| Dreaming Forward Continued: Resurrection MCC Embraces Digital Ministry and Discipleship I can’t wait to share some good news with you! We are growing our church following online in leaps and bounds. This is a segue for our church into the future of worship and we are making strides. We are taking your vision from the November 2022 Dreaming Forward sessions and making ministry happen. In December of 2022, a group of us envisioned a barrier-free, inclusive, online church community open 24/7, and available globally. We followed direction from the Nona Jones book “From Social Media to Social Ministry”. Nona has a highly followed and influential church ministry and is Head of Faith-Based Partnerships at Facebook. It’s her job to teach faith communities how to stay connected and engaged through social media. Resurrection MCC got on board! You can watch the RMCC virtual series From Social Media to Social Ministry about the “Why” and the “How” of creating this ministry for the RMCC community on YouTube HERE While church membership for in-person worship may be challenging at times, we are creating momentum for our global audience with streaming services, virtual classes and social connecting. Here is what we are working hard on for you: Live streaming services: Churches are now live streaming their services online so that people who are unable to attend in person can still participate. For Resurrection, this includes LGBTQ+ people looking for a safe space to worship and a spiritual connection where an inclusive physical church doesn’t exist for them. This ministry also meets people where they are, shut-ins, those traveling, and those with mobility issues, and other physical challenges, with 24/7 accessibility – not just on Sunday at 11 am. RMCC LiveStreams each Sunday at 11 am CST, with replays available on: YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDnLJ6BtBsnqCk8aI0MfTDEskZJ3A5XNL Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ResurrectionMCC/ Online sermons: Churches are also posting their sermons online, so that people can listen to them at their convenience. In addition to the 50-70 live streaming weekly viewers (up 172% since 2021), Resurrection has over 200 post-service views of our service each week on YouTube. Here are the statistics you should know about. 740 people have SUBSCRIBED to our YouTube channel meaning they are guaranteed to get our content each week – because they asked for it. Our 2023 video views are up 15% over 2022. And our numbers are increasing every week! Watch Here and Subscribe:YouTube Replay Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmDzq6s0C_7fSfTwlQ_T5QQ |
| Social media: Churches are using social media to connect with people in their community and to share information about their church. The RMCC Facebook page has over 7.2k followers and our 1 year-old Online Church Community on Facebook has 340 members and is multiplying thanks to volunteers like Sandy Hardwick-Pettis our Online Sunday Social Media Moderator (from Costa Rica), Carol Kiesling (RMCC Ministry Intern from New Mexico) developing Online Church programming, Laura Seifert (Online Deacon), myself Suzette Cotto – Program Development and Social/Technical Support and… most importantly, pastoral support from Rev. Denise, Rev. Mona, Rev. Vicki and Pastor Candace. Here’s a link the the Resurrection MCC Online Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1708269556183327 Websites: Churches are also using websites to provide information about their church, its ministries, and its beliefs and values. We are proactively growing and managing the RMCC website and integrating it with our online communities. resurrectionmcc.org The Numbers Don’t Lie The Resurrection MCC Online Community and social media streams are powerful global connectors. If we feed people in the right ways, often enough, consistently, we will grow and we will prosper as a congregation. |
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| It Takes a Village If you want to join the Social Media Ministry Team, we need video editors, videographers, content writers, social posting schedulers and more. The plan for 2024 is to educate – and I promise that will start with me and our Leadership Team. As the Lenten Season begins tonight with Ash Wednesday, we look forward to seeing you in our pews and online. To view last week’s service, please visit HERE We are (I am) blessed beyond measure. Let’s share that wealth! Come Grow with Us! Love in Christ,  |
| Suzette CottoOnline Communications and Digital Ministry Find me here: Email: Suzette@resurrectionmcc.org PS: Happy Valentine’s Day 💓 PSS: Thank You and Big Love to our AV Team who works quietly behind the scenes to make our streaming and recorded ministry possible: Leon, Ken, Taylor, Fred, Connie, Bradley💓 |
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