Do more good work with more people.

Could your church function without email? Probably not. Think about all of the ways you currently use email to do the work of the church. We use it to schedule events, discuss issues, pass along prayer requests, and keep in touch with members of our community. It is essential to the operations of our church. While I think we could still do ministry without it, it sure would be hard to do away with it entirely. Email enables us to communicate more efficiently and effectively with more people than ever before. Simply put, email is a tool that helps the church do more good work with more people.

Social media offers new opportunities for the church to serve the world better.

In the next decade, I’m sure the church will come to rely on social media like we all currently rely on email. Not only does it further enable us to communicate more effectively and efficiently, it also offers the church new opportunities to serve the world better. While many churches are starting to use social media as part of their ministry, a LifeWay Research study revealed that 40% of churches aren’t using it at all. I’ve already discussed the primary reason the church should fully embrace social media. However, I want to spend a bit more time building the case for your church to start using social media or make it a bigger part of how you do ministry today.

Practical ways to use social media in your ministry.

First, let’s get something right. Social media isn’t something extra. It isn’t just a another thing for church leaders and volunteers to do. Social networks and other social media tools enable us to do what we already do better. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to explore in some detail how the church can use social media in seven major areas of operation: communication, planning, outreach, marketing, ministry, leadership development, and teaching. I hope to show you practical ways that social media can help the church do more good work with more people. May 2012 be the year every church fully embraces social media.

Photo compliments of Alex Kess