This has been a question that has been asked by more than one pastor or member of any church across America. I am going to try and provide you with an explanation as to why churches need social media and how we as a ministry can maximize our outreach efforts to reach both our local community and the world. Sit back and pour yourself your favorite drink and let’s take a closer look as to the question “Why Do Churches Need Social Media.”
So many times you can visit this church or that church and you always will hear a couple of people expressing their opinions on what it is that social media does or does not offer. Now for most of us, we have profiles on CMBC on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and CMBC on Pinterest. Even for those who have existing profiles on any of these networks will always complain about the ugly things that exist and oftentimes threaten to delete their accounts or no longer be involved with them. Hold the press! Even for the negative things that many of us see across any of those networks, exactly how are we going to expect to win any of those people who are posting bad things if we aren’t there to do it? It’s rather simple. We aren’t going to be able to do so.
Of course Crow Mountain Baptist Church is on the above listed social media outlets. Many of you are following us on Facebook, some on Pinterest, a few on Google+. And recently we created a new method of being able to pray for one another and submit needs, create groups and interact with one another via the Table Project that we introduced this past Sunday. Before we had our own social network site and prayer wall directly on the website. However, as many of you know there is always someone who is looking to try and hack into something. Usually they try and attack churches first because they think that the person who runs the website may not be up-to-speed in regards to Internet Security and protocols to ensure the protection of its users and community.
They were sadly fooled when it came to our ministry website.
With the millennials, they are always on the move and usually with a portable or mobile device in-hand or within easy reach of it. Whether they are teens, tech-savvy adults, and even the 
older generation it has become apparent that the best way to reach most people is through one social network or another. How many times have you heard someone say when you ask them why they haven’t been in Sunday School or church lately that they posted it and that you should have seen it. This certainly goes a long way for pastors of churches. However, a pastor is one person. They certainly cannot be responsible to know what is going on in everyone’s life from social media networks. This is where we come into play.
And now that we have a new Social Community for CMBC, we can play an even bigger role in staying closer in contact, knowing peoples prayer needs and request (without having to wait until Wednesday evening Bible study or Sunday services. Now you can know in real-time a prayer request or specific need that may exist. You can even choose to make your services available if it is something you can assist with. Remember that it is us that is called to be the church.
However, in today’s times, church exists outside of the traditional physical church itself. I see so many people posting funny pics, videos, etc., so if we have the time for this shouldn’t we also have time to minister to those at their point of needs when they need it the most?
Not only is social media for churches important to stay connected to one another, it is also one of the best ways to interact with potential new visitors to our church. More and more people turn to a ministry website to get a better understanding of what a church represents before they ever step foot through your front door. It’s a proven statistic that many people will look for visitor ratings or comments that exist about your church.
Oftentimes these individuals will even see if there is a social community that exists online for your church so that they can begin interacting and see what sort of responses they may nor may not receive from any of its members. This is where each of us come into play.
Did you know that you can invite people to join us on our new social network? You most certainly can. I encourage each of you to visit the page on our website titled “Meet At The Table.” Take time and view the video tutorials that exist and start inviting people through your profile. The more connections that each of us make provide us with an opportunity to minister to them in a more intimate and non-threatening way. This then provides a huge door of opportunity to then get them to visit with us in person. It’s a win-win situation. Most importantly, it provides us with an opportunity to introduce more people to the wonderful and loving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen