Frequently Asked Questions
The Basics
What digital strategies and Digital Academy are, who they serve and why they matter.
What are digital strategies?
In a world where people work, study and build relationships online, digital strategies (in a ministry context) help you win, build and send — expanding your reach, maximizing your resources and doing it all in a sustainable way. Digital strategies include how a team or national ministry uses “digital” to minister to people.
Digital strategies (DS) are a way to accelerate and progress in our shared mission as Campus Crusade for Christ International. We are a missionary movement committed to going where people are. God has called us to help fulfill the Great Commission. Digital strategies leverage “all things digital” (1 Corinthians 9:22) to help us fulfill our mission.
What is Digital Academy?
Although Campus Crusade for Christ has a specific organizational strategy called Global Digital Strategies (GDS), this training site is not specifically about GDS. This site provides guidance for how to implement digital strategies in your day-to-day ministry, whether you plant churches, work with students, athletes or leaders, or serve in a different ministry context.
This site focuses on engaging people wherever they are on their journey with Jesus by offering them personalized online experiences that help them move toward becoming multiplying disciples. Through this site we desire to mobilize a new generation of missionaries with digital skills and interests.
I am not “techy.” Is this training website for me?
Digital Academy is for anyone who wants to use digital strategies as a part of their ministry. We call this person a “digital practitioner.” Whether or not you consider yourself “techy,” and regardless of which strategy you serve in, Digital Academy is for you.
Digital practitioners are impacting lives in Student-Led Movements (SLM), Global Church Movements (GCM), Leader Strategies (LS), Jesus Film Project (JFP), and Global Digital Strategies (GDS). Most of these digital practitioners started without a background in digital strategies.
No matter your starting point, Digital Academy can set you on the path to becoming an effective digital practitioner, helping you grow and accelerate your win-build-send ministry.
What does the term “audience” mean and why do we use it in digital strategies?
This is an important question because in a ministry context the word audience can feel corporate, distant or even transactional. That is the opposite of what we want the word to feel like. Using audience reminds us to center what we do on the people we are serving with our ministry — people Jesus loves and died for. We love our audience(s) when we prioritize them and their needs.
We define the term audience as:
A specific group of people we seek to serve, to understand and to help take their next step toward Jesus.
Audience does not mean:
- Consumers or customers.
- Targets.
- Anonymous crowds.
Audience does mean:
People with shared questions, contexts and spiritual starting points.
When we define an audience, we communicate that:
- We want to understand people deeply.
- We want to meet them where they are.
- We don’t want to approach people in a one-size-fits-all way.
- We want to steward our efforts wisely.
In digital environments especially, if you don’t define an audience, you end up speaking to “everyone.” Talking to everyone effectively reaches no one. When you try to reach everyone online with the same message, it can appear vague and irrelevant to each group of people. Generic messages don’t resonate with the needs, challenges or desires of the audience you’re actually trying to reach.
I have so many questions about AI. Where do I start?
You are not alone! We in Global Digital Strategies also have many questions. AI evolves constantly and has broad implications for digital strategies. It can be a great blessing and is also potentially destructive.
To help you navigate AI, here are a few starting points:
- You can read the latest organizational guidance and governance around using AI for ministry in this document.
- Go through our practical training on how to use AI in your content strategy.
- If you would like to talk with or hear from others who are learning and experimenting in the AI space, you can join the Global Digital Strategies group on WhatsApp or Workvivo.
Digital and In-Person Ministry
How digital and face-to-face ministry relate to each other and what that means for how you work.
I work in face-to-face, in-person ministry. Are digital strategies replacing that?
No, digital strategies (DS) are not replacing personal connections. Instead, digital creates new pathways for personal ministry. We live in a “hybrid” world where people live both online and offline. Digital can act as a bridge, engaging people where they are (on their phones and online) and often leading them to in-person meetings, events or communities. Digital strategies complement your existing work rather than competing with it and allow you to reach a broader scope than you normally would when using only face-to-face ministry.
Should digital always lead to in-person ministry?
Yes and no. Digital should always lead to real relationships that help people grow toward Jesus. Each method we use in ministry, whether an online social media engagement or a week-long mission trip, is designed to help people on their spiritual journeys toward becoming multiplying disciples. The events or content are not the journey itself. Real relationships are fundamental to both online and in-person activities.
In an ideal world, every person we engage with online would have an opportunity to connect with people in person in their location. But in many cases, this is not possible. Sometimes no community exists in their location. Other times, our specific in-person ministry opportunities don’t fit their schedule or needs. And sometimes a field team does not have the capacity to follow up with every person who is willing to meet face to face.
Therefore, digital strategies should support people in taking in-person faith steps when they are ready. However, the goal must always be to support someone’s spiritual journey. We want to help people move toward becoming multiplying disciples in the context of relationship. We don’t just want to get people to an event or in-person meet-up.
Why digital now? Why prioritize digital when we’re already stretched?
Your audiences are already living in a digital reality. Everyone you are trying to reach is online.
Now, more than ever, we cannot partake in missions without thinking about how we connect with people online. If we do not grow in our ability to meet and engage our audiences in this space, we will not be able to accomplish our calling of building movements everywhere. We are called to help fulfill the Great Commission. Let’s go where people are, including digital spaces.
“Online is the world’s biggest campus.” — Campus staff member in France
What is hybrid ministry?
Hybrid ministry is the intentional integration of physical and digital environments to build multiplying spiritual movements. In hybrid ministry, digital and face-to-face engagement work together to move people through win-build-send journeys.
Hybrid ministry is not:
- Streaming events.
- Using a PDF to complement your in-person event.
- Tracking your stats in an app.
Hybrid ministry is a strategic approach that:
- Meets people where they already live (online and offline).
- Helps you design seamless spiritual journeys across platforms (online and offline).
- Strengthens evangelism, discipleship and leader multiplication.
- Expands scope without losing relational depth.
Hybrid ministry utilizes digital space as a real mission space — not just as a promotion tool. It recognizes that people no longer experience life in separate “online” and “real” worlds. They move fluidly between both. Therefore, ministry must do the same.
For example, after you meet a student and have a conversation with them, you invite them to your ministry WhatsApp channel. On the channel, you send out a group message with a NextSteps journey that shares the gospel. A call to action in the journey could be an invitation to meet and discuss questions they have.
Getting Started
How to take your first steps, what you actually need and how to find support along the way.
What prerequisites do I need to know and what skills do I need to have to try digital ministry?
The most important prerequisite is a willingness to learn, to try new things and to grow. Because digital changes quickly, a willingness to learn and adapt is far more important than mastering a specific technology or toolset. You will also need a willingness to learn about the audience you seek to reach and a willingness to adapt your strategy based on that ongoing learning.
I’m new to this and want to become a digital practitioner. Where do I start?
We recommend that you:
- Discern with your leader the goals you desire to accomplish.
- Start with the Essentials course. This will walk you through the foundations of digital strategies and enable you to build your own user journey for your audience.
- Connect with another digital practitioner and have a conversation to learn from them. If you need help finding someone, let us know via email: digitalacademy@ccci.org. We are happy to help.
What if I don’t have a team or a budget?
You can still do meaningful ministry without a team or a budget. You will want to start small and with focus. What is one simple ministry goal you have that digital could support? What is one audience that you want to focus on? The Essentials course will help you learn how to create a user journey that you can test, without any financial cost.
We also encourage you to ask other people if they can help. You’ll be surprised by how many people have skills that can contribute toward creating user journeys for your audience.
Who do I need on the team to succeed in Digital Strategies (DS)?
What you need on a DS team depends on your desired goals. You will need a clear content strategy (see The Essentials) and, in most cases, people who can develop content or are willing to learn how to develop content. Above all, you need a willingness to be a continual learner and to experiment. Key roles to consider include content creators (writers, designers, etc.), a social media manager, and a strategist (planning and executing).
Many people start without a full team. You can start on your own. Later, you can consider recruiting part-time help from other staff members within the ministry, as well as volunteers from outside the organization.
Frameworks, Tools and Challenges
How the Content Strategy Framework and toolset work, where to find more resources and what to do when things feel hard.
What is the difference between digital strategies and content strategy?
Simply put, digital strategies are how a team or national ministry uses digital to do win-build-send ministry. The term is general and encompasses any digital ministry activity you might do.
Content strategy is more specific. It is the framework we use to create user journeys that help move a specific audience through defined spiritual actions using digital content. Content strategy is getting the right content to the right person, on the right channel, at the right time. It is a focused way to implement digital strategies. You need to use the content strategy framework for each user journey you create. Learn about or review the content strategy framework here.
What is the Content Strategy Toolset? How does it help me?
The Content Strategy Toolset refers to a suite of globally supported digital tools available to teams trying to implement digital strategies in their context, specifically those utilizing the content strategy framework. Each of these tools supports a different aspect of your strategy to better engage with your audience. We have dedicated an entire section of Digital Academy to the Content Strategy Toolset.
How is Digital Strategies ministry different from Operations, IT and Communications?
- Operations, IT and Communications serve the corporate needs of our organization, increasing our effectiveness for the mission.
- Communications and Digital Strategies are both “outward-facing” (i.e., for those outside of the organization) and both utilize the content strategy framework. But Communications tends toward representing our organization to our ministry partners.
- Digital Strategies, as a strategy of Campus Crusade for Christ International, focuses on using digital to do frontline, win-build-send ministry.
- Good understanding and coordination among these functions is critical for the success of our ministry. As we often say, people don’t care how you’re organized; they only care that you are organized.
Are digital strategies really effective? Where can I find stories of impact to share with my leaders?
Yes, digital strategies are effective! Behind every screen is a real person with a real story. We engage with people in every country and see real lives changed by Jesus. Every strategy (SLM, GCM, Leader Strategies, JFP, etc.) uses digital strategies. For shareable stories, visit our GDS Workvivo group and/or subscribe to our monthly Digital Download e-newsletter.
What are common hurdles that digital strategists face? How would you overcome them?
Digital ministry can be complex, and it takes time to learn and understand digital culture. Make sure you work to learn about digital strategies, just as you spent time and energy learning about your current or previous ministry. You will need to understand how all the pieces fit together, and how to leverage the relevant tools and resources available to best serve your audience(s). Digital Academy exists to untangle the complexity of digital and help you focus your resources on what will more effectively reach your audience. Learning and understanding how to do ministry in the digital world will also take practice, just as learning and understanding your current or previous ministry did. This will take time.
What if I try something and it doesn’t work?
Digital ministry takes some trial and error. But even if you try something and it doesn’t work, you’ve learned something new. Consider this: failure is data, and data informs learning. Failure can provide the information you need for what to learn and for future success.
Learning strengthens your ability to effectively reach people. This makes you a more agile and adaptive digital practitioner.
Think about digital strategies as iterative learning loops or experiments. Start small, learn, adapt, try again. Your audiences will thank you.
Where can I find other helpful resources?
Explore Digital Academy.
After exploring Digital Academy, connect with our extended global DS network for new ideas and to continue learning best practices for digital strategies.
- Join our Workvivo group or WhatsApp group.
- Subscribe to our monthly Digital Download e-newsletter.
- Reach out to your regional DS leader or other members of our global DS network. People are available to coach you, and we have a thriving network of digital practitioners from various strategies and experience levels. You can find us in the Workvivo group, or message us here ______.
If you need IT support:
- Email help@cru.org.
- Visit Help Ducks, a hub for technology help and solutions.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact us at digitalacademy@ccci.org