Intro to Social Media Video for Churches
Latoya Collins

Social Media and video play such an integral part in the world that we live in today that it’s difficult to separate it from any part of our lives. It has become the gateway to enlightenment, road to knowledge and pathway to power because it allows us to connect in ways that were once unimaginable.

It’s authentic, pure and always available, and this flexibility makes it valuable even in the Church. Vulnerability can be expressed through video, and fellowshipping in encouragement and motivation helps people to push through life’s challenges that seem too difficult to handle. Social video can also be a great place to solicit and share information with others.

YouTube
The great thing is that there is more than one effective method of disseminating information to viewers, for instance: You Tube allows you the ability to share and promote videos, upload videos for free, communicate with others, and receive feedback on videos uploaded. You can also search very easily for videos that are alike to find more videos to suit your needs. You can also subscribe to channels or have your channels subscribed to, so one never misses a new video when it posts. YouTube videos can even be embedded on a church website.

Prerecording the Church announcements, for instance, adds an element of professionalism to the overall worship experience. This adds a touch of modernism to the service and leaves room to revise and make any necessary changes before showing it to the audience.

Facebook Live
You also have Facebook Live where you can start recording instantaneously and engage with viewers in real time. Facebook Live is a powerful new trend in social media video.

In addition to live social media streaming, the option to prerecord videos is available on Facebook. Sermons or church announcements can be shared on Facebook to church members and new viewers alike.

All in all, with so many technological advances, the Church has many options that are valuable with respect to engaging audiences. Instant videos like Facebook Live and YouTube take the Church to another level, giving the viewers control of what they want to watch and giving Churches control of what they want to put out there.

Latoya Collins is a freelance writer based in the Chicagoland area and she just finished her first book titled “God through Jesus, Nothing can Separate you from his Love.”

The above article, “Intro to Social Media Video for Churches” was written by Latoya Collins. The article was excerpted from www.christianmediamagazine.com web site. April 2018.

The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.

This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”