Here are the top four most helpful ways to partner with AGW Ministries:
1. Would you pray about making a $10 monthly donation? This would greatly assist people all over the world who desire to apply the word of God to their lives. You can see the donation options and donate securely by clicking here.
Donate
2. You can subscribe to our email list and stay current with all that we are doing.
3. You can follow us on social media and share our content.
4. Most importantly, you can regularly pray for AGW.
Why partner with AGW Ministries?
All the marketing gurus out there say that the only way people will support your ministry is if you give them “special access” to products, coaching, or some other services that they feel would be worth their dollars. My heart, however, is to gain your partnership so that AGW can offer “special access” to everyone, for free.
We all know nothing is really free in life. Someone’s paying the bills. But at AGW, I’m committed to giving away tons of free content to anyone in the world who has internet access.
I’m not saying we will never sell anything. But the true heart behind AGW Ministries is to help people, all people, apply the word of God for his glory and our enjoyment of him. To live free we must live in Christ – that’s our message here. We really believe the word of God is living and active. As you know, when we understand God’s truth and live by it, everything is different, on a global and an individual scale.
To help as many individuals as possible experience the freedom of living in Christ, I believe most of our content should be given away for free to the most amount of people possible.
YouTube videos, free Bible-saturated articles addressing modern problems, free advice you would find in a counseling session, free relationship principles to help struggling marriages, free Christ-honoring counsel to young adults as they travel through those confusing years, free help overcoming temptation/addiction, free pastoral guidance, and free eBooks that help shape people’s view on important subjects, assisting them in living a passionate life with Christ and for Christ.
If you share in my vision, I’d like to ask you to pray about making a recurring donation of $10 per month. Your donation will be a tremendous help in keeping AGW going and growing.
Why give to an online ministry?
The goal of this ministry is to attack modern problems with eternal truth. There’s such a need all over the world for tools, content, and counsel regarding how to live a glorifying life for God in a post-modern society, especially when it comes to relationships.
How will the next generation gain information to decide if they believe whether or not the Bible is accurate and true? Where will young adults turn when they have questions about life, morality, and God? Where will Christian singles seek out relationship advice? What’s the one tool nearly everyone uses nowadays to gain knowledge?
Yup, you guessed it. The internet.
The internet is the ripest landscape for outreach in the world. I don’t believe it should replace Christian interaction with people, neighborly love, or a real church. But Google is fertile ground.
Imagine: Someone has a question about God or how to deal with a problem. Where do they turn? Probably not to a pastor, a parent, or even a friend. Their first movement will probably be towards their smart phone. Suddenly they are reading someone’s words as they sit in their bedroom, ride the bus to work, or stand in line at the grocery store.
But what website will they land on? Who’s the person who is going to get the privilege of sharing their words with someone asking a crucial question about God, relationships, or the purpose of life? Will that content be Christ-centered or godless?
AGW Ministries is continually working to reach the world through this amazing means of communication called the internet.
My feeling is that you too know the importance of offering online content that proclaims Christ in an effective, attractive, and easily accessible way to believers and non-believers alike. But, as I’m sure you know, offering content like this is not easy. Tons of technology, training, and time is required to build a truly effective online ministry.
When you donate to AGW, you are partnering with us in this mission. You are affecting the battle over what content (Christ-centered or godless) people will get when they ask Google their most important questions.
Here are some of the strategies we use to advance God’s kingdom through the internet:
Great articles and videos: We believe a great article/video will address relevant issues/questions, it will be Bible saturated, it will be enjoyable to read/watch, it will be easy to comprehend, it will be pleasing to the eye, and will it give people actionable steps to take. At AGW, we try to answer questions that modern people have with timeless truth found in the Scriptures, especially when it comes to relationships.
SEO: “Search Engine Optimization” is a technical term that simply means your online content is findable by Google. By using certain key words in certain places and a variety of other proven tactics, you can give your article a better chance of being highly ranked on Google’s search results. We believe if we write an amazing article that few people read, we are not accomplishing our real goal. Therefore we write most articles with SEO in mind. This requires time, research tools, and strategic writing ability that creates written copy enjoyable to the reader but that is also friendly towards Google search bots.
Social media: Social media is used by AGW in a variety of ways. It helps us get our content out to many people, it helps us interact with readers, and it helps us gauge what people are talking about and need biblical counsel for.
Guest blogging: One of the most proven tactics of increasing your online presence is writing a guest post for another popular website/ministry. This is very time consuming to make these connections and to write these articles, but this is a crucial part of growing any online platform.
Free eBooks: Creating free eBooks is what I hope AGW becomes known for. It’s really an amazing concept that people can read a whole eBook for free. This is the most time/resource consuming goal we have, but through giving people a whole eBook on an important topic, we have seen massive results for the glory of God and the good of our readers.
Here’s a very small sample of the feedback we are getting and questions we are receiving:
A lot of wisdom in this article, Mark! Kind regards!!” – Gilberto, Mexico
“For the last 2 years I have completely closed myself to the idea of dating again but over the last 2 months I cannot shake this loneliness and I think about the times of being with my ex-husband. Can you give me any advice?” –Karen, USA
“Amazing! We need God and Him alone for us to succeed in life. Without Jesus, we can do nothing.
Amen to this message you provided!” – Michael, USA“Thank you for this. I am struggling with having hurt a friend so much that they might not return to the relationship, and it was my own fault. . . .You explained everything so well, and beautifully, that it is just what I needed. Thank you.” –Anonymous
“I am afraid of twisting the Bible to get the meaning I want. Too often that’s exactly what people do and I fear I am just like them. How do I know whose interpretation of the Holy Scriptures is correct? What has God called me to that is not my own wishful thinking?”– Alice, Taiwan
“I am finally at peace with being single. . . . I now feel a peace I have never known!” Anthony, USA
“Hi, I need advice. I’ve been praying about whether it’s God’s will for me to marry my boyfriend or stay single . . . . I just can’t deal with this pressure and feel anxious. Please give me advice. What would you tell me if I was your daughter?” –Maria, USA
“Thank you Mark for this word on how to fight back after having a bad day. To say thank you doesn’t seem enough! I have learned so much from this teaching . . .” – Olwyn, Location Unknown
“Thank you so much for this article on what to do when someone won’t forgive you. I am going through that in my life right now. . . . So thanks so much for your words of comfort to me today.” – John, USA
“Thank you Mark for sharing your heart and speaking the truth. The Lord spoke directly through you today from this blog that you wrote nearly 2 months ago. I needed to be reminded, that when my eyes are focused on him, when my passion and pursuit is for him, but my heart still aches with the desire to serve alongside a husband and share my life, it’s not wrong, it’s when that desire takes 1st place that I need to be concerned. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope you’re encouraged today!!!! – Alicia, USA
“I’m so happy to come across your website today. I’ve read and spent time on your site, reading and downloading eBooks. I am inspired by the words and topics. Thank you once again. Sir, my issue is about prayer. Sometimes if I want to pray, should I divert it to my heavenly father (God) or to my savior his son (Jesus Christ)? I am always confused about this. God bless you and your seeds in Jesus name.” Samson, Nigeria
“Praise the Lord. I am so much happy for the knowledge you gave. I am applying it. . . . Be blessed Mark.” Maate, Uganda
Here some of our analytics:
ApplyGodsWord.com officially started in September 2015. However, in April 2016 is when I (Mark) felt compelled to really invest more time and resources into this ministry. At the time of writing this, it is now March 2024 and here are some of our results.
ApplyGodsWord.com is currently averaging around 1 million annual visitors. The AGW YouTube channel receives around 1.5 million views per month. The YouTube channel has exceeded 100 million total views.
Here are some of the places AGW Ministries has been featured:
Focus on the Family: Christ-Centered Dating Interview
Desiring God: Is It Sin to Be Sad?
Desiring God: Where Is God’s Love in Loss?
RELEVANT Magazine: 7 Ways You May Be Sabotaging Your Dating Life
RELEVANT Magazine: 3 Reasons to Stay Realistic in Your Relationships (This article was also promoted through 4WordWomen.org.)
RELEVANT Magazine: Can You Really Be Friends After the Breakup?
GemMagazines.net: How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Future Relationships
ChurchLeaders.com: 24 Signs of a Healthy Church
BibleGateway.com (Blogger Grid): ApplyGodsWord.com is featured in Bible Gateway’s network of meaningful blogs.
LifeFM Radio Interview: 7 Social Media Pitfalls Healthy Christians Avoid Like the Plague (segment starts at the 8 minutes and 15 second mark on this recoding)
BeliefNet.com: The “W” Word Matters: Why “Works” Should Not Be a Bad Word in Church
Are donations tax-deductible?
Donations to AGW Ministries are not tax-deductible as we are not filed as a non-profit.
How will donations be used?
The desire is to constantly be updating the technology and design of the website to stay current with trends and best practice. Classy images, web services, and proper security all cost dollars. However, the greatest price paid at AGW is man-hours. The more time spent writing, designing, and getting content out into the world always directly affects the amount of web-traffic coming in.
As the old saying goes, “Time is money.” The more donations we receive, the more time we can spend working at AGW.
Is it safe to donate on this website?
To guarantee the highest levels of online security, we have chosen to use Donorbox as our online resource for collecting funds. Donorbox’s security measures are trusted and time-tested. Any credit card information you use to donate to AGW will be protected by the highest standards. You will select the dollar amount you desire to give on ApplyGodsWord.com, but you will then be redirected to Donorbox to enter your credit card information there to ensure the highest levels of security.
Will you join us to be a part of building the future of AGW Ministries?
We believe in the sovereignty of God. So to make bold predictions about where AGW will be would be ridiculous. It’s really in God’s hands. But I also believe God wants us to dream big, pray big, and believe big of him because he is sovereign.
If you share in my vision of helping people answer modern questions with eternal answers, would you consider becoming a financial partner? Our mission is to help people, all people, understand the Bible and apply it to their lives, especially in the area of relationships. We desire this for the glory of God and so our readers’ joy in Christ will grow. We want to give people amazing resources for free, but to do that we need your help.
For just $10 a month, you can make a huge, eternal impact for the glory of God.
Thank you so much for considering a partnership with AGW Ministries.
Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments you may have, markballenger@applygodsword.com.
Sincerely,
Mark Ballenger