7 Ways to Dig for Content Gold 

The Number 1 challenge for churches who want to use social media but do not know how to get started is finding content.

This is new territory. In the past, church members had to seek permission to have a voice in the Church—earning the right with years of faithful obedience—best achieved in silence.

In the past, “content” came to us from the national church. Congregations subscribed to a service which provided bulletin shells with four-color art on the cover and a national church pitch on the back. We’ve visited 56 churches. Not one is using them.

The national church also published all curriculum and worship materials. Our visits reveal that worship books sitting in the pew racks are rarely—almost never—used. Instead churches are drawing from many sources — including the web.

2×2 uses seven types of content. When the well is dry in one, we move on to another. Generally, we rotate fairly evenly between them.

First of all, recognize this. If you don’t have a message, it will show. Blogging and social media is not for the timid. So take a look at each of these types of content and determine how each can “tell the story.” You don’t have to use them all. You can use just one of them consistently. But they are all available.

We’ll point out how 2×2 uses each.

1. Articulate A Dream

Think back to Martin Luther King, Jr. He had a dream and his actions and his sermons/speeches articulated that dream. Without the power of the internet, he rallied people around his vision. He sparked action. He dusted the cobwebs of bigoted thinking. He changed society. Just think of what he might have accomplished today! Find the dreamers in your congregation. Ask them to write. Otherwise that vision statement you worked on so hard might be wasted!

2×2’s dream is to restore neighborhood ministry in East Falls. We write about this often. In that quest we have discovered that other churches face similar threats. We try to help.

2. Teach

Social Media is changing the American classroom. It is turning the education process inside out. Old way: Students listened to lectures in school and went home to complete assignments. New way: Students listen to lectures at home and come to school ready to work out problems both individually and collectively. How this will apply to congregational education has yet to be explored. Explore it.

2×2 posts two about twice a week with teaching content — an object lesson suitable for adults and a religious art feature. They draw good traffic!

3. Persuade

Jesus and Paul were great persuaders. Jesus tirelessly told persuasive parables. Paul was less of a storyteller — at least in his preserved letters. A letter from Paul was a carefully drafted persuasive treatise. Each one articulated — often to disgruntled or confused people — the reasoning behind the Christian movement.  The Church still has this need. Fill it.

2×2 tries to persuade our denomination to view small churches as powerful mission resources and not just assets-in-waiting for the larger church.

4. Analyze

The Church is accustomed to people of higher authority analyzing the world for them. This will change as it becomes easier to tap the wealth of experience and education sitting in the pew that never attended seminary. Choose a topic of current interest—or introduce a topic that needs attention. Look at it from every point of view you can think of. Then invite others to look at it from more points of view. The Church is a cornucopia of topics that call for this need. Theology. Mission. Ethics. Morality. Modern Life. There is no end of material. Much of it begs for attention.

2×2 analyzes the direction of the modern church from the small church viewpoint.

5. Review

People love to know what other people think. Review the popular movie or book. Introduce readers to less popular art, writing, music and cinema. Is a noted artist or choir coming to town? Give a preview to promote it and a review after the fact. Attend local school performances and write reviews. Be part of your neighborhoods!

2×2 posts occasional reviews and moves them to a review page. We have started to make a conscious attempt to attend local events and write about them.

6. Tell Stories

The foundation of all good communication: Tell THE story. Tell YOUR story. Tell the stories of members and mission.

2×2’s Ambassador Reports tell our story about once a week.

7. Curate

The web is full of information. When you come across something of interest to church members, SHARE. You can also link readers to interesting posts. Tell them why you found the post or video worthwhile.

2×2 occasionally posts meaningful videos. We’ve just started featuring an analysis of religious art that coordinates with the weekly lectionary. Type “video” in our on-site search engine to see some. They include a little girl that tells a great story, the story of a boy with great imagination and initiative, and an uplifting story of boys who like to sing.

photo credit: Sharon Drummond via photopin cc