Where We’ve Been
On June 2nd, 2017, Nerd in the Word was released to the world. On that day we had no followers, no articles, and no one knew what Nerd in the Word would become. Today, one year later, we have a total of 47 Nerd in the Word subscribers, 14 articles, and over 1,100 reads. We’ve been expanding and reaching out and it’s not about to stop. On each article, we now have an average of 70 readers in the first week. When we published our Salvation post we gave roughly 150 people an opportunity to respond to the gospel message through targeted advertising. This was all accomplished as part of our first phase and now I’m ready to announce phase two.
But before we do, you may have noticed some changes on the site, one being our new privacy policy. Don’t be spooked by the legal mumbo-jumbo. We aren’t going to steal your information and sell it off to third parties. We have created the privacy policy to comply with a new EU law called the GDPR that specifies that website users must know how their data is being used and have the ability to delete their data from the website’s servers. If you are curious about how Nerd in the Word uses your data you can read about it more at: https://www.nerdintheword.com/privacy-policy
Where We’re Heading in Phase Two
Now, today I would like to announce how we will be expanding Nerd in the Word in the next year. I have some exciting news for you and an opportunity for you all to get involved. The first year was all about setting up Nerd in the Word and getting a feel for how to run it. This year is all about expanding, and boy are we expanding! Without further adieu let’s take a look at what’s in store for Nerd in the Word phase two.
Nerd in the Word Global
In the next year, Nerd in the Word will stretch beyond the English speaking world into brand new countries and languages. At this moment, we have two translators working on getting the website translated into Spanish and Korean. As soon as this is completed, we will begin translating our articles for Spanish and Korean audiences. I’m extremely excited about this opportunity to get sound Biblical teaching to new audiences and hope to expand to even more languages in the future.
Guest Writers
So far, all Nerd in the Word articles have been personally written by me, but it was never my intention to keep Nerd in the Word exclusively as my ministry. There are a vast number of experienced ministers and servants of Christ who have learned much through their time in ministry and have many things that they can teach us through their experiences. For this reason, Nerd in the Word will be reaching out to individuals who are experienced in ministry to give them an opportunity to share what they have learned with us so we too can grow from their personal experiences. I already have a list of seven or so people who I would like to be guest writers, and in the following months hope to get them involved.
Gospel Outreach
I believe that every ministry should have some form of outreach. So Nerd in the Word will begin spreading the Gospel through targeted advertising. In the following weeks, the first of our “gospel pages” will be put on the website. These pages are exclusively meant to share the plan of salvation to those who are in need of it. We will get people to these pages by using targeted advertising platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, and Reddit. Users browsing these sites will see an advertisement banner that lets them know that God cares for them, that the gift of salvation is available, and that if they click the advertisement it will take them to our gospel page to find out more. This form of ministry enables us to reach people wherever they are and provide them with an opportunity to learn about Christ in a private, non-pressured environment. I personally believe this can make a huge difference in reaching people as it allows us to reach them in a quiet moment when no one is there to distract them or discourage them from being interested.
How can you be a part of Nerd in the Word in Phase Two?
Since I launched Nerd in the Word last year, it’s been possible for people to get involved by donating to Nerd in the Word. Although, up until this point I haven’t really pushed people to donate. But with the expansion that we are doing this year, we could really use your help. I have two translators lined up who have volunteered their time to help get Biblical teaching to other languages. Translation work is not easy and normally is an extremely expensive investment. One standard 8.5 x 11 page of content usually costs $70 to have translated into a foreign language. Each Nerd in the Word post is usually about three pages long, if you do the math that’s ~$210 a post per language! Praise the Lord that these two translators have volunteered to do the work. But even though they have volunteered, the Bible encourages us to not take advantage of people who serve in ministry, 1 Timothy 5:18 tells us that “The labourer is worthy of his reward.” and the verse before it says “especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.”
I personally believe, that according to Biblical teaching these two volunteers need to be paid for their work, so I have personally pledged to pay them for their services, but I would like to do more. I am reaching the point where I cannot afford to expand Nerd in the Word beyond what is listed above unless I get some monthly donations to help subsidize the costs. I strongly desire to see more languages reached. In fact, I have potential Portuguese and Japanese translators that I can reach out to provided I have more finances to work with. On top of this, I would also like to be able to pour more money into the advertising system to reach more people with Biblical teaching.
With just a mere $5 donation, Nerd in the Word has the ability to reach up to 600 people with the Gospel. As far as I can tell, this is potentially the most cost-effective ways to get the Gospel to people that I have ever discovered. I would encourage you to pray and see if God is leading you to be a Nerd in the Word supporter. At this point, I have no plans to take any money from Nerd in the Word for my own personal use since I have a job that provides enough money for me to meet my own needs. At this time, all donations given to Nerd in the Word go directly to covering operational costs such as website upkeep, equipment, paying translators, and getting the Gospel message out into the world. We would love to have you be a part of our ministry. If you want to get involved you can learn more at https://www.nerdintheword.com/supporters/
Well, that’s our look back at the last year and our look forward into the next one, I for one am excited what the next year will bring! And just so you know we’ve got more planned than just phase two! We also have a phase three, four, and five, but you’ll have to stick around to find out about that! And before I go, thanks for making Nerd in the Word a part of your life, we wouldn’t be here today without the support of our readers and followers! I hope you all are ready for another awesome year of Nerd in the Word. But until next time, grace and peace out!
