“Using Social Media For Your Church”

Monday, May 21, 2018

This post is from our minister, Dan Lankford. He currently runs all of our social media platforms, so I asked for some of his input in this series on how congregations can do things well.  - Roger Hillis

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The power of social media is no secret anymore. Particularly if you live in an urban area, its presence is powerful. And while we probably spend more of our church assembly time warning about its pitfalls, the fact is that it presents several open doors for the church too. If we use it thoughtfully, it has the potential to be a blessed tool for a congregation.

Like everything we do, a church’s use of any of the mainstream platforms—Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Pinterest—must be governed by the wisdom of God. Jesus' instruction to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16) applies as much in what you post as in what you preach. Paul’s example of not holding back the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) should govern us here too. Even something as simple as the Bible’s usage of the word “church” should guide what kind of content we are generating. This whole undertaking is more than marketing. Because we are spiritual people, it is a decidedly spiritual activity.

So what should our goals be when managing social media threads? Here are some things that our experience has taught us:

• Churches must do posts about people. This is why I said the Bible’s usage of the word “church” is an important governing idea for us. Whether we’re trying to engage the unchurched or keep our members connected, the key to doing that online is the same key to doing that in daily life—it’s about people. Most churches post lots of words on their websites and social threads (scripture quotes, explanations of doctrine, and articles). But the digital world works like the analog world: most people engage with the words (the Bible) only after they have come to know the people who are living it.
• Don’t spam your followers’ threads. If you do too much of a good thing, your content quickly begins to be overlooked.
• Keep things current. Neglected websites and social threads give an impression that a congregation just doesn’t do things well. Don’t let someone stumble across your Twitter and see that your last tweet is from six months ago.
• Be open about the teachings of the Bible. It’s tempting to just post things that are “nice,” like sentimental cliches, pictures of sunsets, and feel-good verses taken out of context. But we need to make sure that we are open about what the Bible really teaches. If we get nasty responses in the comments section, so be it. If we’ve chosen to use social media, the light has already been placed on the lamp stand. Don’t be afraid to let it shine.
• This one is the most important: the church that people see online should look like the church they will see when they visit. You want posts that highlight the church’s actual beliefs and actual personality. Don’t advertise yourself as the church that you want to be—advertise yourself as the church that you are. If your congregation is low-key and more reserved, communicate that. If you are an energetic and boisterous group, communicate that. If you tend to be more focused on practical teaching for daily living, communicate that. If you tend to be more focused on deep theology, communicate that. Whatever the church is like, that is what it should look like.
• Give your best thoughts to keeping a balanced perspective on the things that matter about a church: God (his love, his will, and his word) and people.

Now, with those goals in mind, what works? Here are some practical suggestions.

• Post pictures of people. This cannot be stressed enough. Children’s and adults’ Bible classes, worship assemblies, handshakes and hugs in the church lobby, impromptu Bible discussions that you see happening after a service… all of these make great fodder for posts. Keep your phone handy, and keep your eyes open for encouraging interactions between people.
• Post helpful audio and video quotes from sermons.
• Advertise all upcoming events. Do countdowns to VBS, introduce the guest speaker for an upcoming series, or advertise an upcoming sermon series. And during events, post synopses of messages, pictures of kids in VBS classes, sermon quotes, and anything else that gives a good vibe of what the event was like.
• Take pictures of every guest speaker that fills your pulpit. Even if it’s one of your own members, highlight the different faces of the men who preach the word in your assemblies.
• Use content that you are already generating. Share your bulletin articles and sermon recordings. These will never become your most-liked content, but they are helpful nonetheless. Link your social threads to your website that they can generate automatic content. We use a free service called “If This Then That” (IFTTT on app stores) to post every new blog article and sermon recording to Facebook & Twitter.
• We also use the same service to instantly share every new Instagram photo to Facebook & Twitter. This saves valuable time for the minister (or whoever is running the social stuff) to do more important things.
• Highlight things that happen outside of the facility. Sharing pictures from youth devos, Bible study meetups, elders meetings, and even something as simple as dinners between church members keeps people engaged outside of assembly times.
• If you have a marquee message out in front of your facility, post pictures of the messages you put out there.
• Post Bible verses. Share them as images rather than just a tweet or a Facebook status. Images get lots more attention on every social sight.
• Be creative in taking photos and designing layouts. Try different angles, highlight various groupings of members, use apps like Hyperlapse and Instagram’s native video tools to play with the timing in videos.
• Get other people to take videos and pictures for you. You don’t want every picture of a service to have obviously been taken from the same seat, and you don’t want to be the only person working on this effort.
• Use relevant hashtags and occasionally pay to promote your best content. It’s annoying to have to do that, but it is necessary to reach wider audiences with our crucial message.

If you’re not committed to using these platforms well, we seriously suggest that you don’t use them at all. For all that we could say about the good that can be accomplished through them, we also recognize that they are not necessary to spread the message of Jesus Christ. And so, if working in this particular vein proves itself a distraction from effective ministry, get rid of it and focus on ministering in more effective ways. But if you’re going to use them, hopefully these considerations will help you to do that in ways that are powerful, faithful, and encouraging.

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