I have the kind of friends that come up to me and start conversations using statements like, ?Hunter, I think I found the perfect girl for you!? Since I’m single, they feel it’s their duty to find me someone to marry. I have realized that every time they say this, the first thing I ask them to do is show me her social media. When you open up someone?s social media page, you can learn about their pet cat, what their family looks like, or maybe even find out their favorite restaurant?which is always good to keep in mind for a future date. You can learn a lot about a person just by going on his or her social media, because the thing about social media is people project what they care about.[quote]You can learn a lot about a person just by going on his or her social media.[/quote]
Our favorite brands know this fact very well and back it up with what they market to us. Let?s use the company Apple for example. Apple is all about marketing to the people that think differently and believe in changing the status quo. That is why in one of their most famous commercials entitled, ?Think Different,? they showcase people like Albert Einstein, John Lennon, and Pablo Picasso. In this commercial, Apple is stating, ?Our company is like Albert Einstein, John Lennon, and Pablo Picasso? We believe and care about being different and if you buy our product, you can be like us.?
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So, you may be thinking, ?How does this apply to my church?? At The Oaks, we try to adapt the ?think different? model into everything that we communicate to our congregation. Recently, we launched a photography team to capture pictures of the people at our church, events that we coordinate, and the moments that happen in services on Sunday mornings. If you were to take a look at our social media, you would see that we care about the following:
- The things that happen in our services ? We believe that coming to our weekend experience is be a great way for you to have an encounter with Jesus.
- The people/volunteers of our church ? We love the people of our church and value the volunteers that help make the things we do possible.
- The next generation ? The vision statement at our church is ?Growing Generations that Transform Communities.? We don’t just value the people who pay our bills.
This kind of thinking is not limited to only social media. From all of our print and website materials to the banners in the concourse of our church, pictures and words are used to portray what we care about.
With this in mind, ask yourself the following questions:[quote]If you will paint the picture of what you care about, then you will find the people that will be committed to your cause.[/quote]
- What does our church care about and how can we communicate those interests to others?
- What is it that our church is currently projecting?
- What do we want our church to care about?
- What is the vision of our church and how are we illustrating that?
My challenge to you is to begin utilizing pictures, your church?s video announcements, or even the bulletin announcements you print every Sunday to project what your church cares about. If you will paint the picture of what you care about, then you will find the people that will be committed to your cause. The people in your church are there because they believe in your church?s vision. Teach them what your church cares about, and they will follow suit and care about those things too.
