If I doubted the poignancy of social networking before, (which I didn't) I wouldn't now. I've just spent the last hour having three separate conversations on Facebook: one with an out-of-state friend of 18 years; another with a local friend; and a third with someone I've never met face to face. If that's not a powerful tool that can be put to good use in the church, I don't know what is. The truth is, it's a tool that's always been at the church's disposal, just in different forms. It's fellowship.
Fellowship might be described as the backbone of the church. It is certainly a building block of the individual's spiritual life. According to Mark MacDonald, president of PinPoint Creative, fellowship is just another term for networking, and thanks to technology the church can now fellowship, or network, 24/7 locally and internationally.
The best part is that churches of any size can harness this power. "The biggest benefit of social networking is cost," says MacDonald. "Most churches seek better outreach and communication, and social networking is an easy, low-cost (or no-cost) option."
MacDonald adds that three quarters of Americans have a social network account of some kind. Therefore, much of the work is already done -- churches just have to show up!
Get Started
"Create a simple strategy," says MacDonald. "What do you want to accomplish? Be specific, measurable and manageable. Then be sure someone is tracking and checking that your content is appropriate and entertaining."
That someone can be a team or an individual, but it needs to be someone committed and knowledgeable of the technology involved.
Jordan Spain-Honaker has been the Pastor of Outreach and Media at Grace Temple in Terre Haute, Indiana, since August 2010. He came into his position with the express goal of building Grace's community presence and strengthening existing relationships in order to increase outreach effectiveness. "I began by assessing where we were at and where we wanted to be," says Spain-Honaker. At the time, Grace was not utilizing any social networking. Spain-Honaker's first steps were prayer and meetings with other church leaders, followed closely by the decision to design a new web site that would link with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other sites, a simple task any church with a working web site can accomplish.
Spain-Honaker has used his own Facebook, Twitter and blogs as a springboard. "The infrastructure of these sites puts me in contact with the un-churched more than I typically would be on any given day. Whatever I post instantly shows up on my parishioner's accounts, and all they have to do is share or link with my scripture, thought or announcement, and it will show up on their friend's accounts," he says.
Manage Content
"Don't think ‘marketing' think ‘conversation.' Start interactions and ask questions. Imagine what you'd do and say if someone physically walked through your church's doors," says MacDonald.
Meaningful content can be anything from a scripture to an uplifting thought to a paraphrase of a sermon or Bible study, but it needs to be fresh. Likewise, if social sites direct the public to your web site, make sure its content is up-to-date and engaging, as well. "Think short, concise, entertaining, and thought-provoking," MacDonald adds.
"This type of ‘viral evangelism' comes natural and is great because it's non-confrontational -- you can either take it or leave it, which makes it easy for any one of our members to share Jesus," concludes Spain-Honaker.
