In the past, ministries relied primarily on radio and television stations for media outreach. Today, churches are using the latest digital technologies to build their own platforms. Many are turning to technology companies for help.

On a personal crusade to help ministries embrace new media as a communication platform, Chance Mason is igniting a movement to transform faith-based outreach in America. (The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

Gordon Marcy: We’re speaking with Chance Mason, President of Streaming Faith and 316 Networks. Chance, could you give our readers some background on your company?

Chance Mason: We’re very unique in that we have both a B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Customer) strategy. No one else in the market is at the heart a technology company that also operates media properties as well. We provide ministries with cutting-edge technology including high quality audio and video feeds over the Internet. We’re also a media portal with 24-hour broadband TV stations and Internet radio stations.

We support 800 ministries, produce 4,000 live events per month from all over the world and serve over a million members in the Streaming Faith community.

GM: What were the circumstances that led to what you’re doing now?

CM: We believed the cost associated with launching and sustaining a radio or television broadcast initiative had become prohibitive. Year after year media costs were skyrocketing. This was draining resources away from mission fulfillment and keeping new ministries from starting up. On average, it cost a media ministry $50-$60 thousand per month just to buy the airtime. In addition, they had the cost of technology infrastructure, back office operations, production of resources and fulfillment.

We believed we could create the same type of experiences ministries were getting with traditional broadcasting, but at a much lower cost using IP technology. Meaning, over time, we believed the Internet would become a more viable delivery platform than radio or television.

GM: How did ministries receive your business idea in the beginning?

CM: Back in 2001, many church leaders were still on dial-up. They were amused really and didn’t share our belief that the Internet could become a viable distribution model.

GM: How did you help ministries transition into your platform?

CM: Our first initiative, was to build out what a broadcast ministry would have known as “master control.” We took the same methodologies found in a typical low or even high powered television station and built it into a software package. This allowed ministries to essentially launch their own 24-hour IPTV stations.

Today we have about 45 ministries that run 24/7 “stations” just like a traditional television operation. They broadcast programs that are 28:30 in length with 30, 60 and 90 second promos dropped in between. Time zone and geography barriers have been removed. All this at a fraction of the cost the ministry would pay for just one 30-minute time slot on a national network.

We are giving them a cost effective way to communicate the gospel as well as raise support for their mission.

GM: I’m a prospective local church customer. Tell me about the value we would receive from a partnership with you.

CM: Many of our ministries are local church focused, so we understand the type of challenges you face. Our aim is to enable you to communicate more effectively and more consistently with your membership.

Take a visitor that comes in for the first time. The typical experience is for them to fill out a card and drop it in the offering plate. Then you send them a direct mail package on Monday or Tuesday. Then they will get a call from someone in your care ministry to say that you appreciated them being in church.

We come alongside to help you automate that entire communication process and make it more personable.

So, on Monday morning the visitor will get an email from the pastor that’s video enabled. The message will be, “Hey, this is Pastor Smith. It was great to have you in church Sunday. I may not have had the chance to meet you, but we’d love for you to come back. Please email me personally to tell me about your experiences or anything we can do better. I’ve included an audio message that you can download as a gift from us. There’s also a pdf file attached that shares our vision and direction so you can see if we are the type of church you’re seeking.”

We can also help you do a live interactive broadcast with key leaders, volunteers or supporters every couple of weeks. You can do Q&A and share a personal message.

GM: Are there other benefits?

CM: Resource based ministries are extremely expensive to operate…from production of the content to shipping and storage. We act as a digital asset manager for our clients. Many have a multi-platform distribution strategy where they create an asset and use it live on Sunday morning, show it on the web, put it in a podcast and then make it available for iphone. Our asset management system allows them to have a centralized repository for storing all their digital assets. Then they can manage distribution whenever and wherever needed. The whole process makes it more efficient to produce and distribute; easier for the end user to retrieve and download. Most importantly, digital technology allows the church to do this at a much lower cost.

GM: How does Streaming Faith differ from other Christian media companies?

CM: Many traditional media companies are marketing entities. They go to ministries and say we’ll distribute your assets by way of our media properties and you pay us a fee to access to our audience.

Most do not have a pure technology component like we do. That’s why a number of the clients using traditional media are also our clients. They want a platform that they can license and integrate seamlessly into their strategy. They don’t want to redirect their listeners/viewers/members to a different destination. They want to have an integrated experience on their own website.

Also, they can leverage our platform for communication purposes beyond just marketing and trying to acquire new names. Our platform enables them to communicate with their members and establish deeper relationships at the local church level.

We also have a unique business model. We generate revenue from the technology side that allows us to expand our media properties without having to worry about who our next advertiser is going to be. This is another way we control our cost of operations. That savings is passed on to the customer.

GM: What do you think the future is for traditional Christian broadcasting?

The answer and more conversation in Part 2 of our interview with Chance Mason.