How to use a blog for ministry - Weekend Summary
I believe that social media and the movement of interaction, openness and trust behind it are so suited for ministry that they are God inspired. That said, if there is going to be just one of these tools that you use I would suggest a blog. For most ministries a blog is all the website they need and it is in a format that helps to bring value to your overall community and “offline” relationships.
So, that being the case (at least in my mind), here is a great idea for a weekly post to have on your youth ministry blog, the Weekend Summary.
As you have a blog for a youth ministry you have basically three primary audiences: Students, Volunteers and Parents. A blog post like this doesn’t have to be long it would only need to included:
- A summary of the service (2-3 sentences)
- Bullet points of your bullet points (lol) but whatever your 2-5 points in the teach was, just list them in the post.
- The “will you” / challenge / application. If you are ending your teaching/sermons with this sort of thing (hint: you should!) then include it here!
- Preview of next week. Don’t get scared we all know you haven’t even started on it yet, but at least give the title and one line about what you will be teaching about next weekend.
For each “member” of your audiences here is why this sort of post carries so much value:
Parents:
In most youth ministries communications parents or pathetically left out even though they are the most important people needing information from you. A post like this gives parents 1) comfort finally having a chance to know what their kids are learning and that it isn’t wacky. 2) It gives them a “trigger” for conversation with their teen during the week to ask them what they thought about the sermon and if they have thought about the challenge/application/ etc.
Volunteers:
Not all your volunteers will be at, or should be required to be at the weekend services. But it would still be great if they were able to stay up to date on what is being taught. This is especially true for your small group leaders as they can bring the weekend challenge into their discussions. It also helps your volunteers that love inviting new students cause they can let them know what is coming next week.
Students:
Students are the ones we communicate to all the time. Having a post like this gives them the opportunities to ask questions, give feedback, and continue the conversation online. It also helps to remind them of what you taught because we all know they forgot it as soon as that one kid farted during the prayer at the end of the service. And just like with your volunteers it gives them a little knowledge that helps when they might take a chance and invite someone to come with them next week!
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