Even MORE ways you can use Facebook Live for your ministry

First came Meerkat in the spring of 2015. It took South by Southwest by storm as the 1st real live streaming app to your smartphone. Then, a month later came Periscope. That opened up many more doors for people to be streaming live as it was apart of Twitter. So, every time you did a periscope video, it would show up on your Twitter feed and people could discover it there.

Now there is Facebook Live. Now, Facebook Live has been around the masses for months now so it’s not something new. However, it is still in it infancy and people are discovering new ways to use Facebook Live. And that means that Churches are still trying to figure out ways to use it as well.

I’ve posted before on what you can be doing with Facebook Live. But the great thing is that as people continue to experiment with it, there are even more things you can be doing with Facebook Live for your ministry.  For instance, you can . . .

• Promote an event. Using images promoting your event is very effective but what if you did a live video where you do something funny or even talk to one of the people organizing the event that can be just as, if not more, effective in reaching more people. Your video could even go viral if something amazing happens in it or a powerful story is shared.
• Create a show.  Heck yeah! Make a show every Wednesday evening at 6 pm where you debrief the sermon from the week before, talk about some upcoming events and even make a joke or 2.  It doesn’t have to be very long, just something that will draw people’s attention to your Facebook page.
• Behind the Scenes. Pull back the curtain and show the world what is happening at your Church…LIVE! Sure, some people may not want to see it but it could be very fun (especially if these are funny videos) and helps people see the “ministers” in a non-formal Sunday way. Want to show people what really happens around Share what’s happening LIVE at your Church. Walk around the event as it’s happening to show the world what is happening. It might not be possible to increase attendance at that particular event but it very well could be something someone notices and says, “I want to go to the next event they are having.”
• Interview people. After an event or Sunday service happens or even while it is happening, pull a few people aside and ask them for their thoughts about what they just heard or experienced.  It provides a great way for people share their thoughts.
• Sermon Review. This could be a weekly review and then discussion about the sermon that you do LIVE. The great thing about it is that it gives you a chance to review the sermon (keeping it fresh) and people a chance to ask questions and debrief it a little with you. It’s a win/win for everyone involved.
• Get the know the Staff. This could be a segment you do every so often where you let people in on the lives of people on staff. You could ask them to share their story, something about their past or dream or hope they have for their future.  You could ask a variety of questions.  Make it short and have people back from time to time asking different questions.

The great thing about anything you use for Facebook Live is that you can repurpose it.  That means you can take the content you just created and post it on YouTube so that your content is discoverable on Twitter and Google.  You can also put it in a blog post where you can share on all your social networks.  You can also take the audio from it and make it into an audio podcast.  Really the possibilities for you to share this content in a variety of other places is ENDLESS!

As I mentioned above, as live streaming becomes more “mature” there are going to be even more ways for churches to use it.  The question is, ultimately, will churches and ministries use it.  I sure hope so because it provides so many great ways for people to become more engaged in a church 24/7 rather just a few days a week.

What do you think? How are you using Facebook Live for your ministry? Share you experiences below so we can all learn from each other and benefit.