Tell more stories. Ask less often. Trust grows, and so does giving. A strong donor development strategy is built less on the ask than most ministries assume, and more on the trust you build in the long stretches between asks. A while back we had Brittany Baker, Regional Director of Marketing for IJM, on the […]
Donor Development Strategy: How IJM Turns One Story Into Lasting Trust Read More »
We don’t serve a God of scarcity. Nonprofit partnerships are one of the most underused strategies in ministry, and the reason is almost always fear. In a recent episode of The Ministry Growth Show, we talked with David Sudarma from Cru and Christy Johnson from Athletes in Action, and Christy said something that has stayed
Nonprofit Partnerships: Why the Future of Ministry Is Collaboration, Not Competition Read More »
Your ministry is a storytelling firm that just so happens to do what you do. Fundraising storytelling is the difference between a donor who reads your appeal and a donor who never forgets it. In a recent episode of The Ministry Growth Show we talked with David Sudarma from Cru and Christy Johnson from Athletes
Fundraising Storytelling: How to Connect a Donor to a Changed Life Read More »
How User-Centered Marketing is a Missional Opportunity Campus Crusade for Christ, or CRU for short, is one of the most successful Christian ministries in the world, both from a financial standpoint and most importantly in its effectiveness at making disciples. CRU is not only a leader and pioneer in campus ministry but a leader among
How User-Centered Marketing is a Missional Opportunity Read More »
Stop cramming it all into December. A nonprofit fundraising plan that lives only in the last three months of the year is the most common, and most costly, habit in ministry fundraising. We had Emily Fitchpatrick on The Ministry Growth Show to talk about the fix. Emily started her career at the Billy Graham Association,
How to Build a Nonprofit Fundraising Plan That Runs All Year Read More »
Fundraising isn’t a necessary evil. It’s an invitation. Biblical fundraising begins with a mindset shift most ministry leaders need before they need a single tactic: the ask is not begging, it is an invitation into the work God is already doing. We had Emily Fitchpatrick on The Ministry Growth Show to talk about this, and
Biblical Fundraising: From Begging to a Kingdom Invitation Read More »
People don’t relate to statistics. People relate to people. Emotional storytelling is the single most underused tool in nonprofit communication, and most organizations bury it under a pile of dreary statistics. We featured Than Baardson, co-founder of Unseen, on The Ministry Growth Show, and he put words to the tension every mission-driven organization feels. Unseen
Emotional Storytelling: Why the Story of One Beats the Statistics Read More »
Every testimony your church shares, every donor update your nonprofit sends, every story you tell from the stage follows the same pattern whether you realize it or not. The 3 act story structure is the framework behind stories that connect. Here is how to use it in ministry communication.
3 Act Story Structure: How Ministries Can Use It to Connect Read More »
Your ministry has stories worth telling. The question is whether you are telling them in a way that connects or in a way that reports. Impact storytelling is the discipline of turning real outcomes into narratives that honor the people in them and move the people who hear them. Here are four practices that separate stories that inform from stories that stay.
Impact Storytelling: 4 Practices for Churches and Nonprofits Read More »
Most nonprofits tell one story: the beneficiary story. It works for a while. Then donors stop feeling the weight of it, and leaders run out of new ways to say the same thing. The problem is not your story. The problem is that you are only telling one of the four stories your ministry needs. Here is a framework for nonprofit storytelling that builds trust, deepens relationships, and gives your communication something to stand on.
Nonprofit Storytelling: The 4 Stories Every Ministry Must Tell Read More »
The gospel permeates every culture. Your culture is not the gospel. Gospel contextualization is the work of sharing Christ faithfully inside a culture without fusing your own culture to the message. When you serve ministries in other cultures, understanding the cultural context you are operating in is not optional. Culture is man-made, and therefore never
Gospel Contextualization: Sharing Christ Across Cultures Without Losing the Gospel Read More »
It’s free, and it will do more than anything we could sell you. Prayer for ministry is the most powerful tool your organization has, and it costs nothing. We spend most of our time here talking about brand, storytelling, and strategy, so let us say something that undercuts our own sales pitch: prayer will do
Prayer for Ministry: Your Most Powerful (and Free) Tool Read More »
