Why Use Social Media?

By: Christie Hampton

Here at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, we have moved from starting a social media account to the challenge of actually being effective in how we use it. So why?

“What is the purpose of using social media in the first place?”

For us at Holy Cross, social media is used to share God’s love, devotions, stories, images, and upcoming events.

According to Pew Research Center, nearly two-thirds of all adults are active on social media, and the average person is on social media 116 minutes a day (Social Media Today, “How Much Time Do People Spend on Social Media?” Nov. 28, 2018). The average person who attends Church attends eight to ten times a year.

“How are we as Christians engaging people during the 167 hours of the week outside of church service?”

Besides just informing social media users of opportunities, we share stories of people who have been impacted by the Holy Spirit. We want to engage our audience, giving opportunities for us to share hope, love, and encouragement. This strategy is hard work, but it’s worth it.

How blessed that we have the greatest message to communicate! As the Media and Website Coordinator here at Holy Cross, I’m so at peace knowing that it’s not my job to grow followers or likes on our page. God never put that in my job description. He has given many blessings of watching Him do the work on our social media platforms. Families who are home sick or traveling are able to join us Live on Facebook Sunday morning for the sermon. Many new members first learn about us online, and others receive encouragement and reminders of God’s truth during the week.

Our challenge as a church is to ask ourselves how we can use our social media pages to glorify God, build one another up, and have others see Him instead of us.

“Lord, please help people worship beyond Sunday to engage, connect, and grow in relationship with you.”