This is how the local church should be. Far too often, churches would rather over saturate a neighborhood and compete for the same people than discover what they could do together to make their community stronger. Acts 2:44 (NLT) states “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.” Sharing in the first century church was vital to the growth and expansion of the Gospel. Without this brotherly love, Christianity wouldn’t have grown as rapidly as it did. I would encourage all church leaders to take on the same mindset. Instead of trying to compete with ministries, worship styles and events, why not coordinate things that would benefit the community as well as the other churches that neighbor you. If ministries would be more willing to lay aside differences and focus more on community, allot more could be accomplished.

The key to effective stewardship of media is to understand what your message is, who needs to hear it, and how they are already receiving their information. Once you understand this, you can focus only on the streams you need and not the ones you don’t. Don’t just stop there, however. Just because you are on television or Facebook doesn’t mean your audience will come looking for you. It is vital that you understand the full range of capabilities you have within each media channel. Most of us with just a simple e-mail account rarely take advantage of all of the features it can offer us. Perhaps if we did, many of our daily tasks would become a lot easier. The same applies to media. Understand the best practices and strategies within a given media source. It is then that you can begin the journey to effective media stewardship.

So do you know your brand? Do you know how people perceive your business, church, ministry or even yourself?  If you can’t confidently say with documented evidence of what you are being perceived as, maybe it is time for you to rethink your strategy. You are definitely conveying a message. The question is, is it the one you want to present?

The key to where you want to go can only be discovered where you are. No matter how tempting it is to model someone else’s ministry, business, or organization, you should never attempt to become them. Research and discover why your brand is or is not what you hoped it to be. Understand YOUR purpose, YOUR mission, and YOUR  driving force as an organization. What sparked your passion to even start your company or ministry in the first place? What problem did you know you were destined to solve? The answers for these questions are the substance that makes your brand. You will then realize that you do not have to mimic another brand in order grow yours. Your individuality is what gives you substance.  Never model your ministry in a manner to be someone else. You are far too valuable for that. Strive to be the best you! The audience you were MEANT to reach will follow.