- Today in this video, we're asking the somewhat
controversial question, is it okay for a church
to post something like this on social media?
Now the example post we've got here,
it's a pretty innocuous question post,
who makes the best fast food burger?
Culver's, In-N-Out, Whataburger,
Shake Shack, Five Guys, or Other?
Now, while this question is fresh in your mind,
what I want you to do is leave your answer
to this question in the comments below.
Now, for me, it's got to be In-N-Out,
but I want to hear from you.
So add your voice to the comments,
make your voice heard.
Back to the topic at hand, is it appropriate
for a church to post something like this
on one of their social media platforms?
Because sure, this kind of post is useful
for driving engagement, but like
it doesn't have anything to do
with spirituality, right, with faith?
Well, finding an answer to this question
is actually fairly straightforward for me,
especially when you test it against
your church's social media policy.
Now, if you don't have one of those,
we're going to get you sorted in this video.
And we'll answer this question once and for all.
So let's dive in.
(soft music)
Well, hey, there, I'm Brady Shearer.
This is Pro Church Tools and we're here
to help you and your church navigate
the biggest communication shift in 500 years.
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Now the example post I used at the top of this video
is really just one example of this kind of content,
food-related posts are always great for driving engagement,
but you could take a different route altogether
and ask your church's opinions
like what's a beloved TV series that you absolutely despise,
or what's the ideal temperature in your home?
Basically, these are the kinds of posts
that turn the focus over to your audience,
your congregation, and ask them to get involved
and post their comments.
It's unrelated to faith, but it does it have a place
in a church's overall social media strategy?
Well, here's my belief, your church's social presence
should be an extension of your existing culture.
So let me ask you this, has your church ever
played softball together or sports during a VBS maybe?
Have you hosted a movie night before or an outdoor barbecue?
What about an Easter egg drop
or maybe a student ministry game night?
Watch the big game on the big screen,
affinity-based life groups?
You get what I'm saying here?
And so I could ask the same question.
What do those events and activities
have to do with your church's mission?
Because they aren't inherently spiritual on their own.
Here's the bottom line, if your church's programming
isn't exclusively quote unquote spiritual offline,
then I'd recommend applying that same energy
to your online efforts otherwise you're treating social
differently than the rest of your ministries
and you don't want that.
You want congruency and consistency.
Now let's dive into this a bit deeper.
Why do we as churches host events and ministries
that include activities or socializing in the first place?
Why gather at all if we aren't specifically listening
to a sermon or worshiping with music?
Well, we do those kinds of things
because we know that being part of
a vibrant Christian community includes
spending time together, sharing meals,
participating in activities alongside others.
A church community demands these kinds of things
because if all we do is sit in a service while a pastor
preaches at us, well, that's not true community,
it's more just programming.
A foundational element of church, of course,
but if I don't have opportunities to talk
and get to know the people sitting next to me in those pews,
well, there's a substance and depth
that I'm going to miss out on.
So we have events like this,
we have small groups for the purpose of finding
and developing these life-giving friendships
and relationships within church.
And believe it or not, your social efforts
can help facilitate the same thing.
Instead of just talking at your audience online
all the time, a post that asks them a fun question
and elicits their feedback is a great way
to put the spotlight on the people of your church.
Now, if you're still hesitant on this,
let's explore another angle.
I'll lead with the question,
has your pastor ever gotten a laugh
from stage while they're preaching?
Have they ever shared a personal anecdote or illustration
with a comedic element to it because most preachers
will do this and they do this for a strategic purpose.
It's a disarming technique and it makes the audience
more comfortable and works at building a rapport
between the speaker and the listener.
And this is why funny elements of sermons
generally happen earlier in the message.
You're building that comfort with the audience,
basically to earn permission, to then dive into
the deeper elements of spirituality
and faith and all that entails.
Now, if all your preacher did was make jokes,
well, they wouldn't really be a preacher,
they'd be a comedian, right?
So hear me loud and clear on this.
I'm not suggesting you only post lighthearted question posts
or similar kinds of content, sprinkle them in
once or twice a week as part of your overall strategy.
Because here's the thing, a lighthearted social post
is analogous to weaving in some funny parts into a sermon.
They serve the same purpose.
On social posts like this drive big numbers
on the engagement front, and they signal
to the social algorithms that your account succeeds
at involving your audience.
Which means the algorithms are more likely
to show your content to more people in the future.
So in the same way, a funny story in a sermon
helps to build trust with a group of people
before diving deeper into matters of faith,
a fun social posts earned that same attention,
just online paving the way for more people to see and engage
with the more substantive content later that week.
It's the same strategic approach.
So my belief is, if your pastor has ever
gotten a laugh during a sermon,
you have permission to post a fun engagement-driving
social posts online because the motivations are the same.
And again, we want consistency here.
Don't treat social different just because it's newer.
And then let's ask ourselves,
how does a post like this align, if at all,
with our church's social media policy?
Now, if you don't already have a social policy
within your church, I highly recommend that you create one.
And that's because a policy makes discussions
like this so much easier and productive,
especially when you're making decisions
in conjunction with your pastor or other leaders.
Instead of arguing the merits for
and against a certain idea,
the questions need to be asked in context
of the greater mission for the ministry in question.
So a social media policy helps drive that conversation
because it's the foundation for the ministry
that is unanimously agreed upon.
So I put together a whole workshop on this.
It's called the social media crash course
for smaller churches.
And the first thing we tackle in that free workshop
is putting together a social media policy for your church.
It even comes with a downloadable policy template
that you can customize and implement or just use as is
if you prefer, that's perfectly all right also.
It's completely free.
It's just a Google Doc that you can start using right away.
Workshop is also completely free.
It's linked above me and in the description below.
And then lastly, let's talk about which platforms
a post like this makes the most sense on.
In my experience, Facebook groups and Instagram stories
are where you'll see the most engagement.
The Facebook feed and the Instagram feed,
it can also work, but not as well for most churches.
But with all of these things, it's best to experiment
and see how your own unique audience responses.
With that being said, thanks as always
for your time, attention and trust.
And we'll talk soon.
(soft music)