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Given a good idea of who’s where and what’s what in the digital domain, a clearly articulated sense of presence, and an understanding of how and when to use various social media platforms, the art of networked, relational ministry in social media communities begins. We approach the art of digital ministry through a mode of digital participation that Elizabeth introduced in Tweet If You ♥ Jesus. There, she described life in the Digital Reformation—a revitalization of the church driven largely by the ad hoc spiritualities of ordinary believers influenced by digital social networking—as organized around four core practices she calls a “LACE”:

 Listening—taking time to get to know people in social networks based on what they share in profiles, posts, tweets, and so on, rather than emphasizing the communication of your own message

 Attending—noticing and being present to the experiences and interests of others as they share themselves in digital spaces

 Connecting—reaching out to others in diverse communities in order to deepen and extend the networks that influence your digital spiritual practice

 Engaging—building relationships by sharing content, collaborating, and connecting people to others

This networked, relational LACE, Elizabeth argued, is a re-emerging mode of engagement that connects life in the ancient and medieval church to life in the church today, offering opportunities to enrich our relationships, our communities, and our churches after long centuries of increasing separation and distancing brought about by mass media and, in particular, broadcast media like radio, television, and movies.²

As we move in Click 2 Save to draw out the implications of the Digital Reformation for hands-on ministry practice, we explore the LACE more spe cifically through what we see as basic “arts of digital ministry”:

 Offering spiritual care to others through practices of prayer, comfort, encouragement, and inspiration

 Offering hospitality by extending welcome, creating sacred space, respectfully evangelizing, and incorporating others into the church

 Forming disciples and enriching their spiritual lives through preaching, education, and small group ministries

 Building community by engaging others and helping to connect them to one another

 Sharing public witness through activism, social justice practices, advocacy in partnership with the marginalized and forgotten, and supporting the vitality of local communities

Chapter 4 also shares three detailed social media case studies. Two are from individual ministry leaders—the Reverend Nadia Bolz-Weber of the Lutheran mission church House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, and the Reverend Matthew Moretz of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in New York. Another is from an organization—the Massachusetts Council of Churches. Your strategy, whether for your personal ministry or for your church or other religious organization, will not of course be exactly like any of those we share. We offer them, however, as an illustration of the kinds of reflection that go into developing a social media strategy and the results this reflection can provide.

“Approach social media as you would anything else in the church. If you have someone in your congregation who has gifts for it, try to make use of those gifts.”

—Emily Scott, Pastoral Minister

St. Lydia’s Church, New York