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Social Media Ministry

Ideas for Churches to Blog About in April

Here are some ideas to help keep your blog active next month. Start writing now!

April begins with Easter but most of your writing about Easter should have happened in March.

Recap your congregation’s Easter. Include photos or video.

Explore weekly scriptures and themes:

April 15, 2012
Acts 4:32-35  •  Psalm 133  •  1 John 1:1–2:2  •  John 20:19-31

The theme of the second Sunday of Easter is fellowship. The first lesson deals with the distribution of wealth among the early Christians. The Psalm continues the theme: “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” The apostle John also talks about the importance of fellowship in Jesus. His discourse shifts to a discussion on sin and includes the familiar words of confession used in many liturgies. The Gospel story is the Thomas, the Doubter, story which concludes with one of the first Christian creeds, “My Lord and my God!”

Write about your congregation’s fellowship outreach and how your congregation works together.

April 22, 201
Acts 3:12-19  •  Psalm 4  •  1 John 3:1-7  •  Luke 24:36b-48

The impact of Jesus and the Resurrection is a theme of third Sunday of Easter. Sin is overcome by forgiveness and Jesus’ sacrifice. The Gospel is another story about a visit from the resurrected Christ, one where he proves his return to human form by eating fish with his disciples.

April 27, 2012
Acts 4:5-12  •  Psalm 23  •  1 John 3:16-24  •  John 10:11-18

The theme for the fourth Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday. Explore some art and poetry based on the 23rd Psalm. Several well-known hymns parallel the verses of the psalm. Write about the hymn history of these or other Easter season hymns. The sacrifice of the shepherd, founded in love and caring, can be explored. What examples of this type of love can you find in your ministry?

April 4 is the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
April 14 is the anniversary of Lincoln’s death. Tie the two together.

April 15 is the tax filing deadline in the United States. Tie the need to fund our government with the need to fund our church.

April is Autism Awareness Month. Explore ministry to families with autism.

April is Poetry Month. Feature some religious poetry. Hymn lyrics count.

April 22 is Earth Day. Write about stewardship of the earth. Tie it to service projects.

Look ahead to Pentecost. Will you have a confirmation or first communion class? Feature the class members.

School activities and celebrations peak toward the end of the month. Are there concerts, plays or picnics your members might like to support?

Does your congregation have graduates to honor?

Many churches/denominations have spring convocations. Include news or explore issues that will be discussed.

Start promoting your Vacation Bible School. Write about the theme or any events. Interview teachers about why they are willing to teach.

Start promoting your Church Camp.

Review the activities of various church committees and groups. Ask them to guest post!

20 Mar 2012

5 Ways Social Media Will Change Your Church’s Life

If your congregation wisely chooses to invest time and passion in social media, be prepared for many things to change. We’re not talking about self-centered Facebook prattle; we’re talking about online interaction that looks outside your parish to the community and, by the nature of the internet, the world.

This may be the hardest thing for the Church to grasp. The internet connects individuals with the world. There is no intermediary. No church council, no pastor, no synod or its equivalent, no bishop, no national church can control congregational interconnectedness.

This means that congregation’s must be more mindful of  things which may have been neglected. While it is easy to reach the world, one mission of the individual Christian community will become more intense—the care and nurturing of individual Christians.

  1. Congregational Education is vital. A congregation must be confident in knowing who they are and what thy believe if they are to engage neighbors or the world in their mission. This has always been a focus of parish life, but educational components of many churches have been dropped in the last few decades. As long as the focus of congregational life was local, it didn’t seem to matter. This needs a remedy. Education must be intertwined with every activity.
  2. Social Awareness must be nurtured. You will begin to hear from Christians from places you never considered as being Christian. Congregations must understand, for instance, the challenges Christians face in Islamic nations, where Christians can be ostracized from their families or jailed. While freedom of religion is taken for granted by many Americans, some religions maintain cultural holds on their people even IN America.
  3. The Church needs to become attuned to the minute causes of community as well as the big picture. We live in an age where anyone can bring a cause to the public’s attention. Yellow ribbons, pink ribbons, donation cans, something-a-thons become very focused. Keeping up with them will be an ongoing mission challenge.
  4. Personal faith must be deepened. Savvy companies teach every employee that they are a representative of their company culture. The Church needs to foster the same sense of ownership among members. Every member reflects on the congregation. Congregations will want their members to be knowledgeable and engaged as representatives of their church.
  5. The biggest change is that many congregations will be able to rebound from survival mode and see themselves as important. Their interconnectedness will give them energy, resources and renewed purpose.
19 Mar 2012

LinkedIn Can Help Church Pros Connect . . . If They Use It

LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool similar to Facebook but with a professional focus.

It packs a powerful punch for anyone wanting to connect with people in a specific sphere of interest. You can use LinkedIn to find professionals who might be willing to help you. Say, for instance, you are looking for someone who has worked in ministry with disabled people or who can preach in Arabic. You can look for people with those specific skills.

Conversely, you might have a skill you feel is underused. You can feature your special interest in your profile.

LinkdIn is an “opt-in” medium. The user chooses to particpate in the online community. Users can look for connections, accept referrals, and ask for introductions.

LinkedIn users can join groups . . . also entirely opt-in. Professionals can only connect by getting someone they already know to introduce them. Even then, the person of interest must accept and initiate any resulting communication.

It’s a fairly safe way to form relationships with peers that can be helpful in your work.

One would think that anyone going to the trouble to complete a LinkedIn profile would be serious about using this amazing networking tool. Most groups are filled with names willing to be found or to help others in their searches.

2×2 found a very odd exception. We looked at a group formed around a Protestant denomination. The group had hundreds of members with very detailed profiles. Most of them had their identities shielded!

What a waste of communication potential!

Again, the Church fails to understand how the tools of today’s world can be used in mission. What are church LinkedIn members afraid of? Why bother joining a professional network and then back away from any ability to take advantage of its potential?

It’s crazy! Back to the cloister!

photo credit: JeremyMP [Catching Up] via photopin cc
15 Mar 2012

2×2 Has 4000 First Time Visits and Counting

Today 2×2 registered its 4000 first-time visitor just as we began our second year of posting.

We created our virtual church after our denomination locked us out of our property nearly three years ago. It’s been a grand experiment and we’ve learned a lot, all of which we are glad to share.

We’ve been watching the statistics and they reveal a great deal about the reality and challenges of ministry today.

Here’s a short rundown:

  • In the first two months of 2012 we matched the traffic for all of 2011 with more than 2000 visitors. If traffic continues to grow we may have 20,000 visitors by this time in 2013.
  • Someone from every state has visited 2×2 with the most visitors from Pennsylvania, California, Georgia, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, New Jersey, Minnesota and Illinois.
  • 68 countries have visited 2×2 with regular readership in France, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Pakistan and the Netherlands. Traffic in Africa and South America is beginning to pick up.
  • Traffic comes in peaks and valleys but the peaks are growing taller and the valleys less deep.
  • We have about 80 readers subscribing to our daily blog feed and an average of 37 miscellaneous visitors every day. Together that’s more than 100 readers every day.
  • We’ve had more than 200 new weekly visitors for the last four weeks (not counting subscribers).
  • Most readers come looking for advice on using social media or for the worship resources we’ve made available.
  • Our multicultural series was reposted in Texas.
  • Two seminaries have shown an interest in 2×2’s thought leadership. Our posts have been circulated for discussion among students.
  • We are starting to form friendships with churches all over the world as we make it a point to write to anyone who comments. Some are becoming pen pals, praying and fasting for our church. We pray for them regularly as well.
  • We’ve created links for special projects of others and are helping their ministries grow.
  • Our most popular post continues to be a review of our visit to Trinity, Fort Washington, and their pastor’s object lessons for adults.
  • Just in the last month, dialog started to pick up on the topics we’ve introduced, drawing comments from leaders of some sizable churches.

2×2 is a small church fulfilling a big mission. We’ve just begun!

09 Mar 2012

Should Churches and Pastors Be on Facebook?

Facebook vs Blogging

A year or so ago announcing your presence on Facebook was the latest craze. Many Church leaders tried this route as congregations and regional bodies added Facebook pages.

We visited the Facebook page of one prominent church leader. It started with a hesitant attempt to engage the flock. Within one year, the Facebook page had deteriorated to nothing but announcements of press releases. One young person had posted a deep concern on the “wall.” The answer received to that post was obviously written by a staff person, someone monitoring this prominent leader’s Facebook page — a digital age blow off.

That points to a real danger of church engagement on Facebook. People reaching out expect a caring person online waiting to hear them and willing to answer. They expect the Facebook owner to be reading what they write and they expect that person to respond when they’ve invited the inquiry. A digital blow-off from a third party, offered days later, has the power to devastate.

People will sense phoniness and turn to active forums that really ARE listening and engaging.

As proof . . . after one year this church leader had NO friends and few followers. So what was the point of the big Facebook announcement?

Facebook requires more daily attention and commitment — more time than most church leaders are able or willing to give.

We visited dozens of congregational Facebook pages . . . again . . . mostly press release type announcements with no real engagement. Most had very little activity.

This is why we recommend that congregations enter Social Media through blogging. You can develop your pace and control the content much more easily. People can engage just as they do on Facebook, but are likely to be more thoughtful about it and more willing to wait a day or so for a response.

There is some value to being on Facebook. You can feed your posts through the various Social Media outlets and get some traffic benefits. But it is hardly worth the fanfare of announcing it.

If you make a big announcement about your Facebook page and then doing nothing with it, it is like crying Wolf. Don’t say it if you don’t intend to play it!

photo credit: {Guerrilla Futures | Jason Tester} via photopin cc
08 Mar 2012

How Do Church Leaders Find Time for Social Media?

As we noted in our latest Social Media post, finding the time for social media is the biggest hurdle for churches in acclimating to the digital world.

“Church” has been done the same way for centuries. People entering ministry have expectations for how they will spend their time when they are called to a parish. Something like this: Monday will be spent on office housekeeping and reflection in preparation for next week’s sermon. Parish calls are made on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Wednesday is bulletin day and Bible study, choir practice or some other group activity. A few hours of Thursday might be spent with colleagues over lunch. Meetings will be scattered throughout the week. Friday is for polishing the sermon. There are always emergencies. And one of these days is a day off.

Time must be found. Social Media is simply too powerful to ignore. If you are serving an aging congregation it is all the more vital. Your older members may be willing to forego it, but the current coming-of-age generation — Generation Y — lives with their cell phones epoxied to their palms. If you want your church to have a future, you MUST speak the language and use the tools of the future.

How do you make the time?

There is no doubt it will be hard to adjust the routine. It is an adjustment for everyone! We suggest a two-pronged approach:

  1. Set aside 30 minutes a day for social media. Start your day with it. End your day with it or follow your lunch break with it. Make it a routine.
  2. Let others help.

Carving out a half-hour may be the easiest of the two steps to take, especially after you begin to see results. In our experience that took six months of daily posting to grow readership to our current average of 50 readers a day and a thousand each month. Warning: A half hour is a start. You will find Social Media so compelling that it will become more vital to your church community.

The second part — letting others help — is a major shift in church structure but it is going to happen. Top-down church leadership is quickly becoming a thing of the past. If people do not have a voice in their churches they will fill their lives with things that engage them.

This adds a new church emphasis for which your social media can be a tool. Education. You want members engaging in online religious issues to be knowledgeable. Many churches have neglected education. Use Social Media to break that cycle. We’ll address this in our next Social Media post.

photo credit: ebby via photopin cc
03 Mar 2012

The Unmeasured Strength of the Weakest Link

That weak link — the one you wish you didn’t have to worry about — well, it turns out it could be your most valuable asset. Sociologists are learning that it is the weakest links which drive innovation.

Scientists have done studies to identify how new ideas take root and where the sources of great success stories lie. People think it is in fostering alliances and friendships with the like-minded or the movers and shakers — the powerful, the well-connected, the jet set.

The big churches — not the small churches.

Turns out they are wrong. In story after story the sparks of great ideas prove to come from the serendipitous—the people you barely know, from small groups of people struggling with ideas in a very hands-on way.

Read this for an interesting take on how this affects social media.

This is an interesting analysis of the value of networks. Let’s focus on one quote:

“The way networks have their effect is not by getting information from people, but rather by finding people who are interesting and who think differently from you,” —Ronald S. Burt, Neighbor Networks

What does this mean to the Church?

Most congregations are fairly homogenous in membership. Redeemer’s Ambassadors visited 40 in the last 18 months. Only about four had significant diversity — at least visually. We tend to gravitate toward people who are like us, dress like us, and act like us. The minute things start to change, we become defensive. Liturgical dance . . . no way! Tambourines . . . never! The barriers we put up are designed to protect our sense of identity and comfort.

We want to recognize ourselves in the person sitting beside us in church. It is proof to us that we are accepted.

The whole structure of Church is designed for sameness. We rally around one leader and conform our ministries to that leader’s interests and skills. When encouraged to invite others, we invite people like us.

When congregations attempt innovation it is likely to be the same sort of dabbling taking place 10 miles from us. Properly sanctioned innovation.

Redeemer struggled to grow until we began reaching out to people who were different from us.

Then new ideas began to spread. Of course, we were wary of change, but we quickly learned that we didn’t have to change all that much. Change did not have to mean abandoning who we are. We added to our heritage.

With this web site, we continue to find new spins on evangelism. Churches across the country and around the world are sharing with us and we respond. We have learned that Jesus’ commission for us to go out into the world is not so much to make the rest of the world transform to our ways but for US to learn NEW ways from them.

If the Church as a whole wants to change, it must foster relationships with our weakest acquaintances.

Redeemer, through our 2×2 site, has become pen pals with a church in Pakistan and another in Kenya. We’ve helped individuals with projects across our own continent. We’ve learned more in the last four years than in our congregation’s previous 120 years.

This sense of mission may not be for every church, but we encourage you to look at your own “weak links.” Who in your congregation is borderline involved, a bit uncomfortable? Engage them. You may find they have insights and skills to offer that you didn’t know you needed.

Use the power of the web to reach the neglected. One church close to us has studied the needs of families with autistic family members. Because we knew of their interest we were able to introduce them to another ministry designing worship opportunities for the autistic.

This is a golden age for the church. It was never more possible to fulfill the Great Commission. Will we meet the challenge? Or will we continue to reward and encourage the efforts of homogenous ministry?

UPDATE: June 2013. 2×2 now has a network of six churches internationally. They’ve gone out of their way to get to know each other. Our members are in contact with them regularly—often weekly. Locally we’ve visited 62 of our sister churches. They tend to avoid communicating with us but then they all found our property to be of more value to their leaders than our ministry was in our community or the world.

photo credit: HikingArtist.com via photopin cc

29 Feb 2012

Encouraging Social Media Engagement in Congregations

Among the most frequently asked questions among new bloggers/social media practitioners is “How do we get people to “like” us or “comment.”

This is particularly difficult in the church setting because Social Media breaks a 2000-year-old tradition. Preachers preach. Congregants listen. Traditional communication is one way.

If pastors are encouraging parishioners to voice theological thoughts in public, they are asking people to make a major change in their spiritual relationships with God, the Church, and with other people. They may feel awkward, vulnerable or unqualified. This will take time.

Encouraging religious dialog among the laity is a worthwhile goal and long, long overdue. Trust must be established. Confidence must be built. Faith must be prepared for inevitable challenges. It’s a tall order and not to be rushed.

Here are some ideas.

  • Start with younger members. They are closer to their confirmation years and much more comfortable with social media, although many do not see it as a place for serious thought. Still, they are a most likely to consider it. The challenge will be to build their confidence to speak outside their circle of peers.
  • Prime the pump. Ask three people to write a blog or start a conversation on Facebook. Help them. Teach them. Guide them.
  • Engage the congregation or forum group in conversation about the online dialog and specifically ask some of them to share their insights on line. You can lead the way with your own “like” or comment.
  • Create an online poll asking questions that the posts raised. This is an easy first online engagement for people. It’s anonymous but people can see how it works.
  • Repeat this cycle monthly or quarterly or as topics arise in your community or congregation.

One more idea:

Blogging Roundtable

Have a blog roundtable. Sometimes these are called blog carnivals. It’s a new idea so you can choose any name you like. Make it fun. Blogging rodeo? Blogging round-up? Blogfest?

Ask several or many people to write on a given topic and submit a 500-word or less post in email, text or document format. Post an introductory blog to present the topic and explain the roundtable concept. Set a deadline about 10 days away. Do some behind the scenes nudging to make sure you have at least a few responses. Run a few tickler posts on the topic to get mental juices flowing. On the appointed day, publish ALL the posts at once and encourage participants and readers to mix, match and compare. You might even run a “like” contest or poll to see which ideas resonate best.

This could help rally people and engage them in a fun way.

photo credit: lovestruck. via photopin cc

23 Feb 2012

Does Social Media Threaten the Future of the Organized Church?

A veteran parish pastor, now retired, loves to tell the story of a conversation he had many years ago with a young adult congregant who was drifting away from church after years of faithful attendance as a child.

“I don’t believe in organized religion,” the young woman said. The pastor quipped, “Do you prefer disorganized religion?”

Today, that pastor could safely quip, “Not to worry! There is no such thing as organized religion.”

The organized Church is unraveling.

The Roman Catholic Church, the paradigm of structure, is scrambling to bolster its traditional teachings against changing popular sentiment and practices. Its hierarchical structure is threatened by disinterest. There are fewer candidates for priesthood and religious orders. That means the power of the hierarchy is made available to fewer candidates, leaving weaker talent to rise to the top. It should be no surprise that scandal has followed. Without the traditional pool of workers to staff parishes, the foundations of parish traditions — the schools — are closing or merging. They may be more economic but will struggle to provide the parish identity which parishioners value as highly as the quality of education.

Protestants are not immune. They tend to get less media attention, but they, too, face challenges attracting professional leadership, dwindling support, and their share of scandal.

What does this mean to the average believer?

It means the laity will carry a greater burden in maintaining and administering parishes. They will do so with negligible support from any hierarchy. They will be asked to commit  time and resources that begin to outweigh the investment of professional leadership. They will have no support system when there is trouble—and there WILL BE trouble.

As a result, lay Christians will think twice before committing to supporting any congregation. The remaining hierarchy will reward the laity who are strong followers and penalize the laity who step into the leadership void. The faithful will have a tougher time meeting the expectations set for them in healthier days. Since lay involvement is, for the most part, volunteer, they, too, will become fewer in number.

As things deteriorate the blame game will begin. As the stakes get higher, the game will become nastier. The basic tenants of Christianity will be tested.

Much of this prediction is already happening.

If you don’t believe in organized religion, there was never a better time to sign up!

But 2×2 does not like to leave any reader feeling hopeless. While troubling, we view this as growing pains. 

The old structure is crumbling but a new Church is emerging. New life will take root in the ruins of the past.

The internet is rebuilding the foundation of the Church. The laity now have a voice. The hierarchy won’t like it and will try to control it. They will fail.

There are controls, however. The “joy stick” is not in any one person’s hand. We are entering a time when we will be held accountable by one another, not by a hierarchy.

Hang in there, Christians. This is going to get exciting!

photo credit: Denise ~*~ via photopin cc
22 Feb 2012

Blogging Ideas for March

Keep blogging!

Here are some ideas to help you keep your church blog active during March. It’s only two weeks away. Starting scheduling posts now!

Spread the work around and assign one of the topics below to other social media team members.

Key Scripture Passages

Meditate on Scripture assigned to the Sundays in March and think of one thought or illustration which would help communicate its meaning. Keep it short. Search for a free online photo to go with your meditation. photopin.com

March 4

Psalm 22:27-28
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.

Mark 8:34-35
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

Mark 9:7
Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

March 11

Exodus 20:1-17—The Ten Commandments

1 Corinthians 1:19 & 25
For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”  . . .  For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

John 2:19
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

March 18, 2012

Psalm 107:1
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.

Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. (This passage helped to launch the Reformation. Write about it!)

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (Remember the signs that the faithful would carry to the pro-football games, hoping for media attention.)

John 3:20-21
For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

March 25

Jeremiah 31:34
No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Psalm 51:10-12
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

John 12:24
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

March 25

is Annunciation Day (a reminder in the midst of Lent that the Christ child is coming)

As March ends, Holy Week begins

  • Write about Holy Week, especially the lesser known or observed celebrations.
  • Saint Patrick’s Day—Saint Patrick’s life is fascinating but flooded with shamrocks and leprechauns on that day, few people know much about the real St. Patrick.
  • St. Patrick’s Day is an opportunity to teach the Trinity. That’s what the shamrock imagery is all about!
  • Remind people of Daylight’s Saving Time. We lose an hour on March 11.
  • March 20 is the first day of Spring.
  • Girl Scout Week is March 10-16: feature your girls. Ask them to contribute to the blog.
  • March is Women’s History Month: highlight your women. Ask for a guest blog from women leaders.
  • March is National Nutrition Month—Promote a food drive for local food bank.
  • Easter is in April this year, but you might run a photo of Easter/Palm Sunday in past years. History helps build community.

Write about Lent and Lenten customs.

  • Shrove Tuesday
  • Ash Wednesday
  • Maundy Thursday (meaning of Maundy)
  • Burying the Alleluias
  • Meaning of the Word Alleluia
  • Difference between Hallelujah and Alleluia
  • Foot washing
  • Green Thursday (“grief” Thursday from German tradition)
  • Pretzels and Lent (post a recipe)
  • Hot Cross Buns (post a recipe)
  • Stripping of the Altar
  • Veiling of the Cross
  • Secular Easter customs (rabbits, eggs, flowers, candy, etc) Newcomers to America have a tough time with these. Help them!
  • Liturgical Colors for Lent and Easter
  • Write about the links between Passover and Easter and overlapping customs of the related faiths
  • Explain a Seder

Just do a search engine search for these topics to find information.

Make friends with your search engine!

Use your search engine to find meaningful art to discuss. Play around with terms. Different things will come up. For example, start with “art Maundy Thursday”. Then try “painting Maundy Thursday”. Then try “art Jesus foot washing”.

Poetry is an oft-overlooked medium. Plug in “poetry Lent” or “poetry Easter” and help your readers find meaningful resources.

18 Feb 2012