Snowed in? Church from your couch.
We've all been snowed in the past few days, and pretty much all of the churches in the area canceled services today. But, I learned this morning that one local church decided to move their Sunday service online. I woke up, saw some information about their Facebook service on my news feed (from my aunt) and thought - this is genius. What an amazing use of social media!
So, I just went to the church's fan page on Facebook (props to them for having a fan page and a blog!) and was inspired by what I saw. Surely, there was a service to read along with - complete with a link to a video for the hymn, prayer requests and participation from others via prayer requests, Amen's and comments. They even included the fellowship that usually follows a service (chit chat's in the parking lot, etc.) and people posted photos of their snow adventures and other celebrations.
(You may be wondering - how did this get on the news? Apparently, the pastor invited a friend who is communications director for the Methodist conference and he sent out a release. I think more media outlets should pick up this story!)
This makes me smile. I applaud the church's creativity and outreach. Today, many area residents were able to get in a little worship from their couch - safe and sound - and on Facebook! Perhaps we'll see more of this type of service in the future. I, for one, would be fan!
Comments
Success is found in social media by filling a need, giving consumers what they want and giving it them on the platform of their choice. When more organizations learn (as did this church) that it is all about jumping into the social space -- Facebook in this case -- and finding people where they already are...they become invaluable and can breed serious loyalty. Many people spout off the membership of Facebook, alluding to the great possibilities and others do something unique, turning that talk into action. This is a tactic that I am sure other churches will consider in the future.
Leave a Comment