There was a time when blogs were considered the domain of the uber-geeky and ultra-tech-savvy. But thanks to platforms like Hubpages and WordPress, blogging has become as intuitive as tying your shoes. As a result, this amazing social medium is now available to everyone who wishes to put it to good use.
Churches should be using every possible method to reach people for Christ. Unfortunately, it seems as though many churches are falling behind when it comes to their web-presence. God has allowed some amazing technology to enter our world, it is our responsibility to be good stewards of these technological advances and use them for the glory of God.
If you, or your church, is new to the whole idea of putting yourselves out there for the entire online world to see, then perhaps starting off with a blog is good idea. Blogs are not only easy to use and maintain, but they require almost zero technical knowledge. You simply write, then post.
Why should we have a blog? Isn’t our newsletter good enough?
There is nothing wrong with a newsletter. In fact, I believe that a well-published newsletter is a must for all churches. But we are not talking about reaching out to your existing congregation. We need to be thinking bigger than that.
The invention of the internet allows us to reach people around the world with little more than a click of the mouse. This is a HUGE opportunity for churches. The Apostle Paul had to travel around the world just to reach a few cities and towns in his lifetime. We can reach more people than Paul could have imagined from the comfort of our homes and offices.
A blog is a perfect way to accomplish this. By simply posting on a regular basis, you can help people find the answer to difficult questions in their lives. You can inspire and encourage believers from around the world. You may even be able to lead someone to Christ. What a blessing!
But I don’t know what to say.
You already say it! You don’t have to be a wordsmith or an author to write a compelling blog. The fact is, you already have something to say every week with your sermon. Writing a blog post could be as simple as transcribing your sermon and posting in online. If you do this on a weekly basis, then your congregation just went from hundreds to thousands, from thousands to millions.
Don’t rely on yourself to come up with something to write. Put down what God has laid on your heart and trust that He will take care of the rest. A friend and mentor once said, “There is no way to fail when spreading the Gospel.” In truth, the only way to fail is to not spread it at all.
God promises that, “It is the same with my Word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” (Isaiah 55:10 NLT)
It is our passion as believers, pastors, and churches to see the Word of God spread throughout the whole world. This is a simple and effective way to see to it. Blogging is not just for food critics and the overly-opinionated. It’s not just for self-promotion and mindless dribble. It can be used to glorify God by spreading His Word to all who need to hear.
Does your church have a blog? If it does, tell us about it and share a link. If not, what’s holding you back?
Jake Ainsworth is a Christian leader, writer, and author. It is his passion to help churches and church leaders by consulting with them and helping them with their online presence and church marketing. Read more about Jake by visiting his website at christismyauthor.wordpress.com
3 Comments
Jake, thanks for writing this post. I agree that a blog can be a great communications tool for a church, and really it's a perfect fit because churches already create a lot of content and have lots of great stories to tell of what God is doing.
I totally agree I actually posted an article about the same topic. I would like to share it, but I don't what to seem like a spammy comment. Blogs are an SEO goldmine and allow the reach of a church to go beyond their local reach.
“Churches should be using every possible method to reach people for Christ.”
Collectively – yes. But every church? No. Not all of us have the gifts to communicate well online. Some sermons may be suitable for universal consumption, many (most?) are tailored to the needs of the particular conversation. Many of mine are not written out longhand at all.
Any particular church should be using the methods for which it is gifted – which may not necessarily be technological.