Considering the Effectiveness of Media Ministry: 16 Questions for Reflection

It is always tempting to avoid evaluating our ministry. Phill Butler insists that is is vital if we are to be effective. Here he gives some very helpful questions for evaluating media ministry.

1. What audience are you trying to reach (consider location, language, demographics, socio-economic characteristics, and current state on their spiritual journey – use the charts below as reference points)?
2. Where would you position your primary intended audience on the ‘Evangelism/Discipleship’ chart?

3. Where would you position your media ministry’s primary role on the ‘Evangelism Process’ chart?

4. What initial response are you hoping to elicit from the audience?
5. What long-term objectives or outcomes are you seeking to achieve?
6. How do you evaluate whether you are meeting your objectives – what are the key indicators?
7. Through what media (how) will your audience respond?
8. Following initial contact with respondents, what specific strategy do you have to follow-up, interact with, or pro-actively offer to help them take ‘next steps’?
9. Do you maintain records regarding response and interaction with your audience? If so, what records, and how are they used?
10. Why have you chosen to use these specific media to realize your media ministry objectives?
11. Who else is doing the same type of media work (in terms of content, medium, distribution channels, etc.)?
12. If others are doing the same or very similar work (content, purpose, medium, strategy, etc.), what is your ministry’s unique role or contribution?
13. If there are others, have you explored coordination or partnership to reduce duplication, or to strengthen and extend the potential impact of your collective efforts? Have you considered options like considering sharing information and best practices, joint efforts, etc.?
14. How does your media strategy take into consideration the (typically drastic) difference between

1. the number of initial contacts
2. the number of those who can be documented as having actually followed Christ in their local context and daily life?

15. How does your media strategy take into consideration ‘the last mile’ – the ultimately needed step of someone sitting down face to face and ‘drinking tea’ with the enquirer?
16. If you have a personal element in your follow-up strategy, do you have an active relationship with those actually meeting enquirers face to face so that you can share information, best practices, and encouragement?

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Photo credit: © Daniel Kulinski. Used under a Creative Commons (by-nc-sa-2.0) licence.