Digital media is an opportunity for us to share the gospel effectively. It should be our goal—as churches, as ministries, as Christian communicators—to use digital media well.
“Digital media gives us the tools to share the gospel,” Carl Barnhill, owner and creative director of twelve:thirty media, said.
Digital media is not the first tool, and it certainly won’t be the last tool that believers can use to reach people with the gospel of Christ. The typewriter was a tool. The telephone is a tool. Even the pen is a tool. Over time, all of these tools have been used to get the Bible into the hands of as many people around the world as possible. Today, we have access to online tools that my grandparents’ generation wasn’t even dreaming of. Now we are the ones who determine what we will do with these new, online tools.
Our online, digital media tools aren’t going to do the work of sharing the gospel for us, but as Christian communicators, we are uniquely positioned to utilize these tools for Kingdom impact. If you want to use digital media in compelling and winsome ways to make the gospel known, you have to learn how to produce excellent digital media content.
“People notice poor quality right away,” Barnhill said. “They might not be able to say it and express it in the way that digital media experts can, but they know the quality.”
Everyone has an eye for quality—even people who can’t specifically point to what makes content “low quality.” Every church, ministry, and Christian communicator should aim to create high-quality digital content. We strive for excellent content not so people will see our work and praise us and our abilities but so people will see our work and glorify our Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Our excellent digital content should be a reflection of the excellence of our God, pointing people to Him rather than causing a distraction.
“Don’t skimp too much on the budget or energy in [digital media],” Barnhill said. “Be sure to budget for it and staff for it because it’s important.”
It is worth the investment of time and energy to produce high-quality digital content. Not only does excellent content reflect the nature of God, but it also more likely to make an impact on your audiences. Low-quality content is easily overlooked. Don’t give your audiences the opportunity to overlook the message you are trying to communicate simply because the quality of your digital content wasn’t enough to hold their attention.
“Do as much as you can do to lift the quality of digital media and use that effectively,” Barnhill encouraged communicators.
NRB is committed to equipping you with the resources you need to be able to produce quality digital content to effectively reach your audiences. NRB member, twelve:thirty media is one great resource to help you towards this end. Their content and training helps churches and ministries use graphics, video, and other media to share the gospel effectively.
“I think that we can really reach people with the gospel if we pour time, money, and energy into making [our content] great and doing a great job at digital media,” Barnhill said.
