In our current on-line culture you will find that more and more people are not looking at the traditional “recruitment” areas if they are looking at joining Christian Missions. Instead people are using social media to connect with their friends and people they know and listen to to find out about missions opportunities. Instead of reading a magazine like “Relevant Magazine” they are instead sending out a messages on these social networks like…
#FunFactAboutMe my life long goal is to become a missionary in Africa.
or maybe something like…
#ithink, being a christian missionary would be a great job!
or…
#20FactsAboutMe 17.) when I’m 18 I wanna do Christian missionary and go to Uganda and china and help build schools 🙂
or…
Dear sweet baby jesus, if you get me through this shift today I’ll become a missionary.
Okay, maybe that last one was a joke, but you catch my drift…
Are Christian Missions Groups Active on Social Media?
The question though is are Christian Missions groups using social media to connect with people who are expressing an interest in missions?
Are you active in social media?
Is your group or agency active in social media?
I’m not talking about broadcasting your message using social media and treating it like any other traditional marketing media. What I’m talking about is actually connecting personally with people who are interested in pursuing missions.
You need to listen online, not just talk.
If are are not using social media to connect with people interested in Christian Missions then you are missing out on a potentially huge way to connect with people who are interested in missions and may or may not have a plan on how to get there…
Gary Vaynerchuk has made his mark in business largely through the use of social media. He has leveraged the web and social media to connect with potential customers in ways that have never been possible before. I recommended his book Crush It –Â Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion on the latest YWAM Podcast after listening to it and being inspired to try to put into action with my role in missions.
Gary did a keynote speech at a recent convention where he talks about how he uses social media and why it works. It is probably the first YouTube video that is over an hour that I have ever actually sat through, and is well worth the time. Here it is:
(be aware though that Gary uses “colourful” language at points in the video)
The new book that he refers to in his keynote is The Thank You Economy. As I write this I currently have the audio version on hold at the library and am eagerly waiting for it to become available. If it’s anything like Crush It, I know I won’t be disappointed.
So if you took the time to watch the video, and I would highly recommend that you do, then how are you going to connect to potential new missionaries? Are you going to use these ideas, or let them slip by, along with the many new potential new missionaries that are out there looking for a  way to connect with what God is doing, and how they can be a part…
(image by Nathan Colquhoun)