SOCIAL MEDIA & MINISTRY WHAT’S A LEADER TO DO?

EDIE MELSON | EDIEMELSON.COM

MINISTRY IN THIS DAY AND TIME LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT THAN EVEN A FEW SHORT YEARS AGO. It’s almost impossible to have a growing ministry without a component of social media. And yet social media often feels like the very opposite of ministry.

On the surface it feels shallow, self-serving, and sometimes even evil. Most leaders I know have struggled with whether or not their calling extends to this online frontier.

I’ve even had many confess — in a longing for the good old days — that they feel they were born in the wrong time. We all need to be reminded that God didn’t make a mistake. Oh, we don’t say that — we would never accuse God of making a mistake. But in the secret recesses of the soul, that is at the foundation of our struggle. There’s no doubt that ministry today carries a heavy workload.

Just a few of the things we are told are the need to do to reach people:

• Have a platform.

• Keep your numbers growing.

• Build an email list.

• Start a blog.

• Build a website.

• Grow your social media.

The list goes on and we get buried deeper under the weight of all we do. We feel pulled away from our purposes, distracted and discouraged.

But maybe we’re not as far from God’s call as we think we are. Maybe we’re right in the middle of where we’re supposed to be.

If that’s the case, why’s it so hard? Why couldn’t we have been born in another time or place? The truth is, it’s always been hard to follow God — whether as a writer or something else. And it’s hard to follow God’s calling because we are in the middle of a war. For us, our weapons are our words, our pens and laptops, and the books, articles, and blogs we write. Make no mistake, our leader — our God — has called us to a purpose: bring His light to a dark world.

When we head out on that mission, we draw enemy fire. But we are called for such a time as this. It’s no mistake that we were born in this time and place. On the day Facebook became a way to connect, God didn’t smack His forehead and say, “Oh wow, I completely forgot about social media. What was I thinking?” Just like Esther, we must have a Malachi who reminds us: “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 ESV). God is perfect — in His plan for us, in His preparation of us, and

in the time where He has placed us. God’s Word is clear that we are called to be a light in the dark. There’s no place darker than the world we see around us. We see it every time we turn on the news or go online. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to save the sick, not the well. There’s not much sicker than the half-truths and twisted concepts of God and the world than what we see on social media. He told us to go out into the world. Folks, for us, that includes the World Wide Web. He warned us that the world hated Him, and it would hate us too. Is there any wonder that it’s so difficult to spread His message? For the first time ever, we can reach the world without leaving home. No wonder Satan wants to convince us it’s too hard, too meaningless, too much work. He’s trying to handicap us with fear because He’s scared of what God can do with a few committed believers willing to make a difference through the tools He’s given us IN THIS TIME AND THIS PLACE. Now is the time to step up to the ENTIRE call God has issued to each of us. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. What we must decide is if we’re going to sit on the sidelines or join Him when He calls.