When Facebook first launched, lots of people added as many people as they could to their friend list, as the number of friends you had was a big talking point. Then came Twitter and Instagram and again the number of followers someone had seemed critical. You can now become a YouTube celebrity if you have enough subscribers or if your video is watched enough times.
This may all seem irrelevant to church life but social media is here to stay. We need to consider how we share the gospel and decide if we are prepared to use new and different ways.
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” ROMANS 10:13-14 NRSV
As a church we already have a website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube account and people locally, nationally and internationally can find out more about our church, see what we are doing, and – most importantly – what we believe. For many this will be the first way they ‘visit’ us; safe behind a screen at home. We may never meet them in person but they have met us and hopefully we give them at least a glimpse of our Saviour. “Fair enough” you may say, “but what has this got to do with me? Other people deal with all of that. What if I don’t use social media?” This is where numbers matter. Whilst there is a small team who manage all our social media between them, extra help is always appreciated. Offering help doesn’t mean you’ll get the whole thing dumped on you (promise!).
Whatever forms of social media you use, or have contemplated using, have you followed or subscribed to the Castle Street account? When we post, instead of just looking and then scrolling on please interact by liking and sharing. If you don’t use social media yourself, you probably have family and friends who do. Are you encouraging them to follow Castle Street to see what we have been discussing lately? The more interaction our posts get the more we appear. It is a simple numbers game. All social media platforms prioritise what people see in their searches. To get Castle Street seen we need to people to be actively engaging with us.
So, give a few extra moments to share. By sharing a church post to your friends you are helping to show a bit of fellowship and might be giving someone the chance “to hear”.
You can read this article in the October issue of Castle View.
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