Using YouTube in your Ministry

Being new to online ministry, I am learning a lot on a daily basis.  Whether it is figuring out a social media strategy, evaluating what and how we should measure success or how do we teach and do life groups to an online community, there is always something I am trying to learn and figure out.

A question I have begun to answer is, other than sermons, how do you effectively minister and teach people you never really see?

After doing a little brainstorming and research, I have come up with a few different ideas.  However, I decided a main avenue for me to reach people in the online community regularly throughout the week was to create a YouTube channel.

How does a YouTube Channel help me minister?

Simply, I make videos with specific targets and then post them on it so that everyone who has access to YouTube can watch it. For example, my first set of videos I made were family centric videos up there called “the Family Chit Chat”.  You can see one of them right here:

As I have been doing these more and more, I have started brainstorming how I can be using it to reach teens and others through YouTube. In fact, I am actually kicking myself because I have realized that I didn’t have to wait to be an “Online Pastor” to utilize YouTube to minister to people.  If you are a Youth Pastor, Children’s Pastor or Family Minister, this would be ideal because people are on YouTube and other Online sites all the time now.

It is easier than you might think and expands your reach into peoples lives.  They no longer have to wait til Sunday to hear from you.  You can reach them online any day of the week.

So what do you think? How can you use YouTube in your ministry?  Brainstorm some ideas and try it out!  I bet it’ll be great for your ministry.