Why and How to begin social media for ministry? A workshop in two parts: first is about adaptive change- what’s this new media landscape and what does it mean for how we communicate in the church? Second part is technical: so what are the tools and how to use them. My Goals for this time: 1. Make a theological and practical case for social media for the work of Christian Unity. 2. Show the paradigm shift from broadcast to social media 3. Create a collaborative, non-competitive environment for leaning about digital ministry In second session, goals are: 1. 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) 2.. Begin to formulate a Social Media Plan with Facebook.

1. Proclaiming & Living the Good News Today
Part 1: Why use Social Media ?
#LouisianaChurch
Part 1 – Monday 9/22 3:15-4:15pm
Louisiana Interchurch Conference Fall Board Meeting
Sept. 22nd and 23rd, 2014 at the Lafayette Hilton
Rev. Laura Everett
Massachusetts Council of Churches
@RevEverett & www.RevEverett.com

2. Boston.com Screen-Grab Monday April 15, 2013 10:50pm

3. MCC Facebook Monday April 15, 2013 4:43pm
#MassChurches

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. Who are the “Digital Natives?”
Cohort Birth Years (by 2014)
Silent Generation 1925-45 (69-89)
Baby Boomers 1946-64 (50-68)
Generation X 1965-81 (33-49)
Millennials/ Digital Natives 1982-95 (19-32)
Adapted from The Social Media Gospel: Sharing the Good News in New Ways, by
Meredith Gould (Liturgical Press: Collegeville MN, 2013)

6. What is Social Media?
“Social media are web-based
tools for interaction that, in
addition to conversation,
allow users to share content
such as photos, videos and
links to resource.”
The Social Media Gospel: Sharing the Good
News in New Ways, by Meredith Gould
(Liturgical Press: Collegeville MN, 2013)

7. What was the first thing
you read this morning?

8. Broadcast Media vs. Social Media
Broadcast Media
• Static
• Concrete
• Authoritative
• Single Direction
Examples:
Newspaper
Newsletter
Social Media
• Evolving
• Mutable
• Participatory
• Multi-directional
Examples:
Facebook Post
Twitter feed

9. Broadcast Media vs. Social Media

10. 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 proclaiming
the Good News, together
• Social media provides
common space
• No ‘Episcopal Facebook’ or
‘AME Twitter’
• Ability to ‘listen pastorally’
to others’ conversations
• Direct access to individuals
and congregations
“Blacks (69%),
Hispanics (66%),
and whites (63%)
participate at
comparable levels
in social media
sites”
~Click 2 Save:
The Digital
Ministry Bible

12. People’s

13. If we choose to be absent from this space,
we imply to 1,230,000,000 monthly
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.”

16. Vemkar: A Moveable Altar

17. No blog, no Facebook page yours,
Yours are the tweets through
which love touches this world,
Yours are the posts through the Gospel is shared,
Yours are the updates through
which hope is revealed.
Christ has no online presence yours,
No blog, No Facebook page yours.
Photo credit: George Martell/The Pilot Media Group
St Teresa of Avila Prayer adaptation: Meredith Gould

18. Proclaiming & Living the Good News Today
Part 2: How to use Social Media faithfully
#LouisianaChurch
Part 2 – Monday 9/22 4:30-5:30
Louisiana Interchurch Conference Fall Board Meeting
Sept. 22nd and 23rd, 2014 at the Lafayette Hilton
Rev. Laura Everett
Massachusetts Council of Churches
@RevEverett & www.RevEverett.com

19. Focus on the digital tools that work
best for your church

20. 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

21. TWITTER

22. TWITTER

23. New Tech Is… Digital Tools are…
• Difficult
• Unreliable
• Foreign
• Scary
• Productivity
enhancers
• Communication
enhancers
• Something to
Slide courtesy of learn and use
Beth Lewis, President & CEO
Augsburg Fortress
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved

25. 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

30. “We need to use social media because
everyone else uses it” is not a strategy.
• What do we want to happen as a
result of using these tools?
• Who do we most want to reach?
• How will we know when we’ve
succeeded?
The Social Media Gospel: Sharing the Good News in New Ways, by
Meredith Gould (Liturgical Press: Collegeville MN, 2013)

31. MCC Social Media Goals:
• Cultivate broad ecumenical relationships
across state
• Be the go-to source for local news on church
issues
• Create opportunity for dialogue about church
in MA
• Joyful, hopeful expression of the unified
Church
• Trendspotting
• Strengthen in-person and donor relationships

32. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• Clearly define your
unique charism/filter:
• Christian Unity
• Congregational Vitality
• MA Church trends

33. 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

34. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• Connect people and
organizations
Always tag and always
praise

35. Lessons from running the
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Facebook Page
• Mix in original content people like to share photos!

36. 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

37. 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.”

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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

42. Creating your Social Media plan
for your 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?

43. 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

44. Lessons learned in Public Religious
Leadership & Social Media
#ClimateRevival 11,633 accounts
reached with this hashtag

49. 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."

53. 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.

54. 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

55. TWITTER

56. TWITTER

57. 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

60. 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

62. 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

65. 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

67. 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