I am a millennial. This means that I was a teenager as social media was really making its presence known. I carefully picked my Top 8 Friends on MySpace, crafted the perfect song lyrics for my away message on AOL Instant Messenger. I created a Facebook page in my friend’s basement when they made Facebook available for everyone, not just college students.
As I entered into college, I joined Instagram, Snapchat, and quickly gave up on Vine. Now as an adult (and an adult who serves in youth ministry), I begrudgingly joined BeReal, TikTok, and Lapse. As I’ve existed on these platforms, it’s given me another avenue to connect with young people…especially those that have graduated from high school and moved on. Thanks to social media, I can see how my kids are doing all over the world. From Phoenix, Arizona to the University of Oxford in England.
Throughout the years, the platforms we know have changed. Instagram isn’t just a platform to post square photos with “artsy” filters; Facebook has often become a “neighborhood drama house” (as one of my friends calls it.) Platforms like X (formally known as Twitter) are dying out. Social media is here to stay, even if how we interact and use these platforms have changed.
For the past six years, I have worked as the social media manager for the churches where I’ve served. I’ve seen both the need for churches to exist on these platforms and how we can creatively engage with our congregation members and community outside of weekend services and midweek programming. Social media has given people, especially teenagers, the opportunity to share their faith in Jesus and share who God is in a powerful way.
As I’ve created content and increased reach and engagement on our platforms, here are some best practices I’ve embraced (and often repeated to myself):
1. Don’t compare yourself to other churches
This can apply to so many different areas of ministry, right? Whether it’s staff, size of congregation, quality of programming, etc., it’s so easy to play the comparison game. So just stop. The content that might land well of another church in town might completely flop with your youth. Why? Because you need to post content that works within your context.
2. Post content that works within your context
No one knows your people better than you do. Spend time figuring out the type of content your congregation or youth group wants to interact with. Invite volunteers to help with brainstorming. Chances are you can get some teenagers to help pretty quickly. We sometimes assume what our people need to hear without asking what actually helps them to stay connected to God’s Word and the church. You need to be okay with a lot of trial and error as you figure out what works for your congregation.
3. Be ok with a lot of trial and error
Some posts are going to do great. Other posts, not so much. Give yourself grace as you try different content, identify your target audience, and manage the ever-changing algorithm. It’s going to change again next week anyway.
4. Your platforms are not only a bulletin board
This one might be a hot take but stick with me. Your platforms are not the place to only be promoting ministries and events coming up. If you have bigger community events that you want your congregation to invite people to, promote those on social media. But your platforms should be viewed as a platform for ministry. Not a promotion of ministry. If your posts are seen exclusively as ads, they are going to lose engagement.
This one might ruffle some feathers because certain people are used to always having their ministries promoted. But if you consistently communicate the “why”, you can eventually (and hopefully) get people on board.
5. There is a time and place for AI
The likelihood of social media being your primary job responsibility is very low. In fact, at this moment you’re probably planning VBS, getting ready for the LCMS Youth Gathering, maybe even planning songs for worship this upcoming Sunday. So, in the midst of doing all the things, utilize things like ChatGPT to help you come up with content ideas, captions for posts, etc.
Do you always have to proofread what AI comes up with? Absolutely yes. But think of the time it saves if all you have to do is tweak it and modify it for your context. As the old saying goes, “Work smarter, not harder.”
6. Have fun!
When I first became a social media manager, I never knew how much fun I would have with it. Getting to create content, showing behind the scenes of us getting ready for big events, showcasing our staff outside of a Sunday morning or Wednesday night, creating sermon reels and Bible verse graphics that people could share to their feeds. Social media management can sometimes be frustrating or tedious. But remember to have fun with it as well!
As I think through the type of presence I want the church to have on social media, I have this question in the back of my head that a friend posed to me once in a meeting: If we didn’t have weekend services, how would our social media communicate our mission, vision, and values? Would people see and hear the Good News of Jesus in what we do?
It’s quite possible that this is a shift in mindset from how you’ve viewed social media up to this point. But it’s important to look at these platforms as an avenue for people to experience the Gospel. We pray they connect with our congregation as a part of the community of believers.
To see that, while they are sinners, Jesus came, died, and rose again for them.
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