Social Media and Worship - LaQuenda Jackson

At first, I didn’t know how I felt about social media being a part of our worship experience. Let’s face it. Social media doesn’t have the best reputation for positive reinforcement. Yes, it can be a great place to post about the great things that are happening in your life but, more times than not, it has been a tool used to degrade, diminish and demean our brothers and sisters. How many times have you seen simple comments escalate into full blown arguments played out on Facebook? Or how many tweets have gone from 0 to 60 in a matter of seconds when it comes to the always delicate subject of politics?

But the truth of the matter is social media is not only a place to be social, but it has become a means of gathering information and sharing important ideas. Statistics show that there are more than 3.2 billion social media users worldwide, and this number is only growing. So, I had to consider…if the people are on social media, shouldn’t the gospel be too?

The bible says, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.” As the body of Christ working to make disciples of all men, sometimes we have to do things differently. Jesus was frequently seen with the outliers of society in his day. Paul took to the dangerous road ways to spread the good news. Neither one of these things were common practice back in the day, but necessary changes needed to build the kingdom.

 In 2019, just about every man, woman and child has the internet at their fingertips. It used to be that you had to go to church on Sundays to be fed the word of God and fellowship with other believers. Now, churches can reach and teach through devices that people hold in their hands. The way we communicate has changed, and if the church doesn’t change with it, a great opportunity will be missed.

Even if the method has changed, the focus has not. As followers of Christ, we have one job…to create other followers. Social media is just one more vehicle that can be used for that job. So, if you’re like me and have been a little skeptical of using social media to spread the good news, give it a chance. If someone follows your church on Instagram, that’s one step closer to following Jesus