Why Pastors Should Start a Video Blog

Sometimes some pastors do some things better than other pastors. In this particular case, lead pastor of Morning Star Church, Mike Schreiner hits a home run with his weekly video blog.

To bolster this idea, a recent ChurchMag post also explains clearly why communicating via video is successful. So I don’t doubt the success Pastor Mike has with his video blog.

Every Thursday, each member who signed up for the video blog subscription gets an e-mail notification of the video that plays straight from the church website.

It gives him an opportunity to talk to his people face-to-face, for a few minutes on a topic he chooses.

And of course, such a video also serves as a great platform for accelerating generosity.

In fact, Pastor Mike’s recent generosity related video blog titled, “Thanks for giving”, teaches five important lessons that might be of great assistance for many pastors.

1. Say thank you: I agree, this may sound like a no-brainer. However, think about it, how often do you thank your generous people? Pastor Mike doesn’t just say “thank you”. Rather, he tells his viewers exactly what their generosity accomplished. As I mentioned in my annual report blog, this is exactly the kind of transparency people need to see.

2. Be very specific: Remind people of the goal. Encourage them to consider partnering with you in the vision. Watch how Pastor Mike challenges everyone watching to increase their giving by 2%. Now, that is specific!

3. Provide instruction: He lets people know where to find the booklets and where to turn in their pledge cards. This helps the people who are watching to know and then do exactly what is being asked of them.

4. Repeat the important stuff: Since the “average church attendee” is at church maybe twice a month, you absolutely need to repeat the important stuff. When you feel you have over-communicated, you’ve probably reached the majority. Finally!

5. Keep it brief: This is the golden rule. Pastor Mike kept the message to 5 minutes. That is even longer than what I would normally recommend. Ideally you should keep it to 2 minutes or less. People’s attention span is very short, even while watching a video. Hence, it’s important to keep the message brief and to the point. Remember, there’s another one on its way next week.

I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that Pastor Mike started his video blog during the launch of a generosity initiative in his church. What a great way to heighten interest in a sermon series, to promote upcoming events, to encourage people to serve or even to promote online giving.

I doubt if he has the fanciest and most expensive camera in the market or even a hair and makeup artist. He just seems to have a solid idea that works very well. He sticks to it consistently and with great variety.

Do you have a video blog? What kind of mid-week communication do you personally have with your members every week?