It’s
clear that social media is becoming big in churches these days. For a lot of
churches, it’s been mainstream for a few years. So I am not going to provide
any links to websites about “how churches can be effective with social media”
or pages similar to that. One can simply do an internet search to find all the
resources about social media and churches. I have my own views about the use of
Facebook, twitter, vimeo, YouTube, Google+ etc. when it comes to churches. I am
of the opinion that social media can be better utilized to reach nonbelievers. Below,
are some of my thoughts on the use of these tools in the area of evangelism.
Social
media is mainly used by churches to communicate what is going on within a given
faith community. We like to tweet pithy comments during the sermon. The youth
minister likes to post when the youth group plans to make it back to the
church. We like to retweet this week’s sermon to our followers (unfortunately for
some this is about there only form of evangelism). And all these things are
great. They are great for Christians. But how do we use this technology to
reach nonbelievers? As effective as these tools are to get information to other
Christians, how effective are they to reaching nonbelievers? Is it even
possible to reach nonbelievers using social media like Twitter and Facebook?
I
am of the opinion that if a congregation has a ministry, it (the ministry)
should be focused on nonbelievers as much as possible. Whatever the ministry
is, it should be constantly asking, “how does this look to nonbelievers? What
can we do to make them feel more welcome in our faith community?”
Take
worship as an example. How should a nonbeliever perceive any given worship
service on a Sunday morning? What are they going to think when they hear
phrases like, “let’s all stand and worship…” and “…give it all to Jesus…”?
Should a given congregation expect a nonbeliever to worship something they have
no belief in? Now granted, a lot of churches see Sunday morning as more for
“themselves” than for those outside of a church community. But, if a church considers
itself open to nonbelievers, then it should consider the feelings of someone
who doesn’t necessarily believe what Christians believe when they are planning
the worship experience. It may be that worship band is warming up to a few
secular songs while everyone is getting to their seat. Maybe they start with
songs about God’s creation, and His love. Then they progress to more personal
responses in the lyrics such as, “I raise my hands…” or “…You are my only
God….” Simply taking a few minutes and asking how something is going to be
perceived from a nonbeliever’s stand point has the potential to be truly
welcoming to those questioning Christianity. Look, we can
acknowledge the obvious: they actually made it to the church building, and
should therefore expect some type of religiosity, but that is no excuse for
churches to not be a little bit accommodating….
Back
to the topic at hand: How does this look when it comes to social media? How
does a church use social media in a way that potentially attracts nonbelievers?
I think it requires being as open as you can, accepting some risk, and allowing
for grace while not altering truth. Here are a few examples of how I believe a
faith community can use social media outlets for evangelism.
Facebook
– Most churches these days have a Facebook page. And like most churches, these
pages are closed to members of that faith community. But what if the page was
completely open, where anyone could post anything? This would be the digital
way of saying, “the church doors are always open.” True, this can provide a situation where you
may see some colorful language, or inappropriate links. But managed well, a
Facebook page can provide an avenue for those seeking answers to tough
questions, that would normally not walk into a church service. And another
thing: maybe it’s just me, but having a closed page, but saying you are “seeker
friendly” sends the wrong message. Sure, you are going to get “that guy” that
wants to argue about the seemingly conflicts in the gospels. But how you treat
him is much more important than proving him wrong. How does blocking him out of
the group because he can defend his beliefs as well as you show evangelism?
Twitter
- tweets about church are usually about the preaching from that Sunday.
Sometimes it is about the speaker’s clothes. Sometimes it is about the weather!
Some churches are even keeping you informed of the parking situation. Did you
know that pictures are more likely to be retweeted than that awesome comment
the speaker said? But whatever it is, it
should reflect the overall tenor of the population. A nonbeliever
should be able to follow the church’s account and figure out pretty quickly
what a “normal” Sunday morning looks like. Retweets from members help them
understand the types of people that attend regularly. Posting links about local
mission support helps them understand how they can get involved before signing
up for Christianity (topic for another blog: people tend to serve before they
start believing). Post links to job openings in the area. Hopefully you get the
idea: make it more about the faith community, not so much about just the
sermon.
Blogs
– Most churches have someone blogging. Blogs are probably the best way to
understand someone’s personality and their interests. Although a lot of
churches blog these days, churches could have members who have their own
personal blogs (even better). A church should consider designating an area on
their webpage that provides a list of all the known bloggers that attend their
congregation. This way, a person could gain a better understanding of the type
of people that attend a given congregation. Maybe they come across someone that
appears to think a little like them, and they are compelled to ask that person
a question. People are far more likely to be intimidated by an official church
blog, than by someone who appears to be approachable.
Other
ideas would be:
- · Lists of books that staff members recommend or are reading.
- · Favorite music (band, songs, venues, etc.) from members
- · Conferences that staff attend
-
- · A list of small business owners that attend a given church
-
- · If some members are musicians, where they are playing locally
-
- · Projecting tweets during worship services
-
- · Answering questions from tweets, Facebook posts, etc.
-
- · Using video services like Vimeo and YouTube for more than just posting the sermon.
My
point is that churches should make it as easy as possible for a nonbeliever to
find what he/she is looking for. Maybe it’s allowing them to post a question.
Maybe it’s pointing them to someone that sounds a little bit like them. Maybe it’s
helping them find a job. Maybe its allowing them to connect with someone who is
a little more outgoing that can speak in a way that attracts them to the
teachings of Jesus.
So
here are some questions to churches: Do you consider your congregation open to
outsiders? Are your members on top of current events? Do they merely retweet
the passage from that Sunday morning? Are they Republicans? Democrats?
Libertarians? Scientists? Pro Choice? Do they disagree with the speaker
(gasp!)? There are numerous research
tools on the web that can answer these questions for you. If a nonbeliever is
considering attending one of your services, there is a good chance they are
already analyzing your posts and your members’ posts. They want to know the
type of congregation they are considering visiting. You see,
nonbelievers want to know if they will be rejected if they disagree. If you
find out about their past, will you be judgmental? If they don’t believe in a
literal 7 days of creation, will they be allowed back? Whether you believe it
or not, these answers can be inferred by the types of comments posted online,
in your congregation’s name….
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