eformation- When the Church Leads

#9 in the eformation Series

Some collected notes here for church leaders
and layleaders

from the eformation conference 2014.
eformationvts

The main purpose of online ministry:

 Educate Encourage and Equip.

The primary audience for online ministry is :

1) existing congregants

2) the other relationships their congregants have.

(The church has said for awhile

 that it is the unchurched,

 but the reality proves that it is relationship driven.

It is the friends of the members.)

The main job of church leaders

 is to get OTHERS

to do the social media.

The ministry markers of
 interaction points include:

the public setting- (worship,
teaching settings, even church meetings)

 email,

 phone, social media,

 back channel-

(private notes on social media)

 and IRL-in real life,
(chatting over coffee at Starbucks).

ALL of these venues become settings

 for conversations and engagement

 that connect to a leader's circle of influence.
ALL of these connections
 can have spiritual forming
opportunities.

 Social media success today depends on 

thinking VISUALLY about goals and message.

Art has always been a gateway to the sacred-

it is effective in social media connections.

Consistent branding across all profiles

 is necessary to build recognizable connections.

Engage a few key participants

 that will participate by sharing posts

 on their own social media sites.

It is important to do tagging

 with keywords and #hashtags.

Pace posts.

A Facebook page that has been dormant

 for a month is as good as nonexistent.

Groups are not necessarily community.

Social media communication

 has disbanded space, time,

 and age boundaries for engagement.

If you are posting-

then it is important to comment on other posts-

after all it is SOCIAL media.

The most critical aspect for planning is to make sure that:

STRATEGY, AUDIENCE, GOAL and MESSAGE

is determined BEFORE:

TACTICS of WHEN, WHERE, and HOW.

The liturgical calendar

 is the best organizational tool

 for bringing help to families in your community.

Think about bringing them faith formation tools 

that are SEASONAL,

 not weekly.

  Be realistic about what families

 might be able to participate in/add to family life living.

In every aspect of social media engagement:

Cover all plans in PRAYER, and

 trust the work of the HOLY SPIRIT.

 Remember that you are doing

 more than sharing information-

you are creating SACRED SPACE online.

Notes taken from sessions with:
Meredith Gould, Sharon Ely Pearson,
John Roberto, Tom Tomaszek