Facebook is a great way to engage with guests after they’ve visited your church, though that is probably best done through someone’s personal account and not the official church Facebook page.
One of the ways I’ve seen Facebook put to great use by churches and other ministries is in the area of prayer. Today, it can be pretty tough to make sure you have everyone’s most current email address, which makes emailing major church issues or announcements and asking for prayer somewhat difficult. Through Facebook though, your church can share a major prayer request or physical need someone may have, and instantly, church members or people in the community can respond and help in any way they can.
Twitter is not as essential for the local church as Facebook is, simply because many more people use Facebook, but Twitter is no less useful. A church on Twitter can share events, interact with church members and visitors, and engage with culture.
Further, Instagram is a platform that gives your church an opportunity to share pictures of your ministry, promotional videos for upcoming events, and even encouraging quotes or Bible verses. Instagram is especially important among younger demographics.
“All Things to All People”
Social media is no longer a fad. It is established in our culture. And churches should do everything they can to engage the public in this forum. As of January 2014, 74 percent of all adults who have some sort of presence online use social media—your church needs to be accessible there.
With some strategic thought, churches can reach those who are regularly using social media. The Apostle Paul provides some insight for churches that are still on the fence:
“I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some. Now I do all this because of the gospel, so I may become a partner in its benefits” (1 Corinthians 9:22b-23, emphasis added).
All of the stats in this blog post are from Pew Research Center’s 2014 Social Media Update, which you can access here.
?Chris Martin contributed to this blog post.
