Over the weekend I had the privilege of organizing a panel discussion on social media and ministry at the Presbytery of Chicago’s LEAD event . Here is the description of our workshop:
Ministry 2.0
How can tools like Facebook and Twitter be used for pastoral care, gospel witness, and relationship building? How must our paradigms for ministry shift due to the wider cultural shifts—as significant as the advent of the printing press? Come to get a firm foothold on what your congregation can do in social media and e-communications. Hear a panel of our own Presbyterian talent share their knowledge and experience. We’ll cover both big picture “why” questions and simple, practical next steps.
Here are the slides I used for the contextual introduction to social media and ministry:
The essential point is that using social media isn’t simply a matter of learning a new set of technologies. Rather, these new technologies are changing culture and the church must also live within this digital culture. It’s not enough for pastors and church leaders to have Facebook profiles to say they have them and post something now and then. We must inhabit these cultural spaces because this is where many of the people we want to reach are living.
Joining me on the panel were three pastors from our presbytery, each of whom are exploring creative means of ministry in digital culture: Nanette Sawyer, Teri Peterson, and Brian Paulson. As I mentioned on Saturday, none of us are experts. But each of us are trying new things. Check out these examples of social media endeavors they are involved in.
Nanette Sawyer
- Nanette’s Instagram page where she is participating in the RethinkChurch Lenten photo project
- Nanette’s blog
- Grace Commons on Facebook and their website
- The website for St. James Presbyterian Church
Teri Peterson
- Teri’s blog
- The Presbyterian Church of Palatine on Facebook
Brian Paulson
- worshiplife.net
- First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville’s website and Facebook page
- An experiment using TED-Ed for teaching
