What Your Audience Needs Most From You

Recently, Pastor Mike Novotny joined Trent and Nils on the Decisions podcast and shared ministry insight from his book, How to Heal. We hope his words encourage you.

Pastors are able to reach more people than ever before thanks to modern technology. We truly have an opportunity to advance the gospel like no other time in history. It’s a profound privilege – to look into a camera lens and speak to more people than the Apostle Paul ever spoke to in person!

But although media expands your audience beyond that of your church, the challenge comes with the host of people listening in the midst of very different circumstances.

How do you speak to an abuser listening in a jail cell, while simultaneously speaking to his abused wife on your back pew?

And what about people who were raised in different religions? Or the person who has never heard the name of Jesus listening at the same time as the person who has been in church since the day they were born? It’s a humbling challenge that creates a desperate need for the Holy Spirit to show up and speak through you.

Not only are there multiple contexts of people listening, there are multiple ways in which they are engaging with your content. So as we create content, we must look at the biblical construct and package it in a way that people can understand it, no matter their experiences.

One thing is for sure: Every listener is bringing some type of baggage to the table.

So how can we prepare content with that in mind?

It starts with this mindset: There is a place for anyone and everyone at God’s table. Whether it’s Zacchaeus, Saul, Moses, or David, God welcomes broken people into His family by His grace. And as a pastor, you can be sure there is always someone like that listening to your message.

So often, we become numb to the numbers. But every statistic is a story and every number has a name. We think, Fifty people listened to my podcast and 106 people liked this YouTube video.

Think about that: 106 actual people watched that video, and God did something in their hearts that moved them to click that little thumbs-up button. You might not ever know their names, what inspired them to watch, or why they were moved by it. But they aren’t just numbers.

Someone was abused. Someone was living in shame. Someone was about to make a terrible decision. And then, God used your message while they were folding laundry, driving in their car, or just sitting in bed watching YouTube.

So with that realization, keep sowing!  Seeds can bring back way more than you expect. And just like the sower in Matthew 13, may we continue to find fresh new ways to sow our seeds in as many ways as possible, praying they fall on good soil along the way.

For more insight into advancing the gospel through media, check out the Decisions Podcast episode, How Jesus Brings Healing with Pastor Mike Novotny.


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