Various churches and other places of worship are a common sight around the globe. People of many different backgrounds flock to church ministries in search of purpose in life, to get answers to some burning questions or to experience something extraordinary and become a part of a vibrant community. Putting your personal beliefs aside for a moment, it is worth noting that a faith-based organization, in many aspects, works in similar ways to companies or brands, and thus has to employ the same kind of strategies in order to grow.
Much of the real world expands and creates outposts on the Internet. There are people working solely online, a lot of entertainment takes place on the web, and relationships went to another level through the use of social media.
It should not, then, come as a surprise that such, one would say, conservative aspect of life as faith has also went online and is actually doing pretty well there. Various faith-based organization websites are cropping up all over the web and are trying to do the same ol’ thing as offline, which is to attract more followers.
One of the most common practices by church ministries is to offer live streamed sermons and other events. There is, of course, a number of other complementary devices to be used, however, I would like to focus on one particular tool. Read on to see how to use live chat for faith-based organization development.
Position yourself as a leader of your faith-based organization
In my opinion, this is the most important and useful application of live chat from the church’s perspective. Faith requires leaders by design. Be one for the people!
And how exactly do I do that, someone may ask. Well, there are certain guidelines you should follow in using live chat for church growth. Although you might be a religious leader of some kind, and you are looked up to, you should definitely be accessible to the faithful. Whether it is some designated hours, or there is someone available 24/7, make sure you listen, show understanding and provide advice.
A chatroom is a great way to let your church ministry followers be heard. Some of them may want to explore certain complicated faith matters or seek consolation from your church staff. Using live chat, you can attend to the needs of your faithful in real time! They are sure to appreciate it, especially when a number of them may not be very young or of great health to travel and meet you in person.
Show your leadership by providing guidance and encouragement to those in need in private, comfortable conversations via live chat.
Strengthen the authority of your church ministry in public discussions
Live social chat will also allow you to hold public conversations for everyone to see. Again, it is important for you to be a part of the community centered around your church ministry.
The faithful consider you to be their representative and expect you to show up in discussions on matters important to them. Make people feel appreciated by acknowledging their messages with replies in public chatroom. React to those who agree with your beliefs and those who do not.
By delivering well thought-out answers containing strong arguments you will show your core strength and ensure the faithful of your position in the church ministry.
Build a community around your faith-based organization
This, actually, is no less important than establishing your position as a leader. Faith is all about community and engagement of the people.
Using live chat for faith-based organization growth brings a number of advantages. Above, I have discussed the ways to use chat in one-on-one setting. Now let us take a look at how it can facilitate the community building process among your faithful.
First of all, having a chat widget installed on your website significantly broadens your outreach. With many interface translations available you can attract people from all over the world to your live streamed sermons.
Second, with live social chat, you allow the faithful not only to talk to you, as described earlier, but also to interact between themselves in real time. The experience of reading other people’s uplifting words can induce positive feelings and help to develop a community around your faith-based organization.
Deliver a new kind of experience using live chat
With most live chat widgets being responsive, that is working well and adjusting to different device screens such as smartphones or tablets, the faithful can be a part of your church ministry wherever they are.
All the modern technology now allows your sermons or other live events to have the same kind of impact on people viewing them online as on those being there in person. The faithful can use live chat to send praise and interact with others in real time in a place that is comfortable for them.
You, on the other hand, stay in control of what is happening in the chat room by being able to ban rogue users, moderate the discussion or blacklist certain keywords by setting up profanity filters. Social media integration allows the faithful to login seamlessly and helps to spread the word about your church in social networks.
Final word
In order to stay in business, to use a crude expression, any faith-based organization or ministry has to change and adapt to new circumstances. One of the ways to stay on top and link with a growing number of the faithful is to provide means for people do interact with you and others online.
Having live chat installed seems to be crucial for your church website in order to reach out to people and create an environment for them to speak out. It is also important for you to strengthen your position as a leader and build trust and confidence among those who look up to you.
