As the Social Media app Periscope continues to grow in popularity, an ever-increasing number of church leaders are leaning in to this emerging tool as an opportunity to connect and transfer vision.
Periscope videos are public broadcasts viewable by anyone, with notifications that are sent to your followers and to your Twitter feed when you “go live.” However, there is also a private broadcasting feature which allows the user to limit potential viewers to a select group of followers.
Given this functionality, the ability to interact with viewers and the 24-hour lifespan of each video saved, here are 46 examples of how leaders might use Periscope in church ministry …
For the Vision-Dripping Senior Pastor:
1. Deliver daily devotions during a season of campaigning.
2. Share vision-soaked highlights of the day on Sunday evenings.
3. Reveal a Thursday afternoon sermon preview with handles on how to invite to Sunday services.
4. Broadcast business meetings during those hard-to-quorum summer months.
5. Lead sermon-based small group leaders by reviewing main points and potential applications.
6. Share weekly prayer moments—taking requests and praying.
7. Poll members’ feelings about a topic while preparing a sermon.
8. Host regular “Bible answer man”/tough questions sessions.
9. Give live tours and updates during a building or renovation project.
10. Moderate monthly roundtables with area pastors to discern community needs and promote unity.
For the Mission-Multiplying Multisite Campus Pastor:
11. Connect the core team to vision during pre-launch phase.
12. Bring updates to the entire church before, during or after campus services.
13. Host community round tables anchoring campus to geographic location.
14. Moderate real-time chat with the teaching pastor, connecting them personally to the context.
15. Broadcast set-up/tear-down as it happens, capturing the heart for vision behind the hard work of the volunteers.
16. View the central campus live feed with onscreen notes for campus leaders as they happen.
17. Engage live Q&A with teaching pastor, fed from stage at each campus.
For the Deep-Connecting Christian Education Director:
18. Conduct weekly training for leaders highlighting vision-fueled application questions.
19. Create regular input sessions with group leaders receiving feedback and sharing stories of discipleship.
20. Highlight a small group each week and live stream from their meeting.
21. Reinforce the vision of connection and community by sharing stories from groups.
22. Invite invested leaders into real-time thinking and get input before decisions are made.
For the Snapchatting-Before-It-Was-Cool Youth Leader:
23. Share nightly updates on what God is doing among the youth at camp or on a mission trip.
24. Preview youth group worship topics for students with an inviting hook for students to use at school.
25. Prep youth volunteers on their role in upcoming big events.
26. Create fun, interactive video segments during youth group.
27. Push real-time helps for parents in response to a community crisis or cultural event.
28. Blow up a student’s big game, performance or life event, letting everyone celebrate with them.
29. Host a live “ask me anything” night for the teenagers, if you dare.
For the People-Empowering Children’s Minister:
30. Build VBS anticipation with a walk thru of environments themeing.
31. Deliver weekly volunteer preparation for this week’s lesson or craft.
32. Broadcast VBS rec/craft/worship with real-time look-ins.
33. Host monthly parent forums with Q&A on a particular topic.
34. Give a Sunday night recap of the morning with questions for parent/child interaction around the lesson.
35. Settle once and for all how much more fun volunteering with kids really is.
For the Always-Analyzing Executive Pastor:
36. Produce training updates on one of your boring policies or procedures.
37. Live stream mandatory annual health insurance meetings, staff can fake interest by sending hearts
38. Realize, that—who are we kidding—you bristle at the thought of another social media channel to have to police.
For the Cause-Mobilizing Missions Pastor:
39. Transmit updates from teams as they reflect on the work of God that day.
40. Host “Missions Weekend” interviews with missionaries in the field.
41. Give progress reports on construction projects or evangelistic initiatives.
42. Live stream back home from worship environments around the world.
43. Produce time-zone transcending monthly updates to partners in the field, with feedback and prayer request avenues built-in.
44. Keep track of “church has left the building” projects as they are happening.
45. Connect groups meeting in prisons or missions centers to the larger church body.
For the Hard-Working Church Custodian:
46. Show everyone how wrecked the church is after a youth meeting.
