How can churches use Social Media as part of their ministry?

How can churches use Social Media as part of their ministry and outreach? I am not going to answer that for you ... but knowing your audience — who uses Social Media — may help you answer the question within your local church context.



Check out these statistics from 2013 about Social Media usage and growth: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/09/20/12-awesome-social-media-facts-and-statistics-for-2013/

Let us know how you are using Social Media within your church.

Pictures draw wanted attention

morguefile.com - public domain

If you're organization has a Social Media presence, it is important to post something of interest regularly ... at least 3-4 times a week, ideally once a day.

But what to post? 

You've heard the saying "a picture paints a thousand words" ... well, pictures are vitally important to encouraging viewers to look at and read your content. Look at all those annoying ads that appear in your Social Media ... sometimes the "cute-sy, eye-catching pictures are not even remotely related to the ad subject!) 

So, take pictures, find pictures (morguefile.com is a great place to start for free, public domain images) or create them in your favorite software, and use them when you post thoughts, events, information, anything ... 

And if you can't come up with something to post for today, you can always try posting something directly from other sites (either post their URL or use a share feature from the source page.) One good example is http://sightpsalms.org/ ... sign up and get an inspiring photo & spiritual thought via email each day, and go to their page to share to Social Media.

And for the United Methodists among you, whatever we post to Susquehanna Conference Social Media (such as Facebook) can be shared on your personal and church pages too! Every Sunday we post a scripture quote/graphic (designed by us!) to inspire and encourage ... help us in sharing the Good News — and all the other useful information we post too!

UMC.org has had a makeover ... join the web-warming party!

Come and celebrate the new digital home of the people of The United Methodist Church.

Facts about UMC.org

UMC.org is the digital home of the people of The United Methodist Church – the place to find everything you need to know about what it means to be United Methodist.

Who created this website?
UMC.org is produced by United Methodist Communications, the global communications agency of The United Methodist Church.

What will you find here?
You’ll discover what we believe, the statements that guide our thinking and actions, and how we put our faith and love into practice in the world. Get up-to-date news about United Methodists around the world, thought-provoking commentaries, and award-winning photos and videos.

What else?
UMC.org is designed to support you wherever you are on your faith journey, combining a wealth of resources with a stronger focus on improving your spiritual life.

• Want to know how to improve your prayer life?
  10 Ways to Improve Your Prayer Life
• How can you put your faith into action?
  Mission Opportunities
• How are you gifted by God?
  Spiritual Gifts
• How does the UMC help when disaster strikes?
  Disaster Relief
• How can you find a United Methodist church near you?
  Find-A-Church
• How can you get more information?
  Get answers to questions about The United Methodist Church from InfoServ, the information hub of the church. Chat with InfoServ at infoserv.umc.org.

Free clipart images for use on the web

Finding images for use on your church website can be difficult, and online search engines are not as helpful as you'd think, because in most cases, those images are illegal to use.

United Methodist Communications came up with some information and solutions that might help ...

Breaking the chains of clip art for free:
http://www.umcom.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=mrLZJ9PFKmG&b=6084857&ct=13582609&notoc=1

January MyCom tips & tools

United Methodist Communications gathers the latest communications tips & tools together in a monthly email called MyCom.

In the January issue:
» Cultural trends you may have missed
» 4 sermon series to connect with millennials
» Breaking the chains of clip art for free
» Online engagement ideas for Lent
» 15 outreach ideas for Easter

Check it out & subscribe here http://www.kintera.org/cms.asp?id=5034926&campaign_id=112513

For a host of other church communications tools & helps, visit www.umcom.org

Free resource for presenting, learning & sharing

We're living in an age of accessibility ... the world is literally at our fingertips. Long gone are the days where we researched something in a bookshelf of outdated encyclopedias and reference books — we now have instant access to information about anything and everything. And a lot of it is FREE!

YouTube is [currently] the 2nd most popular "search engine" in the world ... whether it be for visual entertainment or education.

Another up-and-coming Web site for all things presentation & education is www.slideshare.net. It claims to be among the top 10 tools for education and learning.

According to the site "SlideShare is the world's largest community for sharing presentations. ... Anyone can view presentations & documents on topics that interest them, download them and reuse or remix for their own work."

slideshare quick-tour

Take a look for yourself. We've said it before (and many before us), why reinvent the wheel??

think anew • see anew • act anew

By Jerry Wolgemuth, Director of Communications

Life is not linear;

it does not follow a straight line.

Life happens laterally,

from many sides.

We must learn to address

life’s perplexities laterally,

to think in many directions.

On the human brain: If we look at the human brain as a computer, then we can assume that the manner in which we think is the software. The software, at least of Western Civilization, was developed by the Greek philosophers Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates twenty-four hundred years ago. We have done very little thinking about thinking since then.

On progress: Progress in any kind of endeavor has suffered from a lack of understanding of this thing called creativity. Creativity in the interest of solving problems with new ideas, was stifled by the belief that one must rely on moving from certainty to certainty. There was no development of a possibility system with three important things: hypothesis as data that has never been proven to be true or false; speculation as opinion based on incomplete evidence, and imagination as the ability to form a mental image that is not perceived as real.

On creative thinking: A new, unique, creative idea must have value. Unfortunately, many people who believe they are creative, think that just being different for the sake of being different is being creative. That is what gives creativity a bad name.

Sir Ken Robinson says that our schools educate us away from creativity. Researcher George Land provided some science to this phenomenon. Land was hired by NASA in 1968 to design a creativity test to be used to select innovative engineers and scientists. He tested 1,600 5-year-olds with a creativity test. He re-tested the same 5-year-olds at the ages of 10 and 15. “The test results were staggering! Ninety-eight percent at age 5 registered genius level creativity, 30% at 10 years and 12% at 15 years of age. The same test given to 280,000 adults placed their genius level creativity at 2%. In his book ‘Breakpoint and Beyond’, co-authored by Beth Jarman, Land concluded that non-creative behavior is learned.

On making mistakes: One of the reasons some people may be reluctant to be creative is that, if you try out an idea and it doesn’t work, that will be regarded as a mistake. We have a grave deficiency in our language. We do not have a word which means, “fully justified venture which, for reasons beyond our control did not succeed.” So, anything which does not succeed is called a mistake and we just don’t like mistakes. Think like an Edison: celebrate experiments that don’t work. That’s one more of the necessary failures out of the way toward that one single and elusive experiment that works.

CHANGE our confining thinking patterns Creative thinking is a skill; it is not a matter of individual talent. It’s not a matter of waiting and hoping to get inspired. Creativity is a skill that can be learned. It is habitual activity that displaces the dated thinking patterns learned early in our lives.

RECLAIM the creative capacity of our youth Research attests to the fact that we tend to loose our powers of imagination and creativity. Popular education guru, Sir Ken Robinson, and others claim that we can recapture our capacity to imagine and create new ways of doing.

EQUIP for a new conceptual age 

Author Daniel Pink claims that we have moved from a society that is built on logical, linear, computer-like capabilities. The new conceptual age is animated by a new form of thinking that involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities.

APPLY creativity to challenges of our time Nothing fails like success. George Land reveals that the progression of an enterprise can be charted as a bell curve. Topping the list of what interrupts the downward side is “unleashing the creative capacity of employees,” thereby re-inventing the enterprise and a new bell curve.

THRIVE in the midst of modern complexity 

Henry Adams is quoted as saying that “chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.” Creativity is a process, not an event. Learning to approach modern complexity by using structured thinking methods can make any endeavor exciting and exhilarating.

EXPERIENCE the gift of collaboration

According to Harrisburg native Carmen Finestra, producer and creator of network sitcoms, collaboration is the key to a successful writing team. No episode, no joke, no scene can be attributed to any single member of the team. No single writer gets the credit; the team is listed in the credits.

“A mind that is stretched to a new idea, never returns to its original dimension.” 

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) 

“Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.”

Henry Adams (1838-1918)

“Don’t be conformed to the patterns of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is.” 

Romans 12:2 (CEB)

LEARN MORE ABOUT THINKING METHODS BY REGISTERING FOR 

UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVITY: THINKING METHODS AND COMMUNICATION

ONE OF SEVERAL MINISTRY TRACKS FOR E-TOUR - THE NEXT GENERATION.

FOR AGENDA AND MORE INFORMATION:

WEB: susumc.org/etour

                     BLOG: thinkanewsusumc.blogspot.com

              FACEBOOK: like the fan page, join the group at

                                   facebook.com/groups/thinkanew

                                 QUESTIONS: E-mail jerry@susumc.org; Call 717-903-5881

MORE EXPANDED DAY-LONG MINISTRY TRACKS

CENTERED AROUND YOUR LOCAL CHURCH’S MISSION:

DIVINE INTENTIONAL WORSHIP: PLANNING AS A TEAM

Rev. Michelle Whitlock

MOBILIZING FOR MISSION: REACHING BEYOND YOUR DOORS

Rev. Lenore Hosier, Curt Knouse,

Rev. Larry Siikanen

RAISING UP TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS FOR DISCIPLESHIP

Anne Horton

WHO ARE THEY? SERVING THE PEOPLE WITHIN YOUR REACH

Rev. Mike Bealla

Web Design Trends for 2014

Your church website may be the first place people visit before stepping through the doors of your building. Do they feel welcome? Can they easily find information about your church leaders, services, ministries and contact information? Will they know what to expect when they get there?

Are you designing a new website for your church? Does your outdated website need a new look? Consider these web-design trends for 2014, from United Methodist Communications.

Find out more here: http://www.umcom.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=mrLZJ9PFKmG&b=6084849&ct=13416827&notoc=1

The wheel has been invented

How often do we reinvent the wheel when it comes to effective communications and organization?

CharityHowTo.com has created webinars and resources to help non-profits, from communications, to marketing, to grant applications, to social media ... you name it, they cover the topic to maximize the effectiveness and potential of your non-profit.



Check them out at http://charityhowto.com/index.php

Read Less. Know More.

The Barna Group is well aware that we have more than enough to do to keep us busy. But in the midst of our busy-ness we still want to read, learn, grow, and keep up-to-date. That's why they've come up with a new book series called "Frames."

Read Less. Know More.

Find out more here: http://barnaframes.com/?utm_source=10-25-13&utm_medium=frames-friday&utm_campaign=ff-frames#home

Update January 7, 2014: Barna FRAMES was just released today. I am excited about this new approach to publishing and eager to receive the inaugural set. I watched the Qcast at 1:00 this afternoon at barnaframes.com broadcast from the atrium of the American Bible Society in NYC. About half way through a fire alarm went off for an interesting diversion.

— Jerry Wolgemuth