Only history can tell if social media will just be a blip on the timeline of humanity. However, it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime fast. What it is doing is growing and changing. And, especially in the lives of young people, it is simply a part of life. When I talk to churches, almost all of them tell me that they want to attract younger members and young families. I contend that the best way to reach people of any age or situation is surprisingly low-tech. It is this: go where they are. Matthew 28:19 reads, “Go therefore and make disciples.” I double checked in Greek, it really says, “Go.” It doesn’t say, “Wait at the Church.” That is nothing new, but it seems to be rather difficult for most Christians to do. Maybe it is too difficult, maybe it makes us uncomfortable, maybe we don’t feel like we would fit in where they are. Realistically, it is actually more difficult to figure out where people are. We don’t congregate the way we used to.
So, if you can’t physically go, what can you do? You can virtually go. In some way, I am preaching to the choir, after all, you are reading a blog. However, don’t give yourself too much credit, blogs are becoming the dinosaurs of the digital age. If you followed the link from Facebook, it might be helpful to know that young people are leaving in droves because “old people” like me are there.
But if you are still not convinced of how explosive social media is, take just a minute and look at this wonderful web page that a man named Steven Lewis created:
So if the people you want to reach are out there in the world of social media, where do you start. By going. Don’t think that the first thing you need to do is create a Facebook strategy or begin researching Twitter content or posting to Instagram every day. If you are doing those sorts of things, great. If not, start by going. Get a Facebook account. Get a twitter account. Get an Instagram account. Start looking at YouTube. Go, look around. You might not like everything you see. You may be overwhelmed or offended. But this is what going into the world looks like.
Will, Congratulations on your new job! I just posted a comment on your blog page, but I’m not sure it worked off of this email link.
Have you tried using Nextdoor? It is like a Facebook that is geographically based upon neighborhoods. I started a Nextdoor site for my area in Rogers Ranch, and we now have several hundred families that have joined Nextdoor from our area. People will share thoughts on recipes, the Spurs, contractors, finding lost dogs,and even finding a Church home. Cynthia is thinking of putting out an announcement about the special Christmas music at UUMC that will be seen by over five hundred families! Here is a link to try it: https://nextdoor.com/invite/zw0p8brxqigel3ufv915
In Him, Stephen Smith
Stephen,
Thanks for your comment! I have been playing around with Nextdoor but I hadn’t really thought about it’s potential in inviting people to church. I love the way the app merges social networking with more of a local neigborhood approach.
I hope Cynthia lets everyone know about Christmas Music Sunday at The U.