Easter Online
A Guide for Churches During Coronavirus

Ready to take church online? We’re here to help with free tech solutions and resources.

 

Church as we know it has changed in a matter of weeks.

Was your church fully prepared to transition to online-only ministry? Or are you among those scrambling to adapt your weekly services and stay connected at this critical time? At Ministry Brands, we proudly equip over 115,000 churches with software built to help ministries serve. We’ve spent years thinking through how churches can connect and engage beyond church walls.

Our mission in building this page is to provide your church with free resources and technology to quickly ramp up your online ministry.

 

We understand this will mean rethinking how you “do church” and that everything can’t happen overnight. That’s why you’ll see us posting new content frequently. We’ll also continue to host live webinars with practical tips from our product leaders, many of whom have extensive backgrounds in ministry. We’re ready to help you serve beyond the church walls with advice for transitioning ministries online.

Bookmark this page and keep coming back.

Rethinking Ministry

Run your...

 

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  Sunday Sermon   

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          Offering         

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  Announcements  

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The headline and subheader tells us what you're offering, and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for.

Remember:

  • Bullets are great
  • For spelling out benefits and
  • Turning visitors into leads.

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Children's Ministry

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     Connections      

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            Easter           

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In Support of Your Ministry, We're Offering Free Solutions

 

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30 days of free mass texting

Keep ministry lines of communication open during the COVID-19 outbreak. You’ll be able to quickly text your entire congregation about any service disruptions or changes.

Get started

 

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Free text giving and 90 days of free mobile church app

Offer easy ways to give and connect during this uncertain time. Your ministry can equip people to be generous anywhere, anytime in seconds. 

Get started

 

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60 days of free live streaming

Reach those unable to attend services and events, or in the case of cancellations, with Church Streaming. Our team is here to help new churches get set up and running ASAP.

Get started

 

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Your Easter

Take Your Ministry Online for Easter

 

Say hello to the challenge you never expected: the single biggest attendance day of the year is closing in on churches and we can’t even meet in person. That doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a church community, but it does mean we have to work differently to do so. 

 

First, though, let’s make one thing clear: there is no wrong way to do an Online Easter. Some church staff may have more experience using technology for ministry, but we’re all in this together. Take it one step at a time, lead with love, and rest assured you are serving your people as best you can.

Something Powerful

Tell The Reader More

The headline and subheader tells us what you're offering, and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for.

Remember:

  • Bullets are great
  • For spelling out benefits and
  • Turning visitors into leads.

Leverage technology to support your Online Easter

At Ministry Brands, we’ve helped hundreds of thousands of churches use integrated church software to support the way they serve. Our mission is to empower as many ministries as possible with technology to celebrate Easter during the Coronavirus outbreak. We’re offering 60 Days of Live Streaming, 90 Days of a Church App, Free Text Giving, and 30 Days of Mass Text Messaging.

 

How to host an Online Easter

  1. Brainstorm with your leadership team
  2. Determine which online approaches will work best for you
  3. Train on the technology you want to use (live streaming, church app, online giving, etc.)
  4. Communicate plans to your community (train them on how to tune in and engage)
  5. Be flexible and give yourself grace. The goal is not perfection; it’s connection

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Your Sunday Sermon

Grow and Launch a Live Streaming Ministry

 

This Easter, many churches will need to take ministry online in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. You can quickly launch a live streaming ministry to stay connected and share your message. We’re here to help you through that challenge for free. 

 

Live streaming allows your church community to stay engaged from anywhere at any time. But, because every church is different, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. While each church needs to decide which option is best for them, their decision will come down to these factors: Your goal, the cost, time, and resources.

It’s best to think of live streaming as a process. Start simple, expand and stabilize, and create community.

 

Something Powerful

Tell The Reader More

The headline and subheader tells us what you're offering, and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for.

Remember:

  • Bullets are great
  • For spelling out benefits and
  • Turning visitors into leads.

Live stream with a solution built just for ministry. Free for 60 days


ChurchStreaming provides a stable platform for churches to control their stream, with 1:1 support available when you need it most, Sunday morning. We’re offering 60 days of free live streaming to help churches during the Coronavirus outbreak. Please review Getting started with Live Streaming before signing up for this solution.

 

Get started

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Your Offering

Grow Your Online and Text Giving

 

 

While you plan your online Easter, consider how you can make giving as easy as possible for your people. Many churches offer online giving, but haven’t had to rely on it very heavily in the past. Social distancing and shelter-at-home orders are rapidly changing that. Offer extremely easy donation options while you take your ministry online to empower people to continue tithing during the Coronavirus outbreak. 

 

We believe giving is an act of worship. At this challenging time, your church can make that as convenient as possible by reminding people how to use your online giving platform. Share tutorials (below) along with authentic, compelling reasons to give during your new online Easter service. This might mean creating a new fund for those hurt financially because of the outbreak or an outreach program you’re using to spread hope. Align your congregation with what matters most.

Something Powerful

Tell The Reader More

The headline and subheader tells us what you're offering, and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for.

Remember:

  • Bullets are great
  • For spelling out benefits and
  • Turning visitors into leads.

Make giving as easy as possible with free text giving

 

Text is the most convenient, secure giving solution for your ministry and it takes just seconds to complete a donation. Using a unique 10-digit giving number, donors can give in just 2 steps. They simply enter an amount and press send. 


In support of your ministry we’re offering free text giving to help during this uncertain time. Equip people to be generous anywhere, anytime in seconds.

Get started

 

 

 

For Admins:

When setting up your account, have the following ready:

  • A copy of a voided check (for where you would like the funds deposited)
  • A copy of the account manager’s driver’s license
  • A copy of 501c3 documentation or a federal document that confirms your tax ID #
  • Your church’s website or Facebook page URL with contact information matching what is provided on the application (i.e. organization’s physical address and phone number).

  • How to Launch Giving Course
  • Leadership Soft Launch

 

For Donors:


Additional Resources


 

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Your Announcements

Keep Lines of Communication Open with Mass Messaging

 

Feel like your regular church and Easter service plans are changing by the minute? Having an effective crisis communication plan might have felt less important in February 2020 than it does now. Connect with your people quickly through SMS text messaging to ensure they get the important alerts your church wants to communicate.

Something Powerful

Tell The Reader More

The headline and subheader tells us what you're offering, and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for.

Remember:

  • Bullets are great
  • For spelling out benefits and
  • Turning visitors into leads.

Use mass texting to spread the Word. Now free for 30 days


In support of your ministry, we’re offering 30 days of unlimited mass texting for new sign ups.* You’ll be able to quickly text your entire congregation critical information, like any changes your church is making to continue ministry and how you're celebrating Easter differently this year.

Get started
*Already using a Ministry Brands church management software solution?

  • easyTithe+
  • Church Office Online
  • ShelbyNext Community
  • FellowshipOne
  • Elexio
  • Simple Church CRM
  • Clover People
  • Ekklesia 360 CHMS

Good news. This feature is integrated and easy to set up, plus you can send 500 free SMS messages per month. Learn more. 

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Your Connections

Use a Church App to Engage and Build Community

 
As you prepare for an online Easter, consider launching a church app. While many churches have taken this step, there’s really never been a more critical time or better use for this helpful ministry tool than now. A church app has the power to connect your people and brings multiple ministry tools together in one place. With a church app, people can:

  • Submit and respond to prayer requests
  • View and listen to sermons
  • Donate right from a phone
  • See push notifications with urgent announcements
  • Register and pay for events
  • Check-in remotely (great for when your children's ministry resumes but also useful to track attendance during an online Easter!)

Something Powerful

Tell The Reader More

The headline and subheader tells us what you're offering, and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for.

Remember:

  • Bullets are great
  • For spelling out benefits and
  • Turning visitors into leads.

Use a mobile church app to connect this Easter—totally free


Launching a church app at this time can create the connection your church will be missing as they practice social distancing and shelter at home. In support of your ministry, we’re offering 90 days of MinistryOne, our church app, free. MinistryOne is built to work with Ministry Brands giving and church management software solutions, plus ChurchStreaming. Yes, in this uncertain time, there actually is an app for that.

 

How to get started with the MinistryOne church app


1. Sign up using this form
2. Connect your giving, church software, and live streaming accounts
3. Spread the word via email, website, and social media to connect people

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Your Children's Ministry

Be There for Your Families in New Ways

 

Perhaps one of the most daunting challenges of a remote ministry is attempting to recreate a sense of community with the children your ministry serves. Young minds thrive on in-person connections and physical activities. Your church will need to get creative and use technology to go into these homes and engage. 

 

The key here is adapting. Don’t be afraid to try a few approaches and figure out which one works best. From live streaming children’s worship (see Getting Started with Live Streaming) to sending printable activities and having Sunday School teachers “meet” with their students over video conference software, there is no wrong way to do it. The important thing is to continually express the love of Christ and encourage them to live out that love in their daily lives. 

Something Powerful

Tell The Reader More

The headline and subheader tells us what you're offering, and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for.

Remember:

  • Bullets are great
  • For spelling out benefits and
  • Turning visitors into leads.

Engage children with a message of love 

Sharefaith Kids has been developing engaging digital curriculum materials for children’s ministries for years and has some amazing free lessons you can share with families as you adapt your children’s ministry. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we’ve made a 30-day family devotional series totally free to support families spending unexpected time together during social distancing.

 

Getting started with online children’s ministry

  1. Assess your team’s availability and tech abilities
  2. Tap into resources children will enjoy
  3. Jump in and launch programming. Don’t be afraid to try new things!

 

Get started with App, Text Giving, or Mass Messaging

Get started with streaming