The Interview

Real Social Media Ministry Highlights

Park Community Church is a young, vibrant church. They have 4 campuses around Chicago. 55% of their church is single, and under the age of 29. That is pretty incredible. Social media for them was a no brainer.

Park Community Church focuses on Facebook and Twitter. They aren’t chasing after the latest and greatest. Before launching new social media endeavors, they thoroughly vet the platforms to ensure that they will be productive, not distracting, ministry tools. Currently, they are exploring the ministry potential of Google + and Pinterest.

Josh spends a lot of time sequencing social communication with the church event calendar. With so much going on, it is incredibly important that the church use social media to share and promote upcoming church events.

In order to drive spiritual growth, Josh spends thoughtful and prayerful time considering how to deepen the impact of Sunday Mornings. Without a doubt, Josh wants to see Sunday worship continue throughout the week, or as I’d like to say, bridge the gap between Sundays. It’s his job to use social media to do just that.

Twitter is a killer outreach tool. Josh uses search.twitter.com heavily to make meaningful connections with local people tweeting about church and spirituality. He is actively seeking to engage people in a conversation about church.

Think about “front door” content. When Josh thinks about posting content, he aims to engage people, not only with events and message follow-ups, but by trying to drive relevant conversations about popular trends (i.e. Kony 2012 and the Jesus Hates Religion Video). Engaging your congregation with front door content increases the chances of the conversation spilling over to their friends in your local community.

Connect with Josh Burns

Josh Burns is the Director of Web & Social Media at Park Community Church in Chicago, IL. He has several years of experience in new media production and has a passion to see these mediums implemented within the church in order to better communicate the gospel. You will find his thoughts on all things involving social media and communications in church at www.joshburns.net/blog. Also, you can follow him on twitter @jburno.

Connect with Park Community Church

One of the best ways to learn about how social media and the web can be used for ministry is to follow some of the best. You can find Park Community Church online at parkcommunitychurch.org, on Facebook at facebook.com/parkcommunitychurch and on Twitter at twitter.com/parkchurch.

Question: Do you have any questions for Josh?