4. Social media isn’t a fad.
- Social media is the most significant cultural revolution since the printing press.
- It’s changing and shaping the way we connect, engage, share information, tell stories, and break news.
- There are stories of how it’s saved lives, sparked revolutions, connected people around the globe, and enabled people to do things that would have never been possible before.
Here’s a video that does a better job at explaining why it matters…
- Jesus told us to go, and make disciples, and to proclaim the message of the Gospel.
- One of my personal favorite examples of this is in a parable that Jesus told. Luke 14:16-20-23, Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I now have a wife, so I can’t come.’ “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town, and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges, and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.
- A few things here… notice that previous to the event, the man had sent out many invitations—maybe like those postcards your church sends out for Easter and Christmas services.
- It was only after the master sent his servants out to personally invite people that people began to show up.
- Social media is changing how we make decisions.
- Think about the last movies you went to see, books you read, TV shows you enjoy, restaurants you go to… they are all shaped, in large part, by our social graph, things people share with us.
- We don’t trust what’s marketed to us, but will trust the opinion of our friends and connections.
- We have never been more resourced and equipped to share the Gospel than we are today.
- It’s an incredible opportunity that comes with a tremendous responsibility.
- We will be held accountable, as church leaders, for how we steward this season in the life of the church.
- The early church didn’t have what we have today.
- There were no direct mailers for special services, no email campaigns to share inspirational thoughts from Jesus for the day.
- No one was live blogging or tweeting when Jesus taught.
- Peter didn’t stop following or unfriend Jesus online as a way to deny his friendship.
- What people did have, though, was a compelling story—first-hand accounts of life transformation, stories of experiences unlike anything they had ever encountered before, and an understanding of the truths of the Gospel that they had never known.
- They couldn’t help but spread and share that message.
- They told their friends.
- Their friends told their friends.
- The message of the Gospel started with 12 and spread to thousands, and it’s continued to be shared across generations for the last 2,000 years.
- The way it has been communicated has changed—through stories, stained glass, the domes of Cathedrals, the printed press, and today, online.
- I believe the church is called to be present wherever people are present, and I believe that means we need to have a presence online.
- And being present online, today, doesn’t mean taking up real estate on a Web site, but it’s truly being present, engaged, and connecting people.
- We’ve got to make our content—messages, sermons, music, etc—easily sharable online.
- Jesus said that the Spirit would empower us to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.
- Today, we can reach all of those places, and beyond through social media.
- Social media presents one of the greatest opportunities the church has had to extend its message and reach people.
- It’s not going away.
Church Marketing matters
What you do matters. Through words, images, pixels, stories, and tweets, we are connecting people to the life of Christ expressed in our local churches.
The goal isn’t being known but making Him known.
The goal isn’t people in seats but lives transformed.
The goal isn’t about being excellent for the sake of excellence, but to honor God with the gifts of creativity He’s given us.
The goal isn’t marketing; it’s sharing.
Your job is to help your church share the story in a way that captivates and engages people so much so that they will want to go and tell a friend…so that the Kingdom of Heaven may be full.
