Time of Grace Ministry

Bruce Becker (Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA)

Archived discussion

About the presenter

A 1982 seminary graduate, Bruce Becker was a pastor in Springville, New York, and Brillion, Wisconsin. From 1995-2009, he served as administrator for WELS Parish Services. In 2009, he joined Time of Grace Ministry and is currently Executive Vice President for Operations. A respected and well-known church consultant, presenter, advisor, and author, he has served on the Board of Regents for Wisconsin Lutheran College, the Center for Church and Change, WELS Synodical Council, and the Board of Directors for The Lutheran Home Association. In 2012, he completed his Doctorate in Leadership and Ministry Management from Trinity International University. He and his wife of 38 years, Linda, live in Jackson, Wisconsin.

About Time of Grace

Time of Grace is for people who want more growth and less struggle in their spiritual walk. The timeless truth of God's Word is delivered through television, print, and digital media with millions of content engagements each month. Time of Grace connects people to God's grace so they know they are loved and forgiven and so they can start living in the freedom they've always wanted.

Mission
Connect people to God's grace

Vision
Transform lives now and forever

Values

  • Biblical: committed to teaching the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God
  • Evangelistic: boldly driven by the Great Commission to share God's grace with all people
  • Trustworthy: authentic, someone to spend time with
  • Innovative: an early adopter of technology and media methods
  • Empirical: utilizing data, best practices, and metrics
  • Collaborative: engaging all stakeholders as ministry partners, equipping people and organizations with practical tools and resources
  • Independent: organized as an autonomous, lay-led movement

Gospel Content

Long-Form Video (Television)
Time of Grace® broadcasts a 30-minute weekly program on:

  • Three (3) national networks — FreeForm, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) (nationally and internationally), The Cowboy Channel
  • Fifty-five (55) local stations in thirty-one (31) states
  • American Forces Network (AFN)
  • Online at timeofgrace.org
  • YouTube channel
  • Time of Grace app
  • Roku app
  • Apple TV apps

Short-Form Video (Your Time of Grace)
Time of Grace delivers daily video devotions (six days/week) digitally on:

  • The Your Time of Grace (YToG) app
  • Online at yourtimeofgrace.org
  • Email subscription
  • Facebook
  • YouTube channel
  • IGTV (Instagram Television)
  • YouVersion® Bible App

Written Content — Grace Moments
Time of Grace delivers Grace Moments devotions via:

  • Print (quarterly devotions / 365-day books and 30-day topical devotions)
  • Email subscription
  • Time of Grace website (timeofgrace.org)
  • Time of Grace app
  • YouVersion® Bible App
  • iDisciple app
  • WeDevote app (Chinese app)
  • Crosswalk.com

Written Content — Books

  • Topical books
  • Devotionals

[Download a PDF file of the catalog here.]

Written Content — Blogs
    Time of Grace publishes two-four blogs each week via:
  • Time of Grace website (timeofgrace.org)
  • Time of Grace app

Engagements

Time of Grace Ministry tracks people's involvement with Time of Grace's content. Across all distribution platforms, we measure people's engagements with our content, their reactions to that content, and their responses to it.

Each month, people engage with Time of Grace content between 3.3M and 3.6M times. In 2017 the total engagements for the year were 43,441,683.

Ministry in the Digital Space — It's Where the People Are!

Not all that long ago people would gather together in a place. And they still do. But today people also gather together in a space—the digital space. Because people are there, we Christians need to be there too. It's a space for teaching, learning, sharing, encouraging, and celebrating.

It's what we do at Time of Grace Ministry. We connect people to God's grace in the digital space. With more than 43 million digital engagements each year, Time of Grace shares the gospel with current and former Christians, as well as atheists, agnostics, and nones—all through digital broadcasting, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, mobile apps (including the YouVersion® Bible App) and other distribution platforms.

The social media platforms that are currently seeing the greatest growth in engagements for Time of Grace are Instagram and YouTube.

Time of Grace Followers / Subscribers (as of 09/25/2018):

  • Facebook followers — 249,416
  • YouTube subscribers — 20,895
  • Twitter followers — 3,823
  • ToG Instagram followers — 7,274
  • Pastor Mike Instagram followers — 1,681
  • Pinterest followers — 2,074
  • Email subscribers — 70,341

Transition

Time of Grace is transitioning our television lead speaker from Pastor Mark Jeske to Pastor Mike Novotny. Pastor Jeske's final television message will be Easter Sunday of 2019. Pastor Jeske's television messages and Grace Moments devotions will continue to be available on the Time of Grace website and in printed materials.


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Discussion

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Ezra Larson (Martin Luther College) 2018-10-24 6:50:02pm
Dear Pastor Becker,

Firstly, I want to thank you for your services to Time of Grace and for the informative presentation. I loved seeing just how blessed a ministry it has become, seeing as how I am a daily user of the YouTube videos. I like that you have stayed true to being “committed to teaching the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God.” It is such an important principle that not many churches follow nowadays.

I think the presentation could prove to be easier to read if it wasn’t so many charts, laid out like a presentation slide. They are helpful, but it may prove more useful to perhaps talk more in-depth about the numbers and what they mean for Time of Grace as a ministry and for the consumers.

You state that your mission is to “connect people to God’s grace.” How has the digital era made this easier and what are some of the challenges? I’m curious to know how we can use the current technology at our fingertips to be the light in a dark world. I love the technological side of things and would like to learn more.

Thank you for your presentation and the excellent information it provided!
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Trish Nitschke (Time of Grace) 2018-10-25 7:55:08am
Thank you for your comments, Ezra. We are glad you use YouTube to watch our video content and find it beneficial to your spiritual walk.

Thank you for the recommendations regarding the presentation layout. We will take that into account for the future.

In reference to your question about the digital era and connecting people to God's Word; it has been a challenge and a blessing at the same time. Obviously, we live in a digital age and we have to meet people where they are. And, they are on mobile. Everything we do from social media to emails has to keep that in mind. It's why we developed two apps so people can keep devotions and the videos you watch on YouTube accessible wherever they are. As you can tell from the presentation, we are a data-driven ministry. We look at the numbers, but also the content, titling, and other things going on during a day, week, or month to determine what is working and what is not.

It also means keeping up on current tech trends, knowing what people are using, and watching changes in algorithms of the social platforms we are on. You may have noticed we greatly stepped up our Instagram presence. We saw a shift away from Facebook (though not complete abandonment) and a groundswell into Instagram so we chose to increase our presence in that space. We also study what generations use certain platforms and tailor our messaging to reach those specific age groups.

I hope that helps answer your question. Thanks again for the comments!

Trish Nitschke
Social Media Manager, Time of Grace
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Aiden Holien (Martin Luther College) 2018-10-24 8:28:27pm
Rev. Becker,

I really appreciated the message shared and statistics given from Time of Grace. Over the last couple of years, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the show on days when I’m not able to make it to church. And even if I get to make to church, I still enjoy listening to some of the videos on your website, because some of the topics discussed in the videos are problems that I deal with in my daily life, too. Your statement saying that “Because people are there [social media], we Christians need to be there too” could never be more true. With the rise of social media, getting the show’s name out there could be huge to the growth!

A suggestion I have regarding the statistics and growth of the show would be in the actual content of the show itself. I enjoy the way that the show is structured- an intro, the sermon, then a prayer at the end. But to me, this may seem a bit repetitive. Switching it up every once and awhile may be beneficial. I don’t have a direct solution, but not doing the same thing week after week may draw in more viewers. All of that being said, the fact that you don’t change it up every week may be the reason why the show has grown so much!

While watching the show, I’ve always wondered how many people watch the show. Looking at the statistics, I now know I’m not the only one! My question to you is- you’re already doing so much to get the show’s name out there, and doing so much outreach. Is there anything in the works that will continue to grow Time of Grace’s name? I love that you all “connect people to God's grace in the digital space”. Because in today’s world, a social media presence is key.

Thank you again for continuing Time of Grace! I can’t wait to see the growth of the show!
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Trish Nitschke (Time of Grace) 2018-10-25 8:06:44am
Hello Aiden,

Thank you for your comments regarding the “Time of Grace” TV program. We've actually spent time the past year making some changes to the program. You may notice a shorter intro with a “hook” to peak curiosity and encourage people to watch. As we transition to Pastor Mike Novotny as lead speaker, we anticipate making even more modifications.

We are always looking at ways to reach the unchurched. Right now our content mostly reaches an audience that is roughly 35+ in age. We are very interested in connecting with those under the age of 35 and are working to develop a way to do just that. We are finding the younger demographics don't know Bible basics. They don't know what a Bible is, or what worship means, or who Jesus is. So, we need to create a new approach to reaching that group so they too can learn about their Savior and the joy that comes from living a life in and through him. Stay tuned!

We really feel as we transition to Pastor Mike and give the TV show a different look that more and more people will be drawn in to learn more about God, Jesus, and the Bible. Thank you again for your comments!

Trish Nitschke
Social Media Manager, Time of Grace
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Emma Dorn (Martin Luther College) 2018-10-25 1:14:43pm
Pastor Becker,
I love that so many other people are enjoying Time of Grace as well. My family often uses the videos on the youtube channel for our family devotions. We are so thankful for them, and I really appreciate that you are, as you stated, "committed to teaching the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God."

After reading through your presentation, I am wondering if the Time of Grace youtube videos are able to be seen by people in other countries, and if so, are you able to see if other countries are using Time of Grace? I am so curious to see how far this ministry is spreading and want its success to keep growing.

Thank you for the update on Time of Grace's growth!
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Trish Nitschke (Time of Grace) 2018-10-25 1:49:46pm
Hi Emma,

Thanks for your comments and questions!

Yes, our YouTube videos are able to be seen outside of the U.S. Here are some of the latest stats as of today regarding Time of Grace's YouTube video views worldwide since we started on YouTube in 2015. These are ranked in order of watch time.:

1. United States
Watch time (minutes): 9,017,249 (76%)
Male: 44%
Female: 56%

2. Vietnam
Watch time (minutes): 258,062 (2.2%)
Male: 74%
Female: 26%

3. India
Watch time (minutes): 203,001 (1.7%)
Male: 82%
Female: 18%

4. Mexico
Watch time (minutes): 137,184 (1.2%)
Male: 52%
Female: 48%

5. Thailand
Watch time (minutes): 107,432 (0.9%)
Male: 67%
Female: 33%

I hope this helps answer your question! We are excited and encouraged by the worldwide reach of our video and written content as we work to expand further into Spanish and Chinese language options.

Trish Nitschke
Social Media Manager, Time of Grace
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Bruce Becker (Time of Grace Ministry) 2018-11-05 10:21:03am
I want to thank Trish Nitschke, our Social Media Manager, for responding to the questions received during the last two weeks while I was on vacation..

Thanks, Trish!