Intern Brandon spent last summer hanging with me in Grand Rapids. One day I was traveling and he did not have enough things to do, I guess. When I came back, he told me he created a YouTube account for our ministry. I did not really care at the time, but last year, while he was finishing college and still working with our ministry, he would keep the YouTube account updated. Any time we posted a video on our site, www.xxxchurch.com, he grabbed the raw file off the server and uploaded it to the YouTube account.
A year later, the 38 videos that had taken him little effort to upload in his spare time have been viewed one million times. A year later, one million views. Today, our videos can be seen on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, iTunes, Democracy, ifilm, and even on GodTube (thanks to some crazy supporter of our ministry who took it upon himself to post them there).
Separatism
GodTube. Are you kidding me? Do we really need a place to upload Christian media? In fact, when was the last time anything seen on Christian TV was even worth recording, let alone uploading to a site? What about the Christian MySpace? The race is on, I’m sure.
We all have access to computer, televisions, cell phones, and the same resources the rest of the world has, so why do we still feel we have to create our own everything? Why not use what smarter people have already come up with? Why not use the sites where the people are?
Taking On Porn
In 2002, when we launched XXXchurch.com, we were not ahead of the curve just because some Christians thought so. We were reacting to a problem in society. Because of the availability of porn on the Internet, the medium was exploding. We thought, “Pornographers use the Internet to get their message across; we should do the same.” Not the longest business plan in history, but one that worked. We also knew that putting XXX in front of anything meant we would get traffic to our site because “XXX” is one of the most popular search terms on the Internet.
The launch of the website came at the AVN Adult Expo—the largest porn convention in the country. A booth at the expo cost us $5,000, but because it’s a porn show there were not a lot of rules on who could or couldn’t set up a booth. So, we went because that is where our crowd was. Some say it was genius. No, just smart.
They Are Not At Your Place
Still trying to figure out how to draw people to your church? Get out of that conversation quickly. Figure out whom you want to reach and find out where they are. Our crowd was on the Internet, so we used the Internet to reach them. Our crowd likes porn, so we go to porn shows to talk to them.
Projection screens, fancy waterfalls, Starbucks, donuts, cool couches, candles or nifty lights—I’m not impressed and neither are they. You know why? Because they are not at your place. If they want donuts, they will go to Dunkin’ Donuts, not church. If they want coffee, there is a Starbucks on every corner. Don’t just do things because the big church down the street does them that way. Do things that make sense and things that will last.
Solving Problems
Nine out of 10 emails that come into XXXchurch.com asking for help with an addiction to porn are followed by these four words: “No one else knows.” Well, guess what? You will still be looking at porn until someone knows and can talk to you about it. I haven’t met one person in six years who got over a struggle with porn alone.
A year into the ministry we developed software called X3watch that monitors where a person goes online and sends a report of any questionable porn site visited to an accountability partner selected by the user. We have had almost 400,000 people download the free software. It costs us money to keep the software up-to-date and make it available on Macs, but it is one of the best things we do. Problem solved. (Not exactly—not everyone is willing to download the software.)
Is there a problem going on in your community or among the people in your congregation? How can the church be a solution? What can you physically do to fill a void?
Lessons Learned
1. Do Something—Don’t think people will just come. Get out of your comfort zone, out of the walls, and dream big. We went to a porn show. I always ask, “What is your porn show? How can you take your message to the world?” Be creative. “Do anything short of sin,” is what we say. Be shocking if you have to. Don’t just put the service times on a sign and expect people to come.
2. Don’t Advertise—Most churches think ads are the only way to get their message out to the public. Wrong. Why put an ad in the religious section of the paper next to everyone else’s ad? If you do choose to place an ad, make sure your ad stands out, and put it in unexpected places. A lot of churches love direct mail, but once again it is to easy and everyone does it.
3. Use Outdoor and Online Media—We have two 25-foot inflatable pieces and two vehicles wrapped with our website, and we have rented numerous billboards and a plane for a flyover to promote our website. We have accounts on Flickr, Facebook, MySpace, Virb, YouTube, Second Life, and iTunes, as well as RSS feeds, and that is just to name a few.
4. Contact the Press—Have something interesting to promote? Why not let the people with the cameras and the outlets tell your story? Every station in the country has a newsroom with a phone and a live person who picks up—don’t be afraid to call. It’s free.
Just go to our press page; we are our publicists. Don’t get roped into hiring some firm just because they worked with some Christian celebrities. Do it yourself. Make friends with the people in your community who have to put out stories every day. A day will come when they call you because they need something. Trust me on this one.
5. Be Original but Don’t be Afraid to Copy—If you have a great idea that has never been done, go for it. But a lot of times, someone has beat you to the punch. That does not mean you can’t do the same thing down the road. My friend ran billboards in Dallas for his new anti-porn site on Valentine’s Day one year. It was genius and got lots of attention. The next year, I did the same thing; this time Florida. Same results, different site. This time it was mine they were talking about, not his.
6. If at First You Succeed or Don’t Succeed, Try Again—Don’t be afraid to take chances. Go out on a limb all by yourself. I suggest doing it often. And if something works, try it again.
A New Online Ministry
Last week, we launched a new website called heartsupport.com. We’re encouraging conversation and offering help with several issues (addiction, depression, eating disorders, self-injury, and suicide) by creating an online community that features real-life, submitted stories via either text or video.
When a user visits the site, he or she can browse stories submitted by real people with real issues or submit their own story. They can ask our counselors any questions they may have or chat with an online counselor via Live Support, a feature that gives the visitor real help and someone to talk to about their issues. Most of the time, these conversations are simply someone needing someone else to talk to, and heartsupport is there to fill that void. The website also offers education and facts, as well as featured blogs for each category, written by people who have overcome or are still dealing with personal struggles pertaining to the issues at hand.
Craig Gross is the founder of XXXchurch.com, the number-one Christian porn site on the Internet. He is a featured speaker at churches and conferences across the world. Craig lives in Grand Rapids with his wife Jeanette and their two children, Nolan and Elise. He has written five books and recently launched heartsupport.com with his friends Jon Bell and El Clinto.