“Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.” Colossians 1:10 As a church, we should always be motivated to grow in our understanding of Christ and each other. Social media allows us to learn, teach, and water.
1) Learning: First off, social media allows us to learn about each other. Do you know your congregation? What they like to do? What their family is like. What is going on in their life? A past Salty Waffle article spells it out for you in 2 Social Media Tools For Growing Your Church’s Intimacy.
2) Teaching: It is vital to teach the people in your ministry in order to help them grow. One way social media can help is through blogging podcasts and videocasts. Through social media sites like YouTube and SermonsAudio, sermons, testimonies, and life lessons can be spread to your entire network. Learn more about blogging in this article: Social Media Blogging: 4 Types Of Blogs Connecting The World To Our Missionaries. Along with one person teaching others, in-depth conversation can take place online. In this form everyone can teach and learn from each other at the same time. An explanation of this can be found at Online Bible Studies Through Social Media.
3) Watering: Like a young plant, people need nutrients too. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the 3rd need is to be loved (after basic physiological and safety needs are met). The congregation is one place that people should be able to go to find that. It is somewhere people can feel belonging. Social media can be a way to help congregations be more loving amongst one another. Leaving loving comments on someone’s Facebook, or sending them a quick tweet of appreciation goes a long way. Check out how to do this in the past Salty Waffle article Honoring Others through Social Media.
“I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6.” We can use social media to plant and let others online do the watering, but ultimately, we need to let God grow his church. In person or online, God has control. If believers gather, he will be their to make the right connections and lead the conversations.