry has what we call a “path”––a direction or trajectory you’d like your congregation to follow.
For example:
- Your new visitors experience many stages of the church welcome.
- You probably have a "new members" class or offer Sunday School on the basics of Christianity before teaching specific topics.
- Your church may have a formal process for vetting or training young people into leaders.
- Even fundraisers and events should anticipate the actual donation or the sign-up.
But what would happen if none of these paths had a next step? No forward momentum? No room to grow into?
Posting your sermons online can be a fantastic resource for your church––but without a next step, you could fail to harness their full potential. Help your congregation by focusing on developing the path for your online sermons and guiding your readers to take the next step.
Reference, Remind, Regain
When you read a book, it can stay with you even years after you’ve turned the last page. The same should be true about your sermons. Parts of your message should be applicable a week, a month, or even continuing for years after the day you delivered it. To help this happen, refer back to your sermons when you create new ones. Tie your sermons and your series together, building on each one as parts of the faith journey that each of your members is taking. See your sermons more as a series of unified concepts rather than distinct speeches, and weave those concepts through future sermons as well.
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Creative elements, like weekly hashtags (#bestEasterEver) and scheduled or spontaneous social media reminders, are great ways to refer to Sunday’s sermon throughout the rest of the week. And as your sermon series or future sermons grow into that concept, keep using that hashtag so that your followers can access every past message regarding that sermon on your social media channels. This helps your followers remember (and live out!) your messages day-in and day-out. |
Faithful Follow-Up
Immediately after someone views your sermons online, are they prompted with a suggestion for their next step along the path? This follow-up should encourage them to think deeper about the sermon’s message––applying it directly to their own journey. This encouragement can take many forms:
- Discussion questions
- Follow-along notes
- Direct them to a related sermon
- Direct them to a relevant opportunity (small group meeting, volunteer project, event)
Engage the External
Maturing your congregation’s faith doesn’t have to stay within the walls of your own church. There may be other inspiring resources that resonate with that sermon’s topics, like eBooks or articles. Even emerging media, like Ted Talks, cover a wide variety of issues that may help your members to more fully engage their lives with the messages in your sermon. These external resources can also play a role in your sermon. Any videos or new/uncommon terms you mentioned in your sermon should have clickable links that your readers can explore for themselves.
Including external sources can help your congregation see that their faith journey can take place anywhere––not just in Sunday services. And these sources can provide positive reinforcement from outside sources, helping to bolster your position and encourage like-mindedness. Whether it’s the latest books they’re reading or the way they relax with a podcast, growing in faith is a life-long, and fully-immersive process.
