Will You Help Me “Give Birth” to a New Ministry?


Indiana2The Vinson family has moved back to Indiana. There are different reasons for our move and multiple indications from God it is the right thing to do.

In addition, I am beginning a new phase of ministry. It is different from anything I’ve ever done, but the culmination of everything I’ve ever done.

“NOTHING EVER GOES AS PLANNED…”

Tower of PisaWow… Isn’t that the truth! Over the course of my life, I’ve had ‘plans’ to join the military, work in law enforcement, do youth ministry, teach at a bible college, preach at churches (ones started by others and one started by myself), be a screenwriter and director, and even make some money through network marketing.

All of which might lead you to ask – “Is this just one more thing Steve is doing?”
I totally understand, but even though “nothing ever goes as planned”—

God Always Has a Plan…

cross stitchYou know the illustration about our lives being like the back side of an embroidery? We see all these ragged threads and wonder what they all mean and how they fit together? But, when you turn it over, you see a beautiful picture. Well, I don’t know about you, but that perfectly describes my life.

As I said, this new ministry is different than anything I’ve ever done, but it is truly the culmination of everything I’ve ever done. Everything God has led me through and brought together to form something I never imagined. Let me tell you how God has used past experiences to bring me to this point…

  • Preaching… Someone once told me, “You’re a preacher, not a pastor.” How true! In fact, all of my time being a preacher had shown me, my ‘style’ is more of a Teacher. So, I want to focus on teaching.
  • Screenwriting… It was a big decision to step away from preaching and focus full-time on screenwriting and later filmmaking. When I came to realize how much I missed preaching and teaching, I wondered at first if I had wasted part of my life? NOT AT ALL! The time I spent honing my writing skills – especially in the area of THEME has been nothing short of life-changing when it comes to my preaching and teaching. This new ministry comes directly out of that experience.
  • Starting Transforming Life Christian Church… I never intended (i.e., ‘planned’!) on starting a church. And even then, all of the details (e.g., where and what) were nothing like I initially planned. AND, I didn’t plan on leaving after less than two years, but… with a new church and what I learned from screenwriting, I took a new approach to preaching. I preached through Matthew, James and Ephesians. Beginning to end. Taking as long as it took. All I can say is, “Wow! That God sure knows how to write a book!” And digging into to those books like I do now (with a focus on Reflecting vs. just Observing and Applying) has been incredible! I’ve been a Christian for almost 40 years, a preacher for 20 years, and a student for long enough to get a Master’s degree in theology – but I have learned more in the last 2 years than ever before. I want to share what I’m doing with as many Christians (and Christian leaders) as possible!
  • Network Marketing… OK, be honest – Who has never joined a ‘multi-level marketing’ company? It always sounds so good, right! I did one out of college. Another about 5 years ago. I swore I would never join another one after that. But… a friend of Lisa’s called her… You know how it goes. WELL, the ‘product’ has been great, but the business side… It went just well enough to keep me going, but not well enough to impact our finances. Because of that, we looked at a way to market our business on the internet. SURPRISE! It ‘didn’t go as planned.’ BUT, what it did was show me a way to have a viable (i.e., financially supporting!) teaching ministry, focused around a blog.

So, what’s it all look like…

If the Lord wills

THE MINISTRY SIDE

I am hesitant to say “here is my plan,” but I will follow James’ instruction and say, ‘If the Lord wills, I will live and do this or that.’

Everything centers around my blog. I will post three videos each week. In them, I will ‘dig into’ a specific verse or topic.

Often, I will get other qualified Christians to teach on a subject. The videos will be 3-5 minutes long. (I heard those laughs from all of you who don’t think I can keep them that short!) I will break down deeper and more involved subjects, which will be good – since I have 150+ of these to do each year!

In addition, one of my MAJOR goals will be to help other Christians learn how to Reflect on a passage and discern the theme/lesson. To do that, I will have an extended video that teaches people the Observe – Reflect – Apply steps to studying a bible passage. There will also be regular times when I do live webinars, to help people learn these steps and hone their skills. And, I will offer an interactive seminar (available in person and online) for churches.

Another ministry resource I’m VERY excited about developing is a ‘Seven Hour Seminary.’ This will be 14 30-minute classes, giving people basic teaching of the bible and theology. Here’s the class lineup:

  • God
  • Jesus
  • The Holy Spirit
  • Man & Sin
  • Salvation (Grace)
  • Spiritual Growth
  • Old Testament 1 (Hebrew History)
  • Old Testament 2 (History of Israel)
  • Old Testament 3 (Prophets & Writings)
  • Gospels
  • Acts
  • Epistles 1
  • Epistles 2
  • Apologetics (Reasons for Belief)

I will have a ‘bonus’ class where people holding the major End Times views explain their position, including their view of Revelation.

And last, I look forward to writing several books, including very ‘down to earth’ books on Matthew, James, Ephesians and others.

THE BUSINESS SIDE

It is easy to see why I have such an interest (passion!) for doing a ministry like this. What excites me is how God brought me into contact with people and trainings that showed me how it can be a viable (i.e., self-supporting) ministry.

I purchased a training on how to use a blog to promote your business.

It was focused on network marketers, but they encouraged people to expand beyond that – which is what I did. It centers around Facebook, but can also use Google and YouTube. Basically, the business strategy is two-fold:

  • Focus on a specific demographic
    • Mine is Christians (either new or long-time believers) who want a regular, accessible and brief resource that goes deeper than a ‘verse of the day.’
  • Offer Value
    • Give people content worth more than I charge for it.

Sounds basic, right? Here is the approach and the details I’ve worked out…

  • First: Advertise on Facebook to get people to my Looking Intently blog
    • BUT do so in an organic, conversational way that doesn’t look like an ad
    • And in a way that focuses on my demographic. Facebook allows me to target people interested in ‘Bible Study,’ and even fans of specific Christian leaders (e.g., Francis Chan; Erwin McManus)
  • Second: Use a “Lead Magnet” to get people to sign up for emails linking to my blog
    • A “Lead Magnet” is something valuable, given away for free. Mine is a video training showing three, free online bible study resources and explaining how to use them.
  • Third: Present an immediate “Lead Liquidation Offer”
    • This is a resource that is relatively inexpensive. The goal is to make enough from this to make my advertising ‘self-funding.’
    • My Lead Liquidation consists of four ‘Growth Diagrams’ I have developed that visually present elements of spiritual growth, along with a video explaining each of them. I will sell it for around $7. (One thing the system I bought teaches is the need to do testing of ads, prices, etc.)
  • Fourth: Give free access to LookingIntently.com for 30 days
    • After 30 days, I will ask people to support my ministry. The key is, I will leave the amount up to them. I will suggest amounts of $3 – $5 – $8 per month, but allow a person to pay as little as $1 per month (or as much as they would like). I want it to be affordable for anyone.
    • Also, whatever the amount, the person will receive the same access. They will be able to watch all current and past video blogs. Subscribers will also receive free electronic copies of all books I write and/or a discount on hard copies.
  • Other elements…
    • A key emphasis will be an extended video, teaching the Observe – Reflect – Apply approach to bible study. I will sell this for around $17, and have a ‘3 or more person’ rate of $37 to encourage use in small groups and classes.
    • Regular live, interactive webinars, going over the Observe – Reflect – Apply approach, using different passages each time. These will be free, and are another source of getting subscribers.

Then, the ‘Guest bloggers’ point and the last two current ones (“I will also reach out…” & “The ‘Seven-Hour Seminary’”)

My goal is to have 1000 subscribers, averaging $4/month within 9 months – Which is where I get the idea of…

“GIVING BIRTH” TO THIS NEW MINISTRY…

I am asking people to pledge to support my Looking Intently ministry for 9 months. (Get it? ‘Giving birth’!) I believe this will give the ministry time to become self-supporting. And with this initial “giving birth” support, I will be able to focus on making that happen.

Here is what I am looking for…

  • “Prayer & Share”
    • This is essential. I trust you know how vitally important Prayer is. And on Facebook, ‘Sharing’ is also crucial. You sharing my video blog posts will be invaluable in getting Facebook’s algorithm to post them to even more people’s pages.
    • Even if you are unable or do not wish to support Looking Intently financially, please help ‘give birth’ in this way.
  • Financial Support (for 9 months)
    • $250/month – at least 6 people
    • $100/month – at least 15 people
    • $50/month – at least 20 people

(I won’t limit the number of supporters at a given level, but this breakdown is my goal)

AND… If you help ‘Give Birth’ that makes you a lifetime ‘PARENT’!

That means after the 9 month “birth period” all initial supporter will receive

FREE ACCESS

to Looking Intently for life, as well as all other resources and books for free.

ONE THING… the financial support I am looking for is NOT to replace or reduce your giving to the church you attend. I have always taught that a tithe should go to your home church. Any offerings above that can go wherever you choose. And, Looking Intently is not a non-profit group, so your giving will not be tax deductible. (Sorry, but a non-profit involves too many requirements)

Contact Steve

steve@lookingintently.com

Looking Intently
9519 Bear Creek Court
Leo, IN 46765

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