Sorry for yesterday not coming up. The wife and I have been in Nashville for the Nashville Marathon, and I have found the more expensive the hotel, the less likely for their to be easy (free) internet access. Today won"t really be tips, but more of a combination of the week. I sent a few questions to my friend David Norman and wanted to let you hear what he thinks.
1. Who are you and where do you serve?
David Norman - Lead Pastor at Crossroads Friends Church in Wichita, KS
2. How would you say your congregation uses social media? (what services, frequency, age range)
Facebook seems to be multi-generational, but my personal use of twitter
seems to have spurred on a healthy number of folks (from HS to 60s) to
try it out and give it a shot. I shared it as a tool to get to know me
before I came on staff, as well as a great way for us to connect with
very little pressure.
3. Did your church actively use social media tools before you came to communicate with congregants?
no. they had a static website, but zero social media presence.
4. How did you use Social Media to connect with members before and
during your move? How did it help you and your family acclimate to a
new environment?
Because Wichita is so far from Austin (where we moved from), social
media was critical to getting to know our church. Sure we had met them
once or twice, but looking at photos, sending messages back and forth,
and just generally web-stalking (in a safe and wholesome way) someone
is a great way to get to know their personality and habits. As far as
acclimation, I used tweetdeck at the time and created a filtered group
of just people from out church, as well as a search #wichita. In doing
so, i was able to jump on some news topics in real time - as soon as
the people actually living there were getting their news, i was asking
them about it. it was a great way to get to know the city, some people
from the city, and the overall attitude toward it. i highly recommend
this practice.
5. Have you started to push the church towards using Social Media more since you have been there? How have they responded?
I think so. I was speaking of community and the need for it and how
social media gives you an opportunity to connect that we might not have
in our average day. I shared a few stories of what kind of "community"
i had experienced THAT MORNING via twitter and facebook and that seemed
to really light a spark in our church to use social media
intentionally. Can social media substitute face-to-face interaction? I
don't think so, but it can certainly supplement it.
6. How much of your use is regarding your church or is communicating with members?
I separated the two. I primarily twitter as I always have (which is
set up to also post to my facebook wall). I still maintain and write
at my blog (insert token blog plug here). But after a few months at
Crossroads, I chose to create a facebook page for the church along with
a twitter account. but all in all, i'd like to say about 1/3 of my
personal twittering is directed towards people from our church or about
the church, while about 3/4 of my time on facebook is directed toward
people from the church.
7. What are some tips you would offer pastors going to new Churches regarding Social Media?
Have integrity. That seems so generic that it seems to be no help at
all, but the truth is that anyone who connects with you or stalks you
via social media has an expectation as to how you are, what you think,
what you like, etc. Don't be a cheerleader who uses three exclamation
marks at the end of each update if you generally have a melancholy
disposition. Be the same guy on the web that you'll be on the stage or
in the pulpit. Integrity speaks to both the depth to which you'll
expose yourself to your congregation (your followers on twitter
shouldn't know more about you than your church), and the authenticity
that you will show online (pastors who only quote verses get unfollowed
quickly because they are saying something but without any context)
Posted by: |