RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Social media is a great way to spread the word about your ministry.  

594 million people worldwide used Instagram regularly in 2017.  Instagram is especially popular among millennials.  This year, there will be 48.2 million millennials using Instagram and they will spend upwards of 420 minutes a month there.

By 2019, it is estimated that nearly two-thirds of all millennial smartphone owners will use Instagram.

This has significant importance for those in children's ministry.  Millennials are the young parents of the children in your ministry and in your community.  If you want to connect with millennials and grow your ministry, Instagram is a great way to do so.

Let's look at some ways you can use Instagram to help grow your ministry.

• Post pictures of families in your church and share their story.  You can post a photo with a caption containing a link to the story or video of how the ministry has had a positive impact in their lives.  Obviously, you should always get permission before posting pictures of children and families.

• Provide picture spots on the weekends and at special events.  Families love to take pictures in front of backdrops or with characters.  They also love to hold up funny props to go with the picture.  Put the name of your ministry or event with a hashtag on the props and backdrop.  Then when they share the picture on Instagram, your reach will spread.

• Share what kids are going to be learning.  Share with parents what the upcoming lesson will be about.

• Share parent discussion questions and activities.  Post follow-up questions and activities from the lesson that parents can talk about with their children during the week.

• Promote upcoming events and activities.

• Give parents a preview of your ministry.  Post a few pictures or quick video so potential guests can see what they can experience at your ministry.

• Promote upcoming series.  Each time you are beginning a new teaching series, use Instagram to promote it.

• Highlight a volunteer.  Share their picture and a short testimony of why they enjoy serving.  You can use this to not only honor your volunteers, but also grow your volunteer team.

When you post, be sure to use hashtags.  A hashtag is created by including the symbol # in front of a word or words without a space between.  A hashtag makes it easier for people to find information with a specific theme or content.

An example is using the hashtag #childrensministry in your posts.  This would make it easier for a family in your community who is looking for a children's ministry, to find your church.