23 Ways to Use Cellphones in Ministry

Find ideas for evangelism and discipleship for your mobile phone. (This list was originally written before tablets became so popular, so many of these ideas would also work on your iPad or Kindle Fire.)

I’m re-posting this with permission from the original author.   I tried to update as much of the information as I could since technology changes rapidly, but please comment if any of these ideas could be better presented.  What ideas have you tried?

With Basic Cellphones:

• Audio
  • Interactive Voice Response (IVR), for example:
    • Telemensahe
  • Text messaging
  • sending out SMSs with short devotionals, and asking people to forward them to their friends
  • 4 Spiritual Laws by text message
  • Discipleship Message Subscription, for example:
    • www.2cast.net
  • Prayer request distribution using:
    • Text messages
    • Facebook groups
    • Twitter

With Feature Phones

• Browsing to Christian websites, for example:
  • www.everystudent.com/mobi
  • www.jesus2020.mobi

• Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) advertising
  • Advertise your blog or website
• Bluetooth evangelism, sharing the following with other cellphone users:
  • The “JESUS” Film and Global Short Film Network video clips:
    • The Demoniac
    • My Last Day
    • Dollface
    • La Liberte
    • La Busqueda
  • Books
  • Videos & audios of Christian teachers

With Smartphones

• Advertising of evangelistic websites
  • Google Adwords
  • Google Banner ads
  • Facebook status updates
  • Facebook ads
  • Facebook “Like”
• Browsing to Christian websites, for example:
  • www.everystudent.com/smart
  • www.jesus2020.mobi
  • topchretien.jesus.net
  • www.imawitness.com

• On-line evangelism and discipleship using:
  • Smartphone applications, for example:
    • GodTools
    • Knowing God Personally iTunes app
    • YouVersion Bible
    • Family Life Audio iTunes app
  • Distance Learning discipleship, for example:
    • The mLearning Project
  • Downloading content from Christian teachers, for example:
    • www.josh.org/resources
  • Chat on:
    • Facebook
    • Skype
    • MSN
• Off-line evangelism & discipleship
  • Download evangelistic videos onto your phone and then show them to start conversations.

Guest post by Anonymous

Looking ahead to 2012 on e4e

Over two years ago in September, 2009, I published my first post on eQuipping for eMinistry. This blog is meant to help you with what you’re already doing and/or to equip you to try something new.  I thought you might be interested in where I’m going with it.

Looking Back

e4e has over 750 followers and subscribers from every continent, averaging about 400 views on the site every week.

Topics have included (click on the links for some examples):

• MPD: practical tips and tools
• Communicating well
• Blogging and websites
• Social Media
• Mobile phones
• Tech Tips
• Travel Tips
• Step-by-step tutorials
• and more

Looking Ahead

Leaha will continue to submit her thoughtful and open-hearted posts six times a year.  Karen will add to our how-to’s content.  I hope to continue posting twice per week and am open to contributions.  I’m especially hoping to add more topics on:

• Photo tips
• Your true stories about using technology for ministry
• Practical Win-Build-Send help

Besides the content on the blog, Karen and I are working on more hands-on learning opportunities.  I’ll explain about that in a future post.  Meanwhile, thank you for your prayers and support for eQuipping for eMinistry!

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Don’t Lose Your Voice

The Lord moves me to write out of an overflow of my time spent alone with him, so it only makes sense that the God who uniquely created me also uniquely inspires me.  When I sit down to read his Word or spend time in prayer, the words I’m inspired to write just bubble up in my brain, so I quickly reach for a pen to scribble them on paper (or if I am on the go I simply type them up on my iphone).  Then the events of my day also help to add a little more detail to those scribbled notes until I have time to tweak them later.  After all, I like to write about my thoughts on God and life with less of a blubbering mess and more of a beautiful mess by combining a little bit of grace with a little bit of truth followed by a little bit of editing.  Then a blog post is born as I launch it from my paper onto blogger.

As this process happens time and time again, I develop a voice as a writer.  Just as those who know me recognize my audible voice, so also those who know my writing recognize the voice that emerges from my pencil.  My dear bloggy friend Abby illustrated this point perfectly when she recently commented on one of my blog posts.  Now, for those of you who do not usually read my blog, it tends to be short and to the point with a little bit of scripture to pack a punch at the end.  In contrast, Abby so eloquently writes more than I do in an average blog post.  She recently made a comment after posting some feedback to one of my posts, “…Well, you can always count on me for a comment as long as your post.”  The beauty of that statement lies in the truth of that statement.  The truth is that over time each of us have held true to our own writing style, therefore creating our own writing voice, just as we have each been uniquely inspired to write.

So that leads me to ask, what does your voice sound like as a writer or as a blogger?  If it is a uniquely and divinely inspired blend of truth and grace, then I want to encourage you not to lose your voice.  Stay true to who God has created you to be and you will bless others with your writing in a way no one else can!

You can find my blog at www.leahaspen.blogspot.com and Abby’s blog at www.findtheflametofan.blogspot.com.

NOTES:

• Meet e4e author Leaha Shaikh and read Leaha’s posts on e4e.
• CCC staff, so we can better serve you, please subscribe here to receive weekly emails of e4e posts, notifications of training, and more.
• “Afternoon Tea Party” by Mary Cassatt is in the public domain in the U.S.

Today’s Internet Blackout

If you’re running across some blacked-out sites today, it’s part of a protest against proposed U.S. legislation.

This CBS News article seemed to have the most balanced approach to the controversy:

• SOPA, PIPA: What you need to know

Which internet sites are “blacked out” and which are not:

• Internet Blackout: 7000 Sites Join Wikipedia
• From Reuters: Internet blackout against SOPA fails to enlist big sites

What’s Your Opinion?

Could these proposed bills affect our ministry websites or online ministry?  Thanks for helping us understand the debate.

Now’s the Time to Print Your MPGA Report

The Ministry Partner Giving Analysis Report

Are you preparing MPD goals for the coming year?  One thing you should do is print your MPGA report before February 7th, even if you won’t look it over right away.  You can see this report any time in the Staff Services area on the Staff Web for a detailed look at your ministry partners (with your actual reimbursement expenses to help you in your planning for next year and also lots of helpful graphs about distribution, frequencies, and more).

Why You Need It Now

I can think of two times when you might want to download a hard copy:

1. any time before taking an extended MPD trip (see below about MPD trips) or
2. after the January 10th paycheck and before February 7th, when the report reflects a complete year.

The MPGA report is a moving window into your current MPD information on our servers for any twelve-month period.  Therefore, between the January 10th and February 10th paychecks is the perfect time to get a copy of your MPGA report.  During this time period your report will have all your data for the previous year.  Why not make it a habit to get your own copy of the report every year in mid-January? (I have all our MPD reports on file in an MPD notebook; I can compare how our account looked this past year to any previous year if we ever needed to.)

How to Find It

You’ll find the report under “shortcuts” in the lower left corner of the Staff Services home page.  Click on “MPGA” to read your report, download it, and/or print it.

What to Do with It

The report is actually a collection of reports.  After you have your MPGA, you might flip through to the second report on frequencies to see if you need to encourage any donors to sign up for EFT.  Also, look through the lost donors report to see if you need to contact anyone.

I mostly use the fourth report every year (the report sorted by percentages).  Because 15 to 20% of our total donors provide 50% of our annual income; I save these names in a group in TntMPD. I also have a group for the additional 10% who provide the remaining 80% of our income.  I recommend doing this because you can’t possibly keep up with several hundred people equally.  (Learn how to create Saved Groups in TntMPD. )

While you’re looking at your MPGA report online, notice the drop-down menu in the green bar across the top of the page.  Click on the drop-down arrow where it says “MPGA” and select the Thirteen Month Report for January 10th.  Download or print this report, too, because this report is a great supplement to the MPGA, especially the summary page, and will give you a good overall look at the previous year. (It’s not so critical when you print the January 10th report because you can retrieve it later, but why not print it now and keep the two reports together?)

NOTES:

• MPD Trips:   (The following link will work if you are signed in to the Staff Web.)  Go to the 8-week plan for MPD trip planning for details about using your MPGA report to prepare for a trip.
• This link should take you to the 13 Month Report.
• Click here for more ideas to use TntMPD.

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