Is It OKAY For Churches To Post Stuff Like THIS On Social?

Today, in this video, we're asking the somewhat controversial question - is it okay for a church to post something like *this* on social media?

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Table of Contents:
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0:00 - Intro
1:52 - Post Examples
2:15 - How To Use Your Church's Social Presence
3:05 - Why Post Something That Isn't Explicitly Church Related?
6:00 - How Does A Post Like This Align With Your Social Media Policy?
6:38 - Additional Resources

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Show Notes:
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Connect With Brady:
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#SocialMediaForChurches #SocialMediaTrends #DigitalMinistry

[matthewvillanueva]

Ok I’m going to step out of the boat and try this.

Thanks for helping us think outside the box.

[karenolson]

Thank you! I was ordered to take a fun post down from Friday because one member (someone who constantly finds fault in everything and who doesn't even want to be here anymore - just waiting for her daughter to be confirmed) asked what the fun post had to do with church. Everyone on staff started freaking out and what should we do. I just responded it was a fun Friday post to see what the responses would be. The rest of the staff were still freaking out. My last nerve had been touch and I exploded a little bit with them and asked why we let her take our ministry hostage. Sr pastor ordered it to come down.
We are a fun church: bounce houses at fall kickoff, funny skits during worship, announcements before worship are light hearted and fun, etc. I am so frustrated!
Seeing this post when I got to work this week was perfect! Thanks!

[LoneStarCowboyChurch]

As a sort of "niche within a niche", a Cowboy Church, we have found that sprinkling in posts that give viewers a sense of common interest and relatability is key. The biggest misconception about us is that because we rope and ride, dress up in hats and boots, and have country accents that we are exclusive to cowboy culture or people who dress, sound, act like us. Cowboy culture is about faith, family, hard work, friendship and stepping up to serve those in need. You don't have to *be* a cowboy to come here, and we make that clear by connecting with people on a fun, casual post that builds trust and rapport.

[Peachcreekmedia]

Five Guys and our social media coach advised us to do this. We tried a few and they spawned engagement but it wasn't the engagement we wanted so we stopped.

[micahdunn]

Dude. This encouragement is what I needed today. Thanks!

[MosaicDubai]

We are creating another channel called FOR Dubai which has content that help people in our city. For example, how to use the metro, how to get a drivers license, where to park at the airport, etc. none of it is spiritual, but it is helpful AND being done by the church. Hopefully this will help change the way the church is viewed in my city. Maybe your city needs something like this as well.

[TyroneLT]

I don't see why not. It's not like people after a church service only talk about the Bible after church.

We've done stuff like Brady's examples in our IG stories all the time. And what I've noticed is the same people who engage with those light-hearted style posts also answer us when we ask people if they have prayer requests. Which in turn almost always leads to an extended private conversation in the DMs.

The point is to build trust. That takes time and requires us to treat our followers as whole human beings and not just "a number" to preach at.

[briannacosato]

My opinion - if you feel anything like this is “below” the church, do you feel that only spiritual topics should be talked about on church campus? Just like friends getting together after a service and talking about life, I believe churches should be able to spark fun every day conversation with their followers.

[shekebsekander]

Hey didn’t know how to reach you, but I’ve been a member of nucleus for almost a year. Just did the routine payment, however, I don’t see anything new for November of 2021

[debbylovell]

It's an icebreaker. It helps people begin to speak up. Once they're comfortable answering simple questions, they might comment on bigger issues.

I'm vegetarian so I don't seek out burgers but I recently had the veggie burger at Wahlburgers and it was awesome! The sauced tomato and smoky cheddar? Yum! Their shakes are great, too.

[zackeiter]

I think this is awesome! I try to hold to 4 categories of ministry. 1. relationship building 2. sharing the gospel 3. going deeper 4. serving. I think there is no reason why we can't do those things digitally as well. post the fun post, so people interact and see more of our content, other content is spiritually based and pointing them to our services, use services to push to connect groups, use connect groups to push to serving. Also I would go with shake shack!

[radicalrecoveryministries]

Five guys all day long. However, anything I can do to begin a dialogue aids in making a disciple. But I do that in person. I might be wrong (won't be the first time) but my primary goal is to share the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is something that I will seriously consider. I don't want to be so focused on our ministry that I ignore what God may be whispering, kinda like a pre-conversion Apostle Paul.

[dazzarg]

Initial reaction was NOOOO but actually reading through the comments.. I get it. There definitely has to be some sort of balance, but yes. It helps to build a relationship..drives engagement and engagement is so key to what we should be doing

[pedalingpetes]

Very well said Brady. I'd love to put you in touch with world wide director of the Church of God for an interview on his podcast. Talking about the largest communication shift in the last 500 years.
Good job brother!

[TheElliott]

I think this content can totally be done in line with the context and culture of your church. For example, a post around the best place in our church wouldn't be great due to the current broader issues that it could bring up. But I totally think informal, non 'spiritual' content has its place to build community and potentially engagement :-)

[OneLifeHenderson]

Gotta be In-N-Out. Bummer we don’t have them in our area. 😔

[jonathan]

For most Hispanic churches this would he considered inappropriate or wrong or pointless to post on a church’s social media. I honestly don’t see it as inappropriate but I understand why people would think so.

[dennism]

It should enable ministry or fellowship opportunities otherwise it’s too off topic. If it’s building community then it has value.

[jeanetted]

Thank you for sharing this topic. I hadn’t thought or considered it... but I can totally see how it would encourage engagement.... and provide great substance for connecting the answers to future sermons and lessons... such as this question here can be used to underscore the difference between truth and opinion/preference. A pervasive lie that our children have absorbed from the world is that truth is not the same for everyone ...the idea that truth is relative makes Jesus’ proclamation that He is the way, THE TRUTH, and the life ineffective at best and a lie at worst because it means what may be true for one person is not true for another... using fun and quirky questions like this can help demonstrate the difference between things that are true (objective truth) and what is preference (relative ‘truth’)

[LauraB_]

I haven't had everything on that list but I gotta go off-book and say Habit Burger. All-time fave!