I just finished reading Keith Anderson and Elizabeth Drescher‘s “Click2Save: The Digital Ministry Bible” today, and wanted to recommend it to you. In the book, Keith and Elizabeth co-write a wonderful introduction to the importance and opportunities of using social media in ministry.
They begin with a wonderful introduction into the effects of social media on our world and relationships today, they share some great starting points for how to enter into the world of social media for ministry, and then highlight some of the most-used social networking sites out there (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, YouTube and Foursquare).
For those who are extremely proficient with all of these forms of media, the “how-to” section might be a bit redundant, but if you’re new to any of these, it’s a really helpful primer on how to get started, and they share some wonderful suggestions and ideas for beginners and those with more experience.
All throughout the book, they are also highlighting some best practices and sharing examples of folks in ministry who are already quite adept at using these new forms of media.
Here are a few money quotes from the book:
“For digital ministers, however, the meaningful relationships we create and nurture should be ends in themselves, not the means to increasing our membership or giving levels.”
“Ministers of all sorts have longed to be a more integrated part of people’s lives and not just segregated to Sunday morning. Now we have that opportunity. The advent of new digital media gives us an unprecedented ability to tell our personal and congregational stories – and God’s story.”
“Through geolocation social media platforms such as Foursquare, we can use our digital presence in social media to point to our physical presence and tell the story of our ministry. Such digital ‘check-ins’ create a lived map of our ministry that invites those in our networks into deeper relationship.”
I’m a fan of everything that Keith and Elizabeth write on their own blogs and on their social media outlets, and knew I wanted to check out this book. If you’re new to the world of social media, or just want to know how to harness the power of these new forms of media for your ministry, this is a worthy read.
And for those of you who like an online challenge, the first person who can tell me (via a comment below) what CMS Keith used to design the New England Synod’s website, I’ll email you an iBooks code you can redeem on a digital copy of “Click2Save: The Digital Ministry Bible.” / Update: The correct answer was JOOMLA and Matt is the winner.
