Pastor, Are You Using Twitter?

When it comes to technology and social media, I am pretty much a geek at it…well let’s just call it what it is, I am a geek at it. You could also call me a geek when it comes to wanting to share the Gospel and utilize technology in doing so.

I think in this day in age we are up against some pretty difficult odds if we think we are going to reach people using “old school” tactics. A door to door approach or only a mailer coming to a house once a year isn’t going to cut it. Whether it’s with the next generation, or any generation really today, there is one area we can think of utilizing as believers and especially as Pastors and leaders of the church, and that is social media. Primarily in this discussion, let’s talk about Twitter.

I have had multiple conversations with Pastors young and old and typically hear and see the same thing. Ones who utilize technology to reach others typically have a larger influence of people and it’s not always the younger ones. I think it’s just a matter of looking at the culture today and getting in where people are at and at the same time, choosing not to compromise on core values of the Bible. Ones who don’t utilize technology don’t reach as many people and typically think there is not a need to do so.

I can’t argue that if a Pastor does not use Twitter, that he isn’t Biblical or anything like that, but I would definitely ask – Why Not? Surely there are people within each local body who could help their leader out in this area and show them how to use it. Also, you can reach a huge amount of people with even a single tweet. Here is an example, I tweeted this quote very recently, and it has been retweeted by others several times resulting in over thousands of people reading it. Here is that tweet:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/MikeJMobley/status/314198311982751744″]

Still not convinced?

Here are 3 reasons why Pastors should use Twitter along with their benefits:

1) Relationships

Sometimes depending on what church you serve in, it is difficult to get a chance to meet with many people outside of Sunday morning or outside of your 1on1’s during the week. Twitter can help you build and establish more relationships and gives you a window into people’s lives to see what is going on with them each day or throughout the week. You’d be surprised how many times you can see where people are at in their walk with Christ as they tweet.

2) Authenticity

This is huge for Pastors. Most people always want to know if authenticity is truly there outside of the pulpit. Not only can people see by what you tweet if you act the same way every other day of the week, but they get the opportunity to see “real life” happening. For example, a Pastor posting a picture of him & his wife on a date night or him & his son fishing during the week can mean a whole lot to the church since they can relate quite a bit to moments like that. It doesn’t even have to be a happy moment really, as long as it’s real, it has tremendous value.

3) Church

This one might be obvious, but you can utilize Twitter to help promote the church you are leading. Whether it is getting the word out on a students event coming up soon, a men’s retreat a few months down the road, or Easter service times coming up within the next couple of weeks, there are huge benefits to this and shows a great amount of support to that church from their Pastor.

Pastor, next time you hear about someone “Tweeting” and maybe assume there is no need for you to get involved in that, I encourage you to think twice about it and at least do some research & look into it before calling it off. You never quite know who you could reach or encourage with the Gospel.