As a pastor or church leader, how do you lead your congregation from Sunday afternoon through Saturday morning?  In other words, when you are not preaching at/to the people, how are you attaching them to mission and vision and mobilizing the church for Kingdom impact?  The answer is social media. 

I am in the process of putting together a social media strategy for a pastor that I want to share with you.  First, let me tell you about my personal strategy which I developed shortly after reading Amy Jo Martin’s masterpiece book Renegades Write The Rules.

I identified my audience groups, those who make up my personal readers.

  • Pastors
  • Church Leaders
  • Christian Business Leaders
  • Athletic Coaches
  • Christian Women
  • Readers Of Inspiration

On a perfect day, I send messages via twitter, Facebook, and this site that speak to each group (and only this group).  This is accomplished by creating a Value Balance for my readers.  Each communication must add value by doing at least one of the following:

  • Inform Leaders
  • Inspire Leaders
  • Educate Leaders
  • Resource Leaders
  • Promote Other Leaders
  • Create or Participate in Conversations With Other Leaders

Now back to the pastor I am helping.  He currently does a thought or scripture of the day in his social media streams.  There is nothing wrong with that.  It is just a missed opportunity because it doesn’t advance mission and vision.  To help change the pastor’s communication style, I am starting with a few questions:

  • Who is your audience?
  • Who do you want to be your audience? (Hopefully it will include all those in your church)
  • What do you want to say to your audience?
  • What is it that you want your audience to do?

After properly identifying his audience groups and creating a value balance, we are implementing the following communication strategy:

  • MondayThe Top Three Things I Saw God Do Yesterday/Vision Fulfillment.  Focus your audience on the great things you saw, felt, and heard the previous day.  You can spread this out over many tweets and Facebook messages throughout the day.
  • TuesdayThe Church Staff.  This is a great opportunity to promote the wonderful staff that faithfully serves the church each week.  Talk about staff successes, great staff meetings, times of prayer, and promote their upcoming ministry initiatives.
  • Wednesday – Core Values.  Great mid-week reminder about the importance of living out your church’s core values in their everyday life.   Be specific about how you are personally attached to the church’s mission and vision.  Ex. “This week I was in my small group and we discussed…..” 
  • Thursday – Can’t Miss This Sunday.  Give people a preview of the upcoming weekend services.  Communicate in short powerful imagery why they can’t only not miss this Sunday, but why they should also bring unchurched friends with them.
  • Friday –  It’s All About You.  Very few people shake a pastor’s hand after the service but everyone wants to feel like they know their pastor.  Friday is a great day for you to be transparent.  Tell about your family, hobbies, and what you are doing this weekend.  This is also a great way to promote your weekend community ministry opportunities. 
  • Saturday – It’s All About Tomorrow.  Give a glimpse into what God will be doing in people’s lives within the next 24 hours.  Stress again the importance of people bringing their friends.  And feel free to discuss your favorite college football team.

Remember to promote your social media platforms.  Don’t have false humility here.  This is a vital tool in attaching your church to mission and vision.  You can also include prayer requests, special events, and other items throughout the week.  But most importantly, have fun!

Social media has made casting vision easier than ever before.  Pastors and church leaders cannot afford to not take advantage of this tool.

What is one thing you read in this post that you can implement today?

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