Perhaps you have tried setting up a Facebook page for your church or other religious community and haven’t seen much of a response. Or perhaps you want the community to use social media and don’t know where to start. This workshop will explain some of the tools religious communities use and help us think about how people of faith can communicate with each other and others through social media. We will explore the differences between broadcast media and social media, help participants become familiar with different social media tools, discuss best practices for pastoral leaders online, and assist in crafting a digital media strategy for your community. This workshop is appropriate for all levels of familiarity with social media.
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Intro to Social Media for Christian Ministry Workshop @RevEverett
1. Tools & Skills for Digital Ministry
#MassChurches
Episcopal Diocese of Western MA
Church of the Atonement, Westfield
Tuesday Nov 5, 2013
Rev. Laura Everett
Massachusetts Council of Churches
@RevEverett & www.RevEverett.com
4. Learning as sitting side by side
”29Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to
this chariot and join it.’ 30So Philip ran up to it
and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He
asked, ‘Do you understand what you are
reading?’
31He
replied, ‘How can I,
unless someone guides me?’
And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside
him.”
~ Acts 8: 29-32
5. What was the first thing
you read this morning?
• Broadcast Media
• Social Media
6. Broadcast Media vs. Social Media
Broadcast Media
• Static
• Concrete
• Authoritative
• Single Direction
Social Media
• Evolving
• Mutable
• Participatory
• Multi-directional
Examples:
Newspaper
Newsletter
Examples:
Facebook Post
Twitter feed
8. The Networked Church Acts 14: 19-28
But Jews came there from Antioch and Iconium and won over the
crowds. Then they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing
that he was dead. But when the disciples surrounded him, he got up and
went into the city. The next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.
After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had
made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and
Antioch. There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and
encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, ‘It is through many
persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.’ And after they had
appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they
entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.
Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. When
they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From
there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to
the grace of God for the work that they had completed. When they
arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done
with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. And
they stayed there with the disciples for some time.
11. Possibilities for Ecumenical Ministry
“Blacks (69%),
Hispanics (66%),
and whites (63%)
participate at
comparable levels
in social media
sites”
~Click 2 Save:
The Digital
Ministry Bible
• Social media provides
common space
• No ‘Episcopal Facebook’ or
‘AME Twitter’
• Ability to ‘listen pastorally’
to others’ conversations
• Direct access to individuals
and congregations
13. If we choose to be absent from this space,
we imply to
1,000,000,000
active
Facebook users:
“We don’t care about the conversations
you are having here.
Your passions, questions, and everyday
life is of no concern to us.”
14.
15. “social media…is hardly thought about at all.
It’s as commonplace as wallpaper. The
Millennials who make up the church use
social media the way they use oxygen. If
asked, they can discuss it. If deprived of it,
they would suffer. Otherwise they don’t
think about it. “It’s 2011,” one says to me.
“You can get a whole degree online. Why
wouldn’t we use this stuff?”
New Media Project case study on House for
All Sinners and Saints, ELCA, Denver CO
16.
17.
18. Focus on the tools that work best for
your community
19.
20. FACEBOOK
- Use for individuals, products , causes or
organizations
- Allows for sharing of “Status Updates,” links,
event invites, and photos
- Allows for “Friends” and “Fans”
- “Tagging” identifies others in a photo or post
- Interfaces with games and applications
- Churches can have “Groups” or “Pages”
(recommended)
- Increasingly used as a search engine
21.
22.
23.
24. TWITTER
•
•
•
•
•
•
Short-form “micro-blog” in 140 characters
Allows for sharing of text, pictures & links
Optional use geo-location
#Hashtags allow for categorization
Good for real-time updates & breaking news
Latinos and African Americans are 5x more
likely to use Twitter than white Americans
• Very Public Conversation
27. FourSquare
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Geo-locating application
Interfaces with Facebook, Twitter and Google+
Allows you to “Check-in” at locations
Rewards usage with “Mayors” and Badges
Allows friends to see where you are
Works best with a Smart Phone
Competitor to Facebook’s own Check-in
Allows strangers to see reviews, photos, tips &
deals
28.
29.
30. WORDPRESS
• Most popular Blogging platform and Content
Management System (CMS)
• Allows for long-form writing
• Free for www.RevEverett.wordpress.com or approx. $25
annually for www.RevEverett.com
• Competitor with Blogger, Moveable Type, Posterous,
Tumblr, Type Pad, Google Sites
• Free & for purchase templates allow for easy set up and
customization, but prohibit free form design
• ‘Plug-ins’ allow for integration with other Social Media
platforms
• Useful for building general websites w/o professional help
• Broadcast in posting, Social Media in comments
31.
32. TUMBLR
• Short-form writing, media & photo-sharing
platform with scrolling content
• As of July 18, 2012, Tumblr has over 64.7 million
blogs
• Newly capable of sharing music via Spotify
• Allows for internal commenting, reposting, and
sharing from Tumbr to Tumblr
• Users follow other Tumbr blogs
• Integrates with other social media platforms
• Great for project-specific blogs
33.
34.
35. PINERTREST
• Highly visual social media platform
• Users share pictures and “Pin” to idea or
theme boards
• Lots of design, craft, home & food content
• High click-thru rate to purchasing sites
• Predominately female users
• Powerful for sharing evocative imagery
• Potential for collaborative design for Church
36.
37. INSTAGRAM
• Photo-sharing mobile Ap
• Photo filters & photo-editing tools allow for
emotive images
• Smart phone ap, now with a website
• Users tag, like, and comment on photos
• Photos can be geo-located and categorized with
#hashtags
• Interfaces with other social media, ex: Facebook,
Twitter, Tumbr.
• Powerful tool for sharing beautiful, holy images
38.
39.
40. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• Clearly define your
unique charism/filter:
• Christian Unity
• Congregational Vitality
• MA Church trends
41. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• ADD value
Don’t just pass through
other people’s content
without adding your own
contribution. Why does this
matter to your followers?
Regularly review who is
following you to remind
yourself who is your
audience
42. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• Connect people and
organizations
Always tag and always
praise
43. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• Mix in original content people like to share photos!
44. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• Invite people to prayer
as appropriate, name
people, institutions,
events to lift up in prayer
Facebook feed as the
prayers of the People
45. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• LIKE Generously
Spend twice as much
time in your Facebook
feed as you do on your
own posts
“Like” is a way of saying
“I see you,” “Bless you,”
“You are not alone.”
46. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• Mix the Ancient and
the Modern
Share parts of your
history that connect to
the present
Examples: New England
Yearly Meeting & Old
South Church
47. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• Show life and humor
like liturgy, offer joy and
awe without overbearing
gravitas
• Identify the author
~ Rev. Laura helps fans
know to whom they are
responding when we ask
a question
48. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• Share (real time)
Photos
images of the beautiful,
holy, curious and scenes
of church life
• Then Tag people!
Best way we’ve seen to
up the # of people who
see and share
49. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of
Churches Facebook Page
• Respond!
if someone takes the
time to comment, grant
them the courtesy of a
response
55. MBTA Says Carolers That Were Kicked Out of Station For Lack of
Permit Can Come Back & Spread Joy
Published: December 17th 2012, 9:28pm
+1 StreetCred
The MBTA's new general manager, Beverly Scott, is full of holiday cheer.
After a group of more than a dozen Christmas carolers were booted from the Forest Hills T station platform by
Transit Police on Monday night, because they didn't have the proper permitting, Scott vowed to find a safe place for
the group to perform to bring joyful tunes to T travelers.
According to a Tweet from Rev. Laura Everett, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, the
choir set out to surprise riders at the bustling transit stop with some catchy tunes for the Christmas season.
But after a brief time bringing in the holiday cheer, they were asked by Transit Police to move along.
Everett said she understood there are rules, and the cops seemed "none too happy about enforcing them," but she
was surprised they did."This is the scandalous church lady life I live. Christmas caroling without a permit," she wrote.
When BostInno reached out to MBTA Spokesman Joe Pesaturo to ask about the alleged Transit Police Scrooges
shooing the singers from their impromptu stage, he said they did not have the proper permits and were not in
accordance with the "Subway Performers Program's rules."
56.
57.
58.
59. Public Religious Leadership in Social Media
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Be a human, not a clergybot
No pontificating (unless you are @Pontifex)
No (emotional) fishing
Ask more questions
Your title will not save you
No outsourcing
Invite people to prayer/take requests
Authenticity & interactivity give you cred
Show Christ’s love for ALL the people
If there are only Church people on your FB or Twitter
feed, you’re doing it wrong.
60. Congregational Social Media plan
Facebook Page
Clearly define your unique charism/filter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
61. Congregational Social Media plan
Facebook Page
Schedule of Social Media Ministry:
•
•
•
•
•
Who will post?/ Who are the administrators?
How often?
Covenant to “like” & “share”
Coordinate with new website posts?
Time with Constant Contact?
62. Continuing (digital) formation
• Watch, follow, ‘friend,’ the people practicing
excellence in Digital Ministry
• Borrow and praise
• Experiment!
• Fail! Mess Up! Ask Forgiveness!
• Regular review of what’s working/fun
• Read (see resource guide)
• Listen #chsocm Twitter chat Tues 9pm.
• Listen
63. Safe Church
•
•
•
•
•
T rue
H elpful
I nspiring
N ecessary
K ind
•
•
•
•
S hared (with an unrelated adult)
A pparent (readily seen – windows)
F ree to be disseminated (confidentiality)
E qual (power relationship)
Hinweis der Redaktion
My 4 Goals for this time: 1. make a theological case for social media for the work of Christian Unity. 2. Bring us all to a basic level of understanding of the tools available and what we can use for ecumenical digital ministry (start with Facebook). 3. That this time will be fruitful for your ministry as we transition to new types of authority in the Church. 4. Begin to formulate a Social Media Plan for your congregation on Facebook.
This image is iconic for me. Monday night of the Boston Marathon Bombing, front page of Boston.com. MCC role is to amplify the reconciling work of local churches, individuals and denominations. Links directly to the MCC’s Facebook page.
Earlier in the day, we asked churches to write in with their plans for ecumenical and interfaith prayer vigils. I had been tweeting out service locations under the hashtag #prayforboston. We were the trusted source for news. And when the news isn’t covering us, we become the news media. We are learning to be quick and flexible. We are learning a curious combination of digital ministry and incarnate experiences. We are learning to gather, curate and amplify the reconciling work of local churches and denominations, not necessarily to create the program ourselves. Deeply grateful for all who witness to the best of our tradition during this long, complex period. I am very proud of our ministry in these days.
After teaching digital ministry a few times, realize the divisions of the Church are not just denominational or racial, but on this topic often generational and/or digital (not always the same thing- figured this out when I was “friended “ by one of my 82 yr old Board members. As we learn together we have the chance to heal the divisions of the body of Christ here too. Establish first that we are going to learn together without judgment about who is ahead and who is behind. Like Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch, we are all going in the same direction together. Let’s sit side by side to look at the road ahead and try to learn together. Some know more than others. Wisdom to share. Not unlike the controversies of the early church- no judgment from “digital natives” about the new converts.
Ask for Name, title,where you live and First thing you read this morning. Write on wipe board or paper
Divide list of “first read this am” into Broadcast Media and Social Media.
This is a paradigm shift. Not just about the tools of how we communicate, but the very nature of authority. ASK:What do you notice about these two images of communication? Broadcast media- highly centralized. Social Media- decentralized. Oversimplification, but this is part of the reason why established institutions are having such a hard time adapting to social media. Social media by definition removed the centralized, controlling function for the flow of information that institutions and authority figures once held. Instead with social media, authority is gained not necessarily by title or position, but by authenticity, wisdom and relevancy.
Fast- don’t read out loud. Early Church was highly networked.“Networking: A feature of thriving communities” by C. Kavin Rowe http://www.faithandleadership.com/content/networking-feature-thriving-communities
Asocial network map of the relationships in the New Testament. It’s done by the folks at theEnglish Standard Version Bible.http://www.crossway.org/blog/2007/01/mapping.nt.social.networks/Especially for Middle-Level Judicatories, we are trying to build this network among our churches. This is about our polity and our parishes!
Already outdated: Currently 1,000,000,000 active Facebook users.So Body of Christ has always been highly networked, and often decentralized. But why bother to learn the new dynamics and language of Social Media? Facebook by the numbers, would be the third largest country behind China and India. Imagine our missionary predecessors saying, eh we don’t need to learn this language? Especially important for demographics you want to see in Church: “blacks (69%), Hispanics (66%), and whites (63%) participate at comparable levels in social media sites” C2S
There are very real class and access divides with social media- people who don’t have regular or reliable access to computers, fast internet connections. But it can a common space if you chose to treat it as such. Especially with Twitter, where the bar to “follow” someone is much lower- I listen in on conversations that a number of black feminist theologians are having amongst themselves, but in a public space.
Facebook by the numbers, would be the third largest country behind China and India. Like our missionary predecessors saying you know let’s not translate the Bible into their language. Let’s not learn to communicate with these people.
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-user-demographics_b38095Pew Research Centre 2013
Digital Ministry- How we practice digital ministry and use social ministry to share the love of Christ and build up the ChurchLearn some tools and skills. Digital ministry as MINISTRY! All the best practices for our in-person interactions apply here too. Confidentiality, boundaries, generosity of spirit, etc.
Many social media platforms: Focus on the platform that works best for your ministry. Prioritize. Like learning a new language. Figure out how to order coffee and find the bathroom first before start reading Cervantes
These are the major social media tools that work best for my ministry now. I have another workshop where we learn a bit about each of these, but today we’re just going to focus on Facebook for your ministry. My next area of growth is YouTube. YouTube 3rd most popular Search engine behind Google and FacebookGoal today is to get everyone on the same page- same knowledge basis. Some of this may be redundant, some new- ask for your patience to get all 5 of you with a same knowledge base. Awful truth is that you learn by doing it. Use it. Experiment. It’s a surprisingly forgiving medium. This is hard for institutions, but credibility comes not from our titles, but our authenticity and engagement. Think of it as a spiritual discipline, like building up muscles. Gotta practice.
Far and away, prioritize learning digital ministry of Facebook. In this day, not having an active church Facebook page is like not having a front door. Cuts across age groups. Not just about setting up your Facebook page ( or your council’s FB page) and walking away. ALSO, not about outsourcing it to someone else/some other staffer. Social media trades on authenticity. For social media to be social, it has to be dynamic (not broadcast). Also, each of us serves as an additional node on the social media map- communicate to a different network of people.
Facebook:
Example of an organizational page, including at right Facebook trying to sell us an ad.
Example of Facebook News Feed: St. Demetrios Weston has had a live video feed on the ongoing construction of their new church building
Facebook profile of an individual- especially for clergy, make sure there’s something there to grab on to beyond your priestly identity
#MuslimRagehashtag initiated by Newsweek, but picked up my others to counter the offensive images. Most “Retweeted” on Sept 17? “I’m having such a good hair day. No one even knows. # MuslimRage” As Reza Aslan said:
Allow s you to tell a story about where you spend your time.
From a recent blog post on RevEverett.com- think this may be the post most often re-bloggedMy favorite neighborhood restaurant is VeeVee. They serve locally-sourced food in a cosy space. They deliver by bicycle. Inside, they’ve added a new sign:.“Like VeeVee? Help spread the word to your friends by checking in on Facebook or Foursquare. Thanks!”And so I did, posting a photo of my tasty meal. I visit a lot of churches, more churches than restaurants. I’ve yet to see a sign like this in a church.“Checking in” with social media allows us to narrate where we spend our time, talent, and treasure. Every Sunday, we boldly invite our people to give generously to further our common ministry. Post a small sign like this or a note in the bulletin asking the same. As VeeVee said, “Help spread the word to your friends.” Invite our people to check in.
Just started blogging in January 2012- so still developing a rhythm. Start with what you’ve already got- don’t set a huge lofty goal to create new content. Sermon text and newsletter paragraphs to begin with until you’re ready to develop some original content
http://diydenominations.tumblr.com/Who do you say you are? Christian denominational labels often don't capture all of our religious history or beliefs. When folks visit the Massachusetts Council of Churches, we're inviting them to define their own denominational identity. Come visit 14 Beacon St #416 in Boston!Post photos & quotes;44% of Americans “now profess a religious rather affiliation that is different from the religion in which they were raised.The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Lifehttp://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf
http://reveverett.tumblr.com/Mostly using this to ‘dump’ somewhere online photos that I take with my smartphone from instagram (just a smartphone ap, no online content)Try to tell a beautiful & true story about catching glimpses of the holy
Heavy traffic for sharing inspirational quotes
Personal pinterest page on a mobile phone- Not really using for my ministry yet, but trying to tell a story about a creative life. New shelves and canisters on right. Best use? Brothers of Society of St. John the Evangelist using Pinterest for an online advent calendar
Instagram profile page
Instagram photo: gives location where photo was taken at Trinity Church Boston rectory, hashtags make the photo searchable.
I think of us as curators: What is it that our audience want to hear. This is a great example of a story we like to share: it’s trendspotting- we’ve seen more congregational gardens. It connects us to the wider church. It’s an event held by our colleagues at the National Council of Churches. It helps promote vital, innovative congregational life
Curators, editors, NOT simply pass-through. Colleague who’s organization FB page reads like a direct stream from the Huffington Post’s religion page- many posts unrelated to the organization’s core mission.
In this post, we took an interesting story from the Lutherans and connected it to the Methodist event on the same day. Tagging people and organizations is a great way to get them interested in what you are posting as well
When you’re tapped out on some other project, take a bit of time to play around in photoshop or gimp to create some original content. Timing, relevant.
Without fail, every time on Facebook and twitter I ask “for whom shall we pray?” I get responses. Without fail.
MAGIC Ration of 2:1.(btw) Great example of a local church sharing a joyful, evocative photo of their communal life. People like photos.\
Tell story of 1976 photo and prayerbook, connecting across generations
250 Million photos are uploaded daily
We are in an era of massive change around the social norms of technology and religious leadership. The day after this event, I got an angry email from a pastor who thought I was being disrespectful during the Climate Revival. She saw me using my phone, said I was texting, not paying attention, disrespecting heads of the UCC & Episcopal Church. Never mind that Bishop Kneesley didn’t get the same email. I ran the stats on the twitter hashtag afterwards?
Who are the 8 people the pope follows on twitter? Himself in other languages. Even his Latin account has 181m. Pontifex- 3.1m on English account. 10m total. Katy Perry 46.5m, Justin Bieber 46.5 m, Gaga 40m.
Cory Booker, followed by 1.4m. Highly interactive. Amanda Palmer, punk rocker, followed by 1m. On April 20, 2012, Palmer announced on her blog[37] that she launched a new album pre-order on Kickstarter.[38] The Kickstarter project was ultimately supported by 24,883 backers for a grand total of $1,192,793[39] — at the time, the most funds ever raised for a musical project on Kickstarter.[40] The album, Theatre Is Evil, was recorded with The Grand Theft Orchestra, produced byJohnCongleton, and released in September 2012.[41]wed by 1.5million people. Punk Rocker, Amanda Planer- Highly interactive with fans, 1m followers
On April 20, 2012, Palmer announced on her blog[37] that she launched a new album pre-order on Kickstarter.[38] The Kickstarter project was ultimately supported by 24,883 backers for a grand total of $1,192,793[39] — at the time, the most funds ever raised for a musical project on Kickstarter.[40] The album, Theatre Is Evil, was recorded with The Grand Theft Orchestra, produced byJohnCongleton, and released in September 2012.[41]wed by 1.5million people. Punk Rocker, Amanda Planer- Highly interactive with fans, 1m followers
DO NOT tweet when angry.
Connecting to Stealfinder on Instagram first by #Hastag
Ecumenical inspirational storiesCongregational resources/best practicesNews from member denominations(have fred email worksheet.
Do NOT think of this as ‘ecumenical reception’ document comes down from NYC or Geneva. Must be interactive?
Spend the most time listening, lurking. Listen to the stories people tell about themselves. Pastor to that. Do not use as broadcast. Engage. Learned the most about how other people perceive themselves from watching the newsfeed- goal of any judicatory to attend to the churches.
Spend the most time listening, lurking. Listen to the stories people tell about themselves. Pastor to that. Do not use as broadcast. Engage. Learned the most about how other people perceive themselves from watching the newsfeed- goal of any judicatory to attend to the churches.
