Just last week I was asked about Pinterest and how it could be used for churches. I have been watching Pinterest, just as I watched Path, Color, Instagram, and other online software tools that seemed to be based on pictures. I initially thought Pinterest was going to just be another fad but as time progressed (fueled by a large female audience), Pinterest took off and hasn’t looked back. Here are a few links that I looked at first prior to getting started on Pinterest for myself.
http://www.ministrybestpractices.com/2012/02/how-to-use-pinterest-for-your-ministry.html
http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/2012/02/churches-reaching-out-with-pinterest/
My initial thoughts on Pinterest are that it’s the easiest and best way to tell a visual story for your ministry. The church has the greatest story ever about Jesus Christ so why not use multimedia (pictures and video) to tell this story. It’s been years in the making that a network that focused on the most engaging forms of media on the internet, pictures and video, would eventually take off. It just need to be easy enough that anyone could do it quickly and with a low learning curve. Pinterest is just that, easy, visual and engaging. Now, here are some examples of great things that your church can post to get you started on Pinterest. (List below is from Ministry Best Practices Link above):
- Share inspiring quotes
- Share photos of your people serving, doing ministry or doing life together
- Share news
- Highlight books/music
- Sharing the gospel/evangelism
- Share sacred art/stations of the cross
- Scrapbook your church's body life
- Create themed boards for your church's singles/youth
- Highlight your events
- Share pictures that illustrate your sermon series
- Highlight your ministry's mission
Have fun and if you are looking for more information about Church and Technology you can check out The iChurch Method today.