Effectiveness of Using Social Media for Preaching During Covid-19 Lockdown

Abstract

This study explored the use of social media as an approach to understand its effectiveness in preaching the Christian gospel by church leaders during the pandemic lockdown implemented in many countries across the world. In the technologically driven world of today, social networking sites have turned out to be an avenue where people extend their interactions by sharing their personal experiences and opinions to a wider audience. Social media (SM) is defined as “the various electronic tools, technologies, and applications that facilitate interactive communication and content exchange, allowing the user to move back and forth easily between the roles of the audience and content producers” (Hysenlika, 2012: 3). The term social media is fast becoming such an integral part of everyday life, as well as business operations, that its use has now become an everyday term for launching products, developing consumer loyalty and sharing news. It is recommended that churches that wish to stay connected and evangelize need to promote the use of and purchase relevant equipment. To be prepared, this requires identifying or recruiting talents and also the offering of rigorous training on being savvy on the ins and outs of technology use. The purpose of adopting an innovation needs to be clarified, well defined and aligned with the vision and mission of the organisation as well as its set goals. Sustenance for the future will require support for the team as they work to meet, plan, strategize, and brainstorm on trends to promote the gospel.