Leah Merrill recently published an excellent blog post in which she cited “10 Powerful Church Statistics on Social Media Use.”
A few that stood out to me…
8. More than 4 in 10 millennials have participated in online faith discussions and also blogged or commented on a blog about their faith.
People are interested in discussing spiritual topics online. Churches that are using their website and social media accounts just to announce and promote their own events are missing out the opportunity to engage people in conversation and provoke deeper thought on spiritual issues.
5. Larger churches are more likely than their smaller counterparts to use their websites interactively. 52% of congregations with 500 or more attendees use their website to “allow more processes at (their) church to be automated, compared with only 15% of churches with 1-49 attendees.”
A lot of churches are still stuck on web 1.0 – a static website that functions like a virtual billboard. If that’s your church, consider adding functionality to your website that would not only create more engagement but save time and improve efficiency. Some functionality to consider are prayer plugins that enable people to submit prayer requests and distribute them to the prayer team, newsletter subscription and distribution, and enabling people to sign up for classes and other events online.
4. 98% of churches use Facebook, while only 30% use Twitter.
98% – Really??? This stat seems a bit suspect to me. The fine print in the supporting publication indicates its from a Buzzplant survey in which “We had 432 people opt in to participate in this study.” In other words, the numbers are not a random sample but Buzzplant’s contacts who chose to respond. They are skewed because the typical Buzzplant contact is more engaged in social media than average, and the average person who chooses to respond to an online survey also tends to be more engaged in social media. That doesn’t make the data worthless, but it demonstrates why it’s so important to look at the source of the data and the methodology it was collected.
Checkout the other 7 of the 10 Powerful Church Statistics on Social Media Use. Compliment Leah on her post and tell her you heard about it on Christian Web Trends.
What are your thoughts on these 3 stats and the other 10?
Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com
Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.
An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.
Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication.
3 Comments
Hey Paul, I know this article is kinda old now, but that oft-quoted stat that 98% of churches are on Facebook is completely bogus. In fact Buzzplant took down that webpage. I think they meant to indicate that 98% of people in America are on Social Media and got their facts crossed. But in any case, I see this number so often floating around that I decided to comment and request an update. Google search Church stats and social media will bring up this article, so even though it's old, it should be corrected. That number is closer to about 47%.
Hi Derek, I would be surprised if it was even as high as 47%. Perhaps 47% have a Facebook page but sadly I seriously doubt 47% actually post to it regularly.
Possibly. Social Media stats are all over the place. My source for that stat said 47% are "active" on Facebook, whether that means they post frequently or seldom I don't know.