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??