EFCA Leaders Have Opinions
Join the conversation.
Church planters: How has social media played a role in pursuing your mission?
Aaron Loy, senior pastor, Mosaic Lincoln (EFCA), Lincoln, Neb. (attendance: 300)
Social media has played a huge role in the launching of our church and its ongoing ministry. We had few dollars to allocate to marketing, so we utilized free social-media options like Vimeo, Twitter and Facebook. I began using them before I moved to the city we were to plant in and used them increasingly once we were on the ground.
Our social-media presence enabled us to engage hundreds of people in our target area in everything from helping choose our logo to identifying needs in our city. Thousands of people watched and shared videos about our vision, values and stories—all before we launched. (Some of them did also give financially in time, but I wasn’t seeking them out for that specifically. I approached those people differently and more directly.)
In the end, we launched with 250 people on our first Sunday, almost exclusively using social media. Since launch, it has been in many ways our front door. (We also have a private group for in-house communication.) I’d love to hear how others are using social media for the church-planting adventure.
Staff or volunteer? (Who spearheads your focus on social media and when is it time to hire for the position?)
Claire Bechard, director of communications and congregational life, The Orchard EFC, Barrington, Ill. (attendance: 2,600)
We hired a summer intern to oversee the launch of our Facebook and Twitter accounts. He was a church member who had done a good job with social media for “Unlocking the Bible” (the multi-media ministry of our senior pastor). So he came in with expertise and helped us establish a process.
He focused on the development of our accounts—what to post and how often (not actively creating the content). Since we’re a multi-site church, he researched the ramifications of having one Facebook/Twitter account vs. one for each campus. In the end, he established five accounts: one Twitter, one generic church Facebook page and one Facebook page for each of our three campuses.
Management of the accounts was then transitioned to a staff person at the end of the summer who was familiar with social media.
So much of social media tends to be self-taught, so it’s important to have someone who is engaged in using it personally. And because it’s ever-changing, it’s helpful to have someone who likes learning new things in order to navigate those changes on behalf of your organization.
Isn’t it true that time online can be a distraction from ministry?
Mike Shields, senior pastor, Kearney (Neb.) EFC (attendance: 1,400)
Yes, but we try to keep in mind: When a staff member is communicating on one of the social-media sites, especially with the next generation, that is ministry time.
We have a pastor who serves the high-school and college communities, and he is on Facebook many hours a week answering questions, sharing truth, refuting error, etc. He reaches hundreds of young people in our community and those they touch for the gospel.
As senior leader, it is my responsibility to communicate with our elder team and others the priority of our youth pastor’s presence on social media. Having a trained shepherd who loves the teens and is willing to enter into conversations concerning biblical truth and how it applies to the culture is a necessary part of the discipleship process.
As an example, we had a young lady from a “Christian” college work an internship here a few summers ago. She made an impact in the lives of many teen girls. A year later, to our surprise, she was posting on Facebook some views on a topic that were contrary to Scripture. Many of our teen girls were influenced by her thoughts.
Our youth pastor replied to her misguided postings with biblical truth in a loving way, which also reached the students she had influenced.
Have you tried one of the church-specific social-media networks such as The Table Project and The City?
Mary Anderson, director of communications, Blackhawk Church (EFCA), Middleton, Wis. (attendance: 4,000)
Facebook and Twitter serve as a “front porch,” so all of our content is accessible by a first-time guest. But they are not intimate communities where people feel welcome to dive into more personal subjects, so we launched The Table Project in January. The Table provides a safer environment for our people to pray for one another, request help and have conversations with other committed Christians. (We explored a few options, but since the Table was free, it was more attractive to us.)
At the Table, people can post prayers, serving opportunities and items to buy/sell. We’ve seen a great response: Almost three-quarters of our weekly adult attenders are signed on. In the first five months, there were 262 prayer requests logged and 7,344 prayers prayed—an average of 28 for each request!
For example, when one of our care pastors was summoned to a crisis situation, he posted a prayer request to the Table prayer wall while he was with the family and received immediate responses. It gave the family tremendous comfort to know that numerous people were praying for them.
EFCA Leaders Have Opinions
Q1) CHURCH PLANTERS: HOW HAS SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYED A ROLE IN PURSUING YOUR MISSION?
Aaron Loy, senior pastor, Mosaic Lincoln (EFCA), Lincoln, Neb.
Social media has played a huge role in the launching of our church and its ongoing ministry. We had few dollars to allocate to marketing, so we utilized free social-media options like Vimeo, Twitter and Facebook. I began using them before I moved to the city we were to plant in and used them increasingly once we were on the ground.
Our social-media presence enabled us to engage hundreds of people in our target area in everything from helping choose our logo to identifying needs in our city. Thousands of people watched and shared videos about our vision, values and stories—all before we launched. (Some of them did also give financially in time, but I wasn’t seeking them out for that specifically. I approached those people differently and more directly.)
In the end, we launched with 250 people on our first Sunday, almost exclusively using social media. Since launch, it has been in many ways our front door. (We also have a private group for in-house communication.) I’d love to hear how others are using social media for the church-planting adventure.
READ & JOIN this conversation!
Sign on with a moot.it account or via Facebook and join this conversation. Agree, disagree, share your ideas… .
Aaron will be available noon-2pm Central Time on Mondays, July 22 and 29, to engage in a live chat or respond to your earlier comments.
Q2) STAFF OR VOLUNTEER? (WHO SPEARHEADS YOUR FOCUS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND WHEN IS IT TIME TO HIRE FOR THE POSITION?)
Claire Bechard, director of communications and congregational Life, The Orchard EFC, Barrington, Ill.
We hired a summer intern to oversee the launch of our Facebook and Twitter accounts. He was a church member who had done a good job with social media for “Unlocking the Bible” (the multi-media ministry of our senior pastor). So he came in with expertise and helped us establish a process.
He focused on the development of our accounts—what to post and how often (not actively creating the content). Since we’re a multi-site church, he researched the ramifications of having one Facebook/Twitter account vs. one for each campus. In the end, he established five accounts: one Twitter, one generic church Facebook page and one Facebook page for each of our three campuses.
Management of the accounts was then transitioned to a staff person at the end of the summer who was familiar with social media.
So much of social media tends to be self-taught, so it’s important to have someone who is engaged in using it personally. And because it’s ever-changing, it’s helpful to have someone who likes learning new things in order to navigate those changes on behalf of your organization.
READ & JOIN this conversation!
Sign on with a moot.it account or via Facebook and join this conversation. Agree, disagree, share your ideas… .
Claire will be available 3-5pm Central Time on Monday, July 22, and 2-4pm Central Time on Monday, July 29, to engage in a live chat or respond to your earlier comments.
Q3) ISN’T IT TRUE THAT TIME ONLINE CAN BE A DISTRACTION FROM MINISTRY?
Mike Shields, senior pastor, Kearney (Neb.) EFC
Yes, but we try to keep in mind: When a staff member is communicating on one of the social-media sites, especially with the next generation, that is ministry time.
We have a pastor who serves the high-school and college communities, and he is on Facebook many hours a week answering questions, sharing truth, refuting error, etc. He reaches hundreds of young people in our community and those they touch for the gospel.
As senior leader, it is my responsibility to communicate with our elder team and others the priority of our youth pastor’s presence on social media. Having a trained shepherd who loves the teens and is willing to enter into conversations concerning biblical truth and how it applies to the culture is a necessary part of the discipleship process.
As an example, we had a young lady from a “Christian” college work an internship here a few summers ago. She made an impact in the lives of many teen girls. A year later, to our surprise, she was posting on Facebook some views on a topic that were contrary to Scripture. Many of our teen girls were influenced by her thoughts.
Our youth pastor replied to her misguided postings with biblical truth in a loving way, which also reached the students she had influenced.
READ & JOIN this conversation!
Sign on with a moot.it account or via Facebook and join this conversation. Agree, disagree, share your ideas… .
Mike will be available 10am-noon Central Time on Tuesdays, July 23 and 30, to engage in a live chat or respond to your earlier comments.
Q4) HAVE YOU TRIED ONE OF THE CHURCH-SPECIFIC SOCIAL-MEDIA NETWORKS SUCH AS THE TABLE PROJECT AND THE CITY?
Mary Anderson, director of communications, Blackhawk Church, Middleton, Wis.
Facebook and Twitter serve as a “front porch,” so all of our content is accessible by a first-time guest. But they are not intimate communities where people feel welcome to dive into more personal subjects, so we launched The Table Project in January. The Table provides a safer environment for our people to pray for one another, request help and have conversations with other committed Christians. (We explored a few options, but since the Table was free, it was more attractive to us.)
At the Table, people can post prayers, serving opportunities and items to buy/sell. We’ve seen a great response: Almost three-quarters of our weekly adult attenders are signed on. In the first five months, there were 262 prayer requests logged and 7,344 prayers prayed—an average of 28 for each request!
For example, when one of our care pastors was summoned to a crisis situation, he posted a prayer request to the Table prayer wall while he was with the family and received immediate responses. It gave the family tremendous comfort to know that numerous people were praying for them.