social media as evangelism
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Social Media: Evangelism and Building
Online CommunityRandall Curtis, Ministry Developer for the
Episcopal Church in Arkansas and theholygeek.com
Not Just the Good Suggestion
Matthew 28:18-20
18And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded
you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the
age.’*
Don’t Worry I have a License to Evangelize!
The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
● Percentages of use in social media is close between income, Race, Gender, and urbanity
● This is not your Grandchild’s internet --43% of all people 65+ are using social media
Where are the people I am trying to reach active?
Do what you do well.Close the rest.
Assess Your Ministries Digital Plan
What are you doing right now?
List everything
What is your Purpose or Goal?
Who are you trying to reach?
Grade Yourself
A worksheet for this can be found at
theholygeek.com Digital Plan Worksheet
Effective and Sustainable levels of Social Media in a church
Social Pupa
Website, Facebook Page, Monthly E-newsletter
Social Larva
All of the above plus weekly E-newsletter and blog style service for news and sermons
Social Butterfly
All of the above plus Facebook Pages for active ministries
A more detailed description can be found at theholygeek.com Social Media Strategies
Best Practices for Your Facebook Page
Facebook Evangelism Goals for Your Page
● Increase likes
● Increase engagement
To Reach those goals● Setting a username● Post regularly● Advertise the page in
church● Running Ads on Facebook
The Facebook Targeted Ad
Advertise your page to a your zip code with a very targeted audience by Facebook interest.
Ask yourself, “What do Episcopalians in your community like?”
Developing Community
with Social Media
Your good ministry instincts matter for building community online.
“The digital world is an extension of our physical world. And everything that we expect of people in the physical world is true in the digital world, and it brings us the same joy. You need trust in this world. That’s everything friendship and community is built on, and that’s all we’re talking about here.”
Sarah Lumbard, VP@NPR
We all know the power of 'thank you' and 'well done': say them often.
Celebrate the Joys
Cultivate Superfans
(People who love your church so much they will make content for you)
We all know community is nurtured by deep conversation: host them.
Great Uses of a Facebook Group
Remember: Facebook Pages are External Facebook Groups Are Internal
Great uses for Facebook Groups:● Church Committees● Event planning Groups● Youth Ministry Parent’s Group● Diocesan wide ministry associations
We all know our old ministry models need some tweaking: here's one to try.
Monthly Meeting In Person
Weekly Activity
At-Home
Ongoing Conversation
Online
Programs like these are being piloted and tested by churches right now and supervised by the Center for the Ministry of teaching at Virginia Theological Seminary
Great Books for More ResourcesDangerous: A Go-to Guide for Church Communication by Cleve Persinger, Kevin D. Hendricks, Chuck Scoggins and Eric Murrell
The Social Media Gospel: Sharing the Good News in New Ways by Meredith Gould
Speaking Faithfully: Communications as Evangelism in a Noisy World by Rebecca Wilson and Jim Naughton
Acknowledgements
All Images in this presentation use by permission or from 123rf.com
Thank you to Kyle Oliver @kmoliver at the Center for Ministry of Teaching at VTS for help with some slides.