A new season of Pastoring in the digital Parish is about to begin! Season 3 will get underway on February 23rd, just in time to power your digital ministry through Lent and beyond.

In this season we’re going to continue to share best practices for evangelism and discipleship in digital spaces–and we’re going to do so mainly by sharing the stories of other digital ministry practitioners. We’ll see what new social media trends are opening up new pathways for ministry. We’ll also spend some time diving into the changing landscape of the worldwide web… Like, what is Web 3.0? 

Not everything’s recorded yet. So if you have some suggestions for future episodes or a burning question we might be able to address, then join up with the Pastoring in the Digital Parish Facebook Group and offer your suggestion.

We’re stuffing your stocking with digital delights for online ministry as we close out season 2 of Pastoring in the Digital Parish. While this episode details a handful of things learned in previous season 2 sessions, it also dives into a big question: What measurements really matter in digital ministry?

The biggest stressor for most of us when it comes to digital ministry is that the digital parish is not necessarily the campus to which we’ve explicitly been hired or appointed. Rev. Dan Wunderlich delivers valuable time-saving tips and tactics for staying on top of our digital ministries while trying to keep balance with the other demands of ministry.

Dan Wunderlich is pastor at Lakeside United Methodist Church in Florida. He’s the host of the MyCom marketing podcast. One of our sister podcasts with the United Methodist Communications. Also, Dan is the founder of Defining Grace ministries.

In this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish we hear from Dr. Kelly Price. Dr. Price provides an in-depth perspective on why many of us do the things we do online and how understanding our digital consumer behaviors helps us meet people and form community in digital spaces.

Dr. Kelly Price is associate professor and master of digital program for East Tennessee State University. She presents at conferences on topics relating to consumer behavior. Her research interests include digital behaviors and online teaching.

In this mini-episode we’re celebrating the lessons learned and the creative expressions of ministry we’re witnessing in the digital parish!

Mike Kim discusses branding and relationships on Pastoring in the Digital Parish. Mike offers an important way of refocusing how we think about marketing and branding, making them a lot more palatable for those of us wary of business-ifying faith. Mike says that “marketing isn’t about a sale, it’s about  beginning a relationship.”

Mike Kim is a business coach and marketing strategist who specializes in personal branding, product launch strategies, and copywriting. He’s the author of You Are the Brand, a book that is super-relevant to the future of the pastorate, especially as it relates to digital ministry.

Licensed social worker and minister, Lindsay Geist, shares practices of rest and healthy boundaries for digital ministers.

One of the possible pitfalls or traps of ministering in a digital parish is that our field of ministry is always active. It’s always on and accessible. By extension, those of us engaged in digital ministry can feel like we need to always be on and accessible… and working weird hours… and responding to everything immediately… and throwing a lot of our personal life into public space.

Rev. Lindsay Geist, MDiv, MSW, LCSW is the Church Transition & Clinical Resource Specialist providing mental health resource support for clergy and congregations in the North Georgia Conference. Lindsay is a Deacon in Full Connection in the North Georgia conference as well as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

In this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish, we’re talking Twitch. Have you heard of this platform? Curious about whether or not a livestreaming platform like Twitch has relevance for your ministry? Are you curious about how to get started and build a following on Twitch?

Russel Dornisch and David Petty from CrossFire: Faith+Gaming talk us through the uses of Twitch and how we can get started streaming. They also share the story of CrossFire–an online faith-based community that aims to break down the barriers many gamers face: social isolation, disconnection, and stigma.

Pastoring in the Digital Parish is your online class for answering questions like this and finding community for ministry in the digital space.

Click-through rates, drip campaigns, list segments, marketing funnels–we’re talking about it all with Randy Greene of Church of the Resurrection. Randy is a digital media director passionate about helping churches communicate better.

In this episode, we learn about how to build engagement and relationships through email communication.