9 Reasons Why Your Pastor Needs To Interact With You On Social Media

Fact: Every single day there are tens of millions of people from all around the world who use various social media platforms to converse and interact with other people—even people they have never met in their life!

How weird is that?  It gets even more strange when you consider this fact with regards to contemporary Christianity.

For the most part, the average American churchgoer hears roughly only one 45-minute sermon—per week—from their own pastor.

That same churchgoer has little—if any—face-to-face, direct, or personal interaction with their own local pastor throughout the week.

Question of the day:  Is that a healthy relationship for constructive Christian discipleship?

My answer:  I think not.

Personally, I have never received most of my spiritual manna from my own pastor.  The Sunday morning sermon has only ever served as an added blessing, not the bulk of my spiritual sustenance throughout the week.  Do you know what I mean?

Here’s what I mean…

I read the Bible often throughout the week.  I also read books about Christian Living often throughout my week.  I occasionally read commentaries throughout the week and I often listen to sermons from other well-respected Bible teachers/pastors on Christian radio.  I download sermon podcasts from other pastors and Bible teachers and I listen to them while on walks, during my lunchtime, while driving, etc.

In other words, my own local pastor—for the most part—has never really had a significant impact on my own personal spiritual growth, Bible education, or overall discipleship.  And the sad part is that I think this is true for most American Christians today as well.

But don’t get me wrong; this doesn’t mean that this is necessarily a bad thing, either.  It’s just the way it is.  It’s not sinful, it’s just a sign of the era we live in today.

And since many churchgoers today are regularly and actively involved in social media interaction, it is a gross error for pastors to not be highly involved and engaged with their congregation in these important online platforms.

Here are 9 reasons why your pastor needs to be highly involved with social media in order to more effectively pastor you—an important member of his congregation.

1. Most people in your congregation will listen to his sermon only once this week and will tune in and out of actively listening to it while he delivers it from the pulpit.
2. Most people in your local congregation will not speak to your pastor…whatsoever…throughout the week.
3. Because a mass-emailed newsletter sent once per week to share a spurious thought, or summarize last Sunday’s sermon, is not even close to sufficient.
4. Because the people in your congregation are more open and genuine in their social media “lives” than they are on Sunday morning while sitting in the pews.
5. Because the average churchgoer is more prone to gossip, ridicule others, and use suspect (even blasphemous!) language via social media than they would ever think to use with other believers during church on Sunday morning.
6. Because the average person (and therefore the average churchgoer) checks their Facebook account multiple time per day—every day!
7. Because the average churchgoer would prefer to get to know their pastor more and social media is an absolutely fantastic platform for getting it done.
8. Because social media is a wonderful way to share the gospel over and over and over again—with both Christians and non-Christians alike.
9. Because the average churchgoer, each week, receives more encouragement, advice, and counsel, from those they interact with on Facebook and Twitter than from any pastor at their local church.

The fact of the matter is that we live in a digital age where people are more connected to their iPhone than they are with their Bibles.  People are more introverted today than we’d like to admit and social media is a great way to make friends, build relationships, share the gospel, and glorify the Lord.

And if you are a church leader that is not actively involved in social media with the people at your church…then just who in the world is sculpting, molding, and growing them?

When I think about Facebook or Twitter or any other platform of social media—and how these can be used to build up the church—I often think of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.  Below is that awesome passage…and don’t you think this has wonderful application as far as social media is concerned for the local church?

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law;  to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.  To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.”

QUESTION FOR COMMENTING BELOW:  What ways can Christians (and the local church) better use social media to minister to those they know and don’t know, for the glory of God alone?

(Also, below are two interesting infographics regarding social media and how they are used by hundreds of millions of people today.  Enjoy!)