Featuring Chris Martin, Director of Content, Moody Global Media

Recorded live at the Digital Ministry Conference 2025.

In this compelling session from the 2025 Digital Ministry Conference, Chris Martin—veteran digital strategist and content leader at Moody Global Media—pulls back the curtain on how ministry teams can use data not just to drive vanity metrics, but to deepen real connections with their audiences.

With transparency and humor, Chris recounts lessons from the infamous "pivot to video" era and how platforms like Facebook once inflated metrics by up to 900%. He uses this cautionary tale to highlight a central truth: not all data tells the truth, and not all metrics matter. Instead, ministries must learn to focus on engagement and meaningful interactions—then use that insight to draw people into deeper channels of connection, like email and direct relationships.

For digital marketers and communications teams in ministry, this session is a goldmine of takeaways:

• Why your email open rate may matter more than your follower count
• How to interpret social metrics as communication—not just performance
• Practical steps to shepherd your audience away from algorithmic platforms
• How to avoid the trap of pleasing stakeholders instead of serving your audience

Tune in to this podcast to rethink your strategy and walk away with a clearer roadmap for using data to inform content—and ultimately lead your audience into deeper ministry engagement.

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• Chris Martin on LinkedIn
• Terms of Service newsletter by Chris Martin
• Moody Bible Institute
• Chris’s Book: "Terms of Service: The Real Cost of Social Media"