Category Archives: Resource

2024 Ambrose Pastors Conference

I want to warmly invite you to this year’s Ambrose Pastors Conference (March 14, 2024) with an add-on “Off the Record” Social Event (evening of March 13, 2024)

Ambrose Pastors Conference is an annual gathering designed to empower and uplift those in pastoral ministry. At Ambrose, we appreciate the courage and care it takes to lead in pastoral ministry. That’s why our theme for this year is “Handle with Care,” an exploration of navigating the demands of ministry.  Get ready to be inspired by our remarkable lineup of speakers, featuring David Fitch, “Handling Power with Care“; Bryce Ashlin-Mayo, “Handling Your Calling with Care“; and Sarah Coleson-Derck,Handling Scripture with Care.”

Join in person or online.

Cost is $59 with the early bird. ($89 after January 14, 2024)

Register here: Ambrose Pastor’s Conference

A Digital Missiology – Book Chapter (Free)

We always have the tendency to jump into new methodologies and opportunities without considering the potential consequences.

As we engage in digital ministry and mission, what are some of the questions that our future selves would wish we asked? What if we could pre-ask them and engage in digital ministry and mission with a more reflective posture from the beginning.

To address this, I wrote a chapter in a newly released ebook, “On Mission Vol. 5.” My chapter is entitled, “A Reflective Pathway to a Digital Missiology.”

Download the book for free using the following link.

Effective Online Ministry Workshops/Course 2021

As the church begins to regather in person, it is vital that we don’t lose all the digital advancements we made while critically evaluating and reflecting on our digital ministry. Through a series of three workshops, we will seek to understand digital culture, evaluate what worked in the last year, and begin to design a long-term online ministry strategy for the future for either a fully digital ministry or a hybrid approach.

It will examine how the internet and social media is profoundly changing culture and explore how the Church can effectively engage this new medium for the advancement of God’s kingdom and mission.

Session #1 (Aug. 5) – Understanding Digital Culture (and how it is different than in-person): Bringing Theology and Media Ecology Together.

Session #2 (Aug. 12)– Learning about Evaluating the Nut and Bolts (Bits and Bytes) of Online Ministry: Especially Hybrid (Digital/in-Person) Ministry Strategies and Methodologies.

Session #3 (Aug. 19) – Designing a Long-term Implementable Online Ministry Strategy

The course is also available for credit at Ambrose University and Seminary.

For more information and to register:

Digital (Online) Ministry Evaluation Guide

As Spring approaches and the 2020/21 ministry year comes to an end, it may be tempting to turn the page on this unique Covid ministry year and not look back.  Yet, in the midst of this unique year, there are countless important lessons to learn, new competencies to cultivate and fresh opportunities to explore. 

Whether the Fall of 2021 will be a post-Covid new normal or whether we will still be under increased restrictions (due to new variants or some unforeseen wrinkle in the vaccine distribution), it is vital to stop, take stock, give thanks and evaluate the past ministry year with both a wide and long lens into the future.

We need to look into the future with a wide lens. 

Digital ministry is not just about streaming your weekly in-person worship services!  Its implications are much wider and it’s potential much greater (especially for expressions of community and opportunities for outreach). Most churches moved online in the pandemic in a bit of an understandable panic and didn’t really consider the uniqueness of digital culture.  As a result, our methodologies and missiologies were not well-formed and effectiveness suffered.  As you begin planning forward, recognize the world has forever been reshaped (we took 10 years of inevitable change and crammed it into a year) and we need to adapt accordingly.  As you continue to serve your church and community, it is vital that you consider the “why” and the “how” of online ministry rather than simply adding a camera and live streaming your in-person ministry activity.

We need to look at the future with a long lens.

If digital ministry last year was largely motivated by a crisis, its future must be carefully considered for long-term impact and effective implementation.  We are in the midst of the digital revolution and although many things we did in-person are going to have an understandable resurgence, it will level out to a new hybrid-normal for most things in society.  In the same way that people will learn and work in more hybrid ways, they will also engage that way in church. Thus, it is vital to recognize that digital (online) ministry was not just a pandemic necessity but will become a long-term reality in part or in whole. 

Digital (Online) Ministry Evaluation

To aid in this evaluative process, I created the Digital (Online) Ministry Evaluation Guide to help you do just that.  It is designed to help you reflect on the effectiveness of your digital ministry, what you need to stop doing, what you need to keep doing and how to make what you continue to do more effective in the future.

Some of the content in the evaluation form is based on the content of my book “Digital Mission: A Practical Guide for Ministry Online” and the digitalmissioncourse.com.  Both of these resources will help you and your church, ministry or organization think and adapt to the digital future.

To facilitate your evaluation, use the free pdf download as a guide for individual reflection or for an upcoming staff meeting/retreat as a way to spark conversation and ignite change.  Don’t let this last year go by in vain but rather use it as a catalyst for ministry/mission advancement.

Download the FREE evaluation guide here: