Читать книгу Click 2 Save - Keith Anderson - Страница 10

Once you’ve got a handle on the differences among people using social media and the range of social media locales in which they interact—especially as these differ from your face-to-face ministry context—developing a clearer sense of how you and your church want to be present in social media contexts is critical. Chapter 2 focuses on how to communicate an authentic representation of self and ministry that humanizes both individuals and communities. After all, before anyone walks through the door of your church or community service site or pub ministry, odds are that they’ve already taken a look at your website and moseyed over to your Facebook page. They know something of you and your community, and you want that “something” to be real and meaningful—far beyond the “just the facts, ma’am” tone of all too many church websites and Facebook pages.

The good news is that achieving “real presence” in social media spaces is far less theologically fraught for mainline churches than sorting out the mysteries of the Eucharist has been over the centuries. Drawing on Keith’s pastoral experience and that of colleagues in ministry, Chapter 2 will guide you through the basics of establishing an authentic voice and taking up practices of relational communication that ground an effective strategy for social media ministry.

We are ministers, not marketers, so our presence in digital spaces must be very clearly defined in terms of authentic ministry—authentic connection with others from whom we have nothing personally or institutionally to gain and to whom we have much to offer.