If you are a church leader, I want to encourage you to pick up this book. From Social Media to Social Ministry – A Guide to Digital Discipleship is written by Nona Jones, the head of global faith-based partnerships at Facebook. She is also a leader in a local church, and she is passionate about using social media to do discipleship.
I believe that you can do discipleship from a distance using social media. The Apostle Paul did this in the first century through a different context. He used letter writing to minister and disciple believers in cities throughout Asia Minor. Now we have the technology to help people connect and learn how to follow Jesus online.
Our problem is that we tend to think of Social Media as a distraction. It can even feed our egos as we try to get more attention and likes for ourselves. Nona shared,
We must become less concerned about the number of likes we get on a post and the number of views we get on a video and more concerned about the number of lives that were changed because of them … It doesn’t matter how many followers you have if those followers aren’t following Jesus.
In this book, you will learn how to use both Facebook Groups and Pages to do discipleship in your local church. Many churches have yet to discover how you can use Facebook Groups to help connect the people inside your church. Your Facebook Page is your opportunity to reach the community that is not just in your own city, but around the world.
Nona Jones shares that Jesus was “out among the people, making connections and having conversations. All day, every day.” He was incredible at inviting people into relationship. What if we used social media to do the same thing? To make connections and to have conversations that lead to next steps.
While a social media plan primarily focuses on sharing content to get likes, comments, and shares, a social ministry strategy focuses on building relationships and facilitating connections between and among people so that discipleship can happen. Relationships are the foundation for discipleship.
Nona Jones in From Social Media to social Ministry
Social media is our mission field. Fewer people are attending our churches, especially now because of the pandemic. But people are online, and that’s where we can reach people. I encourage you to pick up this book and learn more about how to effectively reach your community. This book will walk you through developing a strategy, and then implementing it. She gives step by step instructions for setting up a Facebook Group for your church or ministry. The book also has a helpful posting schedule that your church can use.
Click here to buy this book on Amazon (note that all Amazon links are Amazon Affiliate Links. I receive a small commission on any purchases made which help me to support this site)
