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March 2021 Resource

A Better Offering
Title:
From Social Media to Social Ministry: A Guide to Digital Discipleship

Author:
Nona Jones

Publisher:
Zondervan Press, Nashville, TN

Book Review By:
Melvin Amerson

Premise of the book:
Congregations can utilize social media platforms to share/communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ and extend faith communities in a digital age.

What this book does:
“From Social Media to Social Ministry” is a great resource and guide on how to connect with church members and non-members during a pandemic and beyond. Pastor Jones is a gifted speaker, communicator, and organizer, who does an exceptional job of connecting and discipling through social media platforms. Also, the author explains pros and cons of engagement for the various social media platforms regarding social ministry. The latter portion of this resource is an extensive practical guide on how to create, develop, implement, and promote social ministry.

Contents:

Introduction: The Moment Everything Changed

PART 1: THE WHY
1. Numbers Don’t Lie
2. Returning to Discipleship
3. Social Media Primer
4. Why Facebook?

PART 2: THE WHAT
5. Anatomy of a Facebook Campus
6. Planning Your Facebook Campus
7. Building Your Facebook Campus

PART 3: THE HOW
8. Launching Your Facebook Campus
9. Leading Your Facebook Campus
10. Growing Your Facebook Campus For the Kingdom: Final Thoughts

Notes

What are some important insights:
The author shares and offers many insights which lead to connecting, relationships, and discipleship building. “Social media should be social; it should invite multidirectional communication. It should invite conversation.” (p. 27) Research show that social media becomes a powerful and positive resource when it’s used to facilitate connection and build community. (p. 58)

Possibilities as a resource for churches:
This is an excellent resource for the pastors and congregations who want to connect, create, or strengthen faith communities in a digital age.

Melvin Amerson

The Rev. Melvin Amerson is a member of the Texas Annual Conference and serves as a Resource Specialist and Area Representative at TMF. His experience and passion lie in encouraging and developing generous, faithful leaders and congregations.

Amerson is the author of Celebrating the Offering, Fruit for Celebrating the Offering, and Stewardship in African American Churches: A New Paradigm, as well as several articles covering topics from generosity, leadership, and visioning. He served as a board member of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center until it was dissolved in 2021 and is currently serving on the Texas Annual Conference Church Leadership Team. He is a nationally recognized generosity consultant known for his engaging presentations. Beyond strengthening congregational leaders, one of his favorite ways to use his skills is to empower Wesley Foundation staff to effectively fund their college ministries.

Melvin obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, an M.Div degree concentrating in Christian education from Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, an Executive Leadership certificate from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and a certificate in Professional Fundraising from Boston University.