DMC

Executive summary

Digital Ministry Church is a non-profit Christian organization that offers outreach services to local and nationwide communities in order to connect them to an in-house church of worship. Effectively, our mission is to locate religiously displaced or unaffiliated individuals who utilize the internet through social media, blogging sites, or other related discussion platforms, create faith-based relationships through Christian case-working methods, and inevitably introduce them to an accessible church family in their demographic location.

As an outreach ministry, we cater to both the physical and spiritual necessities for sustaining life. Our goal then is to not only provide the Word of God but operate as a bridge for those in immediate need of community support. DMC will serve as a resource guide and, at times, offer direct intervention through home visitations, consultations, advocation, travel assistance, and financial aid during crisis-related dilemmas.                    

As the President and Founder of DMC, I have had the privilege of working first-hand with those suffering from mental health issues, drug addiction, abuse, neglect, homelessness, and unemployment, but I have yet had the honor to thoroughly assist those who have concerns in matters of faith. Too many organizations serve a one-sided focus by leading others to water and leaving them thirsty. DMC sees to it that those who want to live on bread will not live on bread alone but take part of the bread of Life and drink from the well of living water. Essentially, the purpose of establishing DMC is to fulfill the demands of both the stomach and heart for a completely Christlike and person-centered approach.            

Ministry Description

For further clarification, DMC will provide a dual purpose in order to best represent the universal church body. Here, we will function and act as a ministerial bridge between the Word and the world. It would ultimately support all ages, races, nationalities, creeds, and beliefs held by those who are burdened by the many demands we face daily. For in the same Spirit of Christ who separates the sheep and goats at the Great Judgement, we stand with those who proactively work to benefit the least of our brothers and sisters, worldly or not. As this is our true goal, in practical terms, we use means of direct intervention via computer, phone, or in-person meetings to establish a needs-based action plan and then attempt to meet the more immediate challenges such as food, clothing, shelter, education, medical, mental health, employment, budgeting, housing, childcare, and addiction referral services. Our operation utilizes sources of outside funding such as partnerships, sponsors, and donations to provide emergency transportation, pastoral counseling, church consulting, and referrals to other community service providers.

Although the main hub of our organization is located in the City of Wichita, DMC extends its reach all across the Nation through online platforms. Since we are yet capable of offering physical support across state lines, we assist and advocate for others by locating appropriate providers through alternate geographic areas and establishing initial and follow-up care. Since many para-ministries and churches already possess essential facilities for outreach and worship events, DMC emphasizes the use of holding hybrid services in order to broaden the potential for gathering new congregational members in order to funnel them towards an in-person worship service.

As a newly developing non-profit, we aim to meet the needs of those that the physical church cannot or has not been able to reach. Once an individual or organization partners with Digital Ministry Church, we proceed to scout for the lost sheep and connect them to an available church family. Where the church could not physically provide, we would also work directly with potential members and offer support to meet their basic living requirements so they might be able to survive within the surrounding community.                           

Market Analysis and Strategy

Granted, our target audience may include those not even connected to an internet source or have phone or computer access. For those that fall under this demographic, we would be able to immediately counsel them about attending a local church or at least offer access to a personal device in order to connect with them digitally.

My experience with those in search of objective, moral truth comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and beliefs. Whether someone is Christian or not, the intent is not to judge someone based on their current understanding of the Gospel or lack of faith but to simply adopt a phrase coined by Ruth Peale, wife of Reverend Norman Peale, which is to “see a need and fill a need.”

With this foundation, DMC believes that by demonstrating this kind of compassion and commitment to humankind, we are representing ourselves as Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God by loving others as Christ loves us. Therefore, our primary target is everyone, everywhere. This may seem too broad an audience for some organizations, but DMC desires to search high and low for any mouth to feed and every ear to hear the Good News.

As an online ministry, we are capable of broadcasting our messages through many social platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram. We are currently in the process of building more brand awareness across multiple streaming locations, chat outlets, and web pages for optimal promotion. Our projection is that these web accounts will be established prior to the launch of our 501(c)(3) in the Fall of 2023.

Once connected to prospective attendees through social media sites, DMC would continue to build interest, make inquiries, promote, and encourage engagement in our services. After establishing a rapport with interested investors, we would schedule a follow-up conference, through any medium, to create a specific plan of care that would highlight areas of their natural and spiritual requests. After clarifying what we can and cannot achieve, we create an agenda of completion and then connect them to a qualifying church or community organization that can meet these demands.             

Marketing Plan

Word of mouth has been the method of communication since before the oral traditions of the First Century B.C. Just over the last few hundred years, we moved from paper advertisements to electronic transmission and now can finally move at a lightning-speed pace because of the birth of the digital era. Operating primarily as an online church, we can partner with our locally established agencies that specialize in promotional advertisements and networking events. By adopting publicly available organizations such as the Small Business Administration or our state’s Non-Profit Chamber, we can establish memberships with hundreds of individuals and businesses that are looking for supportive allies. There is also a myriad of paid marketing agencies that specifically work to provide digital media planning, brand recognition, content creation, graphic design, and a host of management services.

There is certainly no shortage of professional guidance in the City of Wichita, so at the current time, DMC will continue working closely with those who would be an asset in creating relational connections to our target market. Until the 501(c)(3) has been legally established, our efforts will focus on building a financial foundation, networking with our community providers, and utilizing free or affordable options to promote awareness through social media and web-based channels. The growth of our ministry takes old-fashioned methods and transposes them to a digital platform where high traffic is present.

Our aim is to reach a demographic that has slipped through the cracks of our culture’s churches, shelters, or resource centers and provide supplemental care until they are able to reintegrate into the community and unite with a house of faith. What is unique about our ministry is that we offer both personal and indirect support that encourages quality of life and fosters spiritual relationships.                    

 Competitive Analysis

One of the best aspects of DMC is that it does not separate itself from the competition because it is, by nature, cooperative and complementary. Normally, when a business becomes recognized, it usually is defined by special attributes that would set it apart from its competitors. The beauty of our non-profit is that we operate to serve the public, not our pockets. Our motto is: We are not-for-profit; we are for people.

If we have any competition, it would be the many organizations that promise the sky but instead misappropriate funds that would otherwise be spent feeding, clothing, or serving the cause. For instance, Sadie Cornelius wrote an article in June of 2022 entitled, What Are the Best and Worst Charities to Donate To? She mentions that “some only give a measly 2% towards those efforts and upwards of 70% on salaries, professional fundraisers, and marketing.” Although these are important aspects of a non-profit to function, the intent was never about bolstering our own businesses but the have-nots with greater indigence. We seek to provide a level of dignity and personal attention to our members that sustenance and financial support alone cannot provide.

As we begin to introduce weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly devotional and promotional videos, it is our hope that through Bible study sessions, testimonials, and sermonettes, we can grow interested in the Word of God, create longstanding relationships with the community, and expand the congregational body of our partnering churches. What makes DMC different than other ministries is our ability to personally guide individuals to having their needs met, not just with their material requirements but align them to their divine calling through discipleship.                 

Management and Organization Description

As of now, DMC is compiling a group of board members to satisfy the 501(c)(3) requirements for the state of Kansas. Though it was recommended to have more accountability by introducing more board members to this organization, we are only still a developing non-profit and will likely involve more interested individuals as we progress.

Currently, we have placeholders for four potential candidates who have expressed curiosity about a position. As of now, the pending members of DMC’s board of directors are close, personal friends of mine who have had years of experience in either banking, non-profits, or ministry planting. The management hierarchy would likely go as follows: Michael Hicks; President and Founder of Digital Ministry Church, Gary Donovan; Vice President and former VP of First National/Intrust Bank of 30 years, Sammy Rivera; Secretary and bi-lingual Pastor of El Camino City Church in Wichita, Kansas, and Ralph Kaufman; Treasurer and Digital Pastor of The Pastor’s Study on Facebook.

Each of these professionals has skill sets that are beneficial to the mission and vision of DMC. Upon their induction as trustee members, they would serve as an oversight and consultant committee by exercising their voting rights and carrying out specific promotional requirements through advocacy in the community. Until we have succeeded in building a substantial financial foundation, we will actively pursue fundraising options, grants, and donations as our main source of funding.

Ministry Content - Description and Production

Since we are a small group of educated and faithful specialists, our abilities to produce regular content are solely left to the discretion of the individual person to execute once agreed upon by the parameters of its governing board. For instance, as our by-laws are becoming established, they will involve a clause for allowing individual freedom to produce, create, and develop content, in good faith of the organization that seeks to connect with like-minded individuals, businesses, or organizations believed to partner well with DMC. As a rule of thumb, if the board is not able to convene until the next scheduled meeting, we would be able to communicate informally through phone, email, or internet conference about our concerns, requests, suggestions, or emergency changes needed for consideration. 

The brunt of our digitally-based work would be to host conferencing calls for individual or group Bible study, pastoral counseling, advocacy, and adoption of a home church and/or function as an intermediary for community services providers and its affiliates. The Board will assist in developing criteria for the templates required for Christian case-work and take steps for consistent and repeatable implementation, ensuring quality control in how we serve and disciple. Once a volunteer base is utilized, it would allow others to work vicariously through each other to accomplish an accumulative effect, ultimately doing the greater works that Jesus Christ alludes to in John 14:12.

The costs for such an operation would be based on an out-of-pocket expense until other forms of finance become available. Essentially, the governing board will assume the risks in capital expenditure in utilizing our personal devices to network and promote our intentions until adequate community support becomes obtainable. To paraphrase Proverbs 31:8-9, I would say, “For those that can, do. For those that cannot teach. We will speak for the destitute, poor, and needy on any platform and on any budget.                       

Operating Plan

This ministry can be classified as a hybrid organization that combines the use of in-person and virtual meetings to optimally reach a broader population. We would not hold weekly worship sessions like most churches are in the habit of doing but rather occupy our time by inviting guests to take part in our personalized planning profile that identifies specific sociological needs, all the while incorporating spiritual guidance and referral options for long-term care. With access to streaming capabilities, each of our board members and trusted volunteers would have access to a portable broadcast studio, e.g., phone, laptop, desktop, high-end encoding hardware, etc., that can help develop a rapport through networking events and online engagements. This is truly a flexible business model that can run on multiple sites, locations, and platforms because each trained personnel would represent DMC authentically without fear of denigrating our reputation. Through the use of hybrid communication methods, we can save more on operational costs and redirect funds towards more meaningful, cause-worthy expenses.  

Once active, DMC will begin scheduling public meetings with potential clients on a first-come, first serve basis. As the patronage is building through organic encounters and testimonials, the goal would then be to create fundraising campaigns after demonstrating our valued presence and relevancy to the community we have been assisting.

This all starts with a conversation, be it an in-person or electronic interface; we pray with those in need of God’s salvation, we make petitions in support of their physical applications, and we offer continual comfort in follow-up care until they have successfully embraced a church family. Ideally, our physical church should be able and willing to offer any further support needed, and our services would no longer be required.            

Financial Projection and Needs

There are many channels that DMC will be able to participate in once fully established. As previously mentioned, much of our business will be handled personally through referral and volunteer programs, recurring or planned to give during community-organized events, grants from corporate sponsors, foundations, or other means of public, private, or federated funds. Since these options can be arduous and difficult to secure, we will use an effective, common sense approach that combines earned income from selling goods and services and direct donor reinforcement.

A three-phase initiative would be an acceptable milestone to which DMC could devote attention. This would outline the three basic steps of financial stability. The first phase begins with out-of-pocket expenses and non-paid platforms to promote the impending launch of our 501(c)(3) outreach ministry. After gaining enough traffic from established accounts of the most popular social media sites, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., and website marketing, phase two would involve an active search for monetary gifts or in-kind donations from local organizations that complement DMC and serve the public good. If this phase is successful in networking through a list of qualified sponsors and potential partners, our third phase would include the pursuit of knowledgeable grant writing agencies to assist in the lengthy process and competitive pool of applicants in search of aid. Finally, if all has been attempted and proven unreliable, we may resort to voting on loan financing and equity capital to supplement our losses from federal, state, and local government programs. 

Exhibits and Appendices

We have partnered with a company called StartChurch, based out of Lawrenceville, Georgia, which is helping DMC to obtain a 501(c)(3) status in order to maximize our legal protection and grow our church ministry. They have over 20 years of experienced CPAs and church planting specialists that will keep our organization accountable to the public we wish to represent. Over the next several months, our immediate goals will be to build a community presence by introducing our governing body to social networking channels while StartChurch helps us develop the ability to receive donations, file our articles of incorporation, structure our bylaws and policies, and apply for a Federal Employer Identification Number for banking purposes.

For long-term consideration, it would be beneficial to adopt a separate corporation known as a CDC or Community Development Corporation that acts as a supplementary branch for outreach which would qualify for additional grant funding and partnerships not normally available to the churches and ministries. If a separate corporation seems too burdensome, a for-profit arm would be a worthwhile compromise as it would also help generate income through tax-free dividends if tithes or offerings prove unreliable sources of income for DMC.

The super-objective is not about accruing wealth but securing and maintaining a financial foundation that is capable of serving our surrounding communities for generations. DMC maintains its viability because our supporters believe in our cause. In simplest terms, our vision is this: We strive to serve the least and lost through advocation and valued connections. Our mission is: to ensure everyone, everywhere, has heard the Gospel. (Mt 24:14)