The past few weeks have been an absolute roller coaster for our church. Not only did we have a STELLAR VBS, our youth group left for its annual mission trip the very next week. As the person responsible for our online presence, this was both a blessing and a challenge.

One of the hardest things about managing any online presence, whether that be for church, your business, or yourself, is the need for consistency. The internet is the most accessible front door for your church, but it is also the most accessible exit. In today’s digital climate, it’s much easier to be forgotten than it is to be seen. So being busy is the best way to stay on everyone’s mind (or at least in their algorithmically dictated social media feeds).

The biggest businesses know this. The most successful marketers know this. The most followed influencers know this. Your preteen (that is constantly practicing dance moves that you don’t know to songs that barely sound like music to you) knows this. 

Unfortunately, this pressure to always be busy, or at least to appear it, is leading to a decline in mental and spiritual health. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has even provided an advisory regarding social media and youth mental health. 

Now, you may read this and think “great, another person telling me to get off of my phone,” or “here’s another person telling me why TikTok is evil.” That is not my goal. 

Many of us view social media as the mission field. I mean, there probably isn’t a better tool to “make disciples of all nations…” and “[teach] them to observe all that [Jesus] commanded…”(Matthew 23:19-20, ESV) than a platform that reaches most nations. By that reasoning, we often openly encourage an online presence for our churches.

This doesn’t mean that the church is immune to similar pressures that cause immense insecurity in our youth. It’s easy for us to get caught up in the number of likes, views, and followers, not just for ourselves, but also for the pages we run. If you manage your church’s online presence or at least keep an eye on it, chances are, you’ve compared it to other churches. This may have led to questions like “why aren’t we getting more views or engagement,” or “why doesn’t this look as good as the church down the street?” Maybe, you’ve had more prideful questions, such as “our content looks better than theirs, so why aren’t we getting more attention?”

In this busy time, I had more content than I could even handle. Our engagement numbers were through the roof. I felt validated in my work. I also knew that in a week’s time, I would see that ugly red number of “engagement down x%” and that all too familiar insecurity would creep back in.

The theme of our mission trip was “In His Image,” and we explored the image of God (Genesis 1:27), what it means to be made in the image of God (Deuteronomy 7:6-8), how our world distorts this beautiful image (Genesis 3:6-7; Romans 3:23), and how Christ renews our image (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 3:13-14). I couldn’t imagine a more timely message for our youth. In a world that is trying to convince us that superficial characteristics should be our entire identity, how blessed are we by the assurance of God’s word?

Surely, social media has done much to contribute to the “distortion” of God’s image in our society. As the church, through God’s word, by power of the Holy Spirit, we are called to bring clarity to that distortion.

As imitators of God, as beloved children (Ephesians 5:1), we have a responsibility to use our time wisely (Ephesians 5:15-17), to worship and give thanks to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:19-20). If you choose social media as a mission field for your personal ministry or your church, this should all be reflected in your online presence. 

As a leader in your church, you are called to equip your congregation by preaching the word (2 Timothy 4:2), as it is “breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”(2 Timothy 3:16-17). This should also be reflected in our online presence.

While this is a high standard, it is also something you have (hopefully) already surrendered to. Making yourself a living sacrifice also means submitting authority of your Instagram. Anything extra that social media experts tell you, is just that: extra, aka non-essential. 

Imagine a young female student came up to you, and asked what she had to do to gain more attention on Instagram. You wouldn’t give her a list of social media tips-and-tricks. My hope is that you would encourage her, and tell her that her value as a child of God made in the image of God is sufficient. 

Now, picture the church, even your church specifically, as a bride. If you truly see her for her beauty, would you want to exploit that? Do you want to add filters to her image? Do you want to sell her as something that she’s not?

My hope is that you see the church, not just as any bride, but the Bride that Jesus died for (Ephesians 5:23), and the Bride that will make herself ready for her Bridegroom (Revelations 19:7-9). We dare not cheapen or sully her image.

I’ve spent years helping churches “market” themselves. I have a Marry Poppins bag’s worth of practical how-to’s that I could provide you. They’re not much different from what you can find with a quick google search. If this was my only chance to tell you anything about the church and social media, I’d hope that you’d be free from any world-birthed pressure, and in all avenues of life, find joy in God’s glory in Christ’s name.

About the Author: Nico Cuevas is currently serving as the Online Campus Minister at Fellowship Church. When he’s not serving his congregation you can find him brewing coffee or sharing international snacks with everyone in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.