It can be hard to get yourself moving in times like these…
Extended quarantine, Lent, and Winter have all collided to make action an even more unlikely probability.
But without action, there is no movement forward.
Injustices remain unrighted.
People remain unreached.
Love remains unshared.
And we can’t have any of that, can we?
Click here for the video version of this post.
What We’re Gonna Do About It
That’s why today we are bringing you two different lists of ways to encourage action this Lent within your congregation.
First – action your congregation can take to do more than talk, read, or react to the many injustices of our world.
Second – action you can encourage your people to take to help your church’s digital ministry presence.
In a way, these two go together.
If you are taking action against the injustices of our world, we sure hope you are sharing about it online. Alternatively, if you are already committed to post online about the injustices in our world that you are fighting against, we sure hope you’re actually doing something about them too.
Posting is a good start though.
In fact, let’s start there!
You Need Help on Social Media
Church leader, you cannot do it all.
And you shouldn’t have to!
Here are some ways we suggest you find help:
- Have people who enjoy photography take photos.
You can use these photos on your social posts and website.
In fact, can that person make one or two designs that you can share? Can they be shown how to share them themselves?
You just onboarded a social media helper!
- Have one person post one thing once per week.
Can one person be your question asker?
Can another be your music video sharer?
Can another share the worship recording?
Before you know it, you’ll have a team who maintains an active social media presence for your church. Without the tasks being overwhelming to one person.
Not only does this help your church social media be more effective, but it also gets more of your members involved in the regular ministry of your community.
Be sure to have them watch some of our videos to help them along their way.
- Train one or two people to help your people use social media or have a few people help you lead a training.
Make sure you have clear learning outcomes for the training (they can tweet, they can view IG stories, etc.). The needs will be different for every congregation.
You may also want to record your social media training so that you can share the video to expedite the training process next time!
2. Encourage people to send in devotions, reflections, or testimonies.
This will give you easy authentic material to quote via graphics, tweets, or share via video.
Make sure to cite your source if they are open to it and respect privacy if not.
3. Unleash a numbers-minded member on your analytics!
You are bound to have at least one person in your congregation who is good at numbers.
Use that person’s gifts by sharing your social analytics and have them make recommendations for future posts based on what your people engage with.
Is Your Community Taking Action?
Now that we’ve established how your congregation can participate in your community’s digital ministry, let’s talk about actually taking action on some of the issues your faith has you interacting with regularly.
We pray for the hungry to be fed, the earth to be healed, and all people to be welcomed and cared for – regardless of sexuality, race, ethnicity, economic class, gender identity, or employment.
But what are we doing about these issues?
And remember, this connects intimately to your digital ministry:
If you are taking action against the injustices of our world, you need to be sharing about these actions online as a church. If you are already online praying against the injustices in our world, it’s time to actually do something about them.
Here are a few ways you can encourage your community to move forward:
- Showing Up
Covid hasn’t stopped justice work. There are still both virtual socially distanced protests and community organizing events.
Your body has value when it shows up. Depending on your level of privilege, your presence showing up at a covid-safe march or event may even mean more to people in power.
Take the time to show up as a church for the changes you wish to see in the world.
2. Donating
Whether you are collecting dollars or physical donations, put your money where your mouth is and start organizing a collection of more than words and prayers.
Find somewhere local you can connect with and trust with your money or gifts.
3. Taking a Stance
Reading about issues is great, but has your church made a formal statement against or for any policies that are important to it?
These should be shared on your social and website loud and clear.
When your church says something matters – as a body of Faith – it is going to take on a different weight to people who read your posts or site.
4. Getting Involved
Sign petitions, call your representatives, and invite your community to join you in these efforts.
There are ways to get involved even if you cannot go anywhere or give any money or items.
Give time. Give effort. Give your voice.
5. Speaking Out
Through your sermons, social media, and everything in between, your church must use words to clearly outline where you stand and why.
And people will need to know more about the why.
Digital Ministry Time
So don’t be shy and don’t be stagnant.
Grab some helpers and start changing the way your church engages with social media and social issues.
If you’re not sure where to look for help, remember that sometimes the most helpful people for these tasks need to be 100% trained before they can jump in.
Other times, your best ministry helpers may not be members at all.
Keep your eyes open.
Ask. Ask again.
If it is important to your people, it will happen.
And we sure hope it does!
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