Are you looking to set up Twitter for your church successfully? There are many different ways to use Twitter for your church, but today we are going to focus on Live Tweeting.
Most churches have probably already noticed the digital shift from traditional pens and papers to smart phones when it comes to taking notes during the sermon.
Live-tweeting leverages those same electronic devices during any live event.
Whether your congregation is big or small, live tweeting increases your network of people involved with the sermon message – both inside your building and out into your community.
Your Easy Peasy Guide To Live Tweeting During Church
Here are some quick tips to help you get started with sharing the Gospel 140 characters at a time on Sunday mornings!
Create your own hashtags. Hashtags are designed to connect people to a common focus. Remember, the maximum characters for a tweet is only up to 140 characters. So make sure your hashtags are short and to-the-point for your sermon to keep room for the main tweet content. You might create a hashtag for a sermon series. You should also consider tapping into hashtag keywords that tie into common cultural themes. The hashtag needs to be short and memorable while relating directly to the overall sermon content.
Leverage your tweeting regulars. Almost every congregation has someone that’s pulling out their phone during your sermons already. How about asking two to three people to tweet during your service with the hashtags you designate? It could be quotations from the sermon or Bible verses mentioned from the preaching. Here are a few examples:
- “Lost people matter to God, and so they must matter to us.” — Keith Wright #churchmissions @yourchurch
- “Yes, it’s important to inspire the next generation but let’s not forget to inspire the now generation too.” ― Onyi Anyado #youthministry @yourchurch
- Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Psalm 100:1-2 #SundayPlaylist @yourchurch
Pre-build tweets to make it easier. If you have a team in place, you might want to give them a printout, email, or text them a list of content they might easily copy/paste to use throughout the service. Things like: bible verses you’ll reference, quotes from 3rd party references you might mention, key phrases / punchlines from your sermon, worship band playlist song titles, etc. That way, your tweet team are able to be more agile instead of looking things up or fumbling in the moment to get the right thing into their phones.
Post-Service Replay. After your church service, don’t forget to go back and take a look at any content that was tweeted out. This is a great chance for you to use Storify to capture the tweets and tie them all together into a single “story” which you can present on your blog, church site, or tweet out again. You should also consider retweeting any of the hashtagged messages on your own personal account and the church’s accounts as well.
Maybe, you are still having second thoughts about using Live Tweeting during preaching. Don’t worry, I got you.
Here is a free e-book that I have written to keep handy and to be reminded of on how to use Live Tweeting service for your church. Just click on the image below to claim your free resource.
Live tweeting during service is an opportunity to connect with the message of the Gospel with friends, family and the general public. The best part is that it isn’t resource-intensive – after all, it only takes a few seconds to tweet each message.
