It doesn’t really matter how large your congregation is, there will always be more work to do than your church staff can handle on their own. If you take a good look at thriving congregations, their church staff typically isn’t comprised of doers; it is comprised of equippers. Of course, staff workers will end up doing a lot of the work themselves, but to really get things done, they need to be able to equip their volunteers to assist them in doing the work.
When working with volunteers, you need to have a good way to communicate with them and keep them on task. For many church workers, Facebook groups are one of the ways they use to engage with their volunteers.
There are currently 1.65 billion people in the world who use Facebook. That staggering figure makes it pretty safe to assume that many, if not all, of your volunteers probably already have a Facebook account. The fact that many of your volunteers already use this communication tool is a huge benefit. Rather than teach them to use a new tool to communicate with, you can simply communicate with them in a way that they are already familiar with.
You can decide how public or private you would like your group to be. If you only want your volunteers to see the information that is being shared, you can set your privacy settings to allow access to the group only if the group administrator gives it. This is helpful if you want to share sensitive information with your leaders but don’t want that information to leak out to the whole congregation.
There are several helpful tools that are provided in Facebook groups to help church workers communicate with their volunteers. For any of your volunteers who already use Facebook, these tools will be very familiar and easy to use.
Making sure your volunteers are heard, feel cared for, and have the information and resources they need is one of the best ways to keep them active in your congregation. Using Facebook groups to organize and communicate with your volunteers provides you with another great tool for all of your ministry needs. If your volunteers have the tools and information they need to do ministry in an easy-to-access location, they can then focus on the important aspects of ministry: loving people and sharing the Gospel with them.
While Facebook groups offer many benefits to church workers, this feature will not (and should not) replace your church website. Facebook groups can be a very helpful addition to your church website, but there are a few things to consider.
As with anything, you'll have to weigh your pros and cons. There will always be someone who doesn't love the way in which you have chosen to communicate. By using Facebook groups in addition to your website, you will be able to more easily connect with your volunteers. By using the tools that are available to you, your team will know what’s going on and feel confident in the plan to make ministry happen.
For other helpful ideas and topics, visit the CTS Blog Technology & Your Ministry.