Media Outreach

While there are many benefits of using Twitter in your church, as discussed in June’s Ezine, there are some negatives to using Twitter in your church.

Pastors are starting to experiment with interactive church services where the congregation tweets during the service or participates in a survey via twitter during the service.

Bill Reichart, a ministry consultant and area director of the Christian Medical and Dental Association in Atlanta, says that while interactive services are fun, technology still has implications that should be considered.

“During a worship service, we are there to worship and listen to what the Lord is teaching us,” he says. “Sometimes I think Twitter distracts us.”

Reichart suggests using Twitter once in awhile during a service is fine, but to make it a weekly habit could take the focus off of God.

“Twitter has a tendency to be a little narcissistic,” Reichart says. “When we’re in a service, it should be more about God and our focus should be on Him.”

Twitter should be used as one way of communicating with a congregation and should not be solely relied on.  It’s important to realize early on that one’s whole congregation will not be ready to jump on board with Twitter.

Jason Gordon, Minister of Community Life at Connexion Christian Ministries in Lafayette, Ind., says his church has been slow at getting Twitter started.

“You can’t force it,” he says. “It has to happen on its own. Sometimes we’ll throw it up in our announcements.”

It’s important to determine how your church’s Twitter account is going to be used before you begin using it. Determine what the goals are and be responsible with the account, says David Mosley, the young adults pastor a the Church on Chapel Hill in Douglasville, Ga.

Mosley says his church, the Church at Chapel Hill, has been experimenting with a few interactive services, but has thought out the process so as not to hinder people from only receiving the sermon via Twitter.

“We only tweet during the last service of the day, so people don’t just read the tweets and feel like they’ve been to church,” he says.

If Twitter doesn’t work as a means of communication and connecting with your congregation, then try to find other avenues that do work, such as blogs or newsletters. Blogs allow your congregation to comment and leave their thoughts and ideas on a topic you want to share with them.

“Remember it’s a two-way conversation, not a one way direction,” Reichart says.

pic by fotogail