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Top Social Media Tools in Ministry

February 3, 2012 By 2 Comments

Media Survey Results: Part 4

Recently, Rick Warren commissioned pastors to dominate social media. (Read my post about it here)

Interestingly, when we recently conducted our survey on Christian leaders and resources they are using to impact their ministry, we didn’t see a lot of ground being made in the world of social media.

Unlike books, authors, and podcasts, where there are clear “favourites” emerging, social media in general doesn’t seem to provide any clear-cut “winners”.

This may be because the field is growing so quickly that leaders haven’t had the chance to sort out who is worth “following” or “friending”. Then again, perhaps it’s simply that social media in general has yet provide the ministry impact leaders are looking for.

At any rate, here is a summary of what we found.

Which 3 BLOGS, Christian or secular, are currently having the most impact or relevance to your ministry?

Top 10 responses:

  1. Seth Godin
  2. Rick Warren
  3. Steven Furtick
  4. Andy Stanley
  5. Catalyst
  6. Ed Stetzer
  7. Mark Driscoll
  8. Rachel Held Evans
  9. Relevant Magazine
  10. Scot McKnight
  • If applicable, what 3 TWITTER accounts do you find most relevant to your ministry?
  1. @RickWarren
  2. @CSLewisDaily
  3. @PastorMark (Mark Driscoll)

Note that no other Twitter account received more than one mention!

  • If applicable, what 3 FACEBOOK pages, groups, or individuals do you find most relevant to your ministry?

No answer received more than one mention. It is notable, however, that a respondent’s home church page was cited many times.

  • If applicable, what 3 YOUTUBE channels do you find most relevant to your ministry?

Only Northpoint’s YouTube channel received more than one mention

  • If applicable, what 3 LINKEDIN brands, groups or individuals do you find most relevant to your ministry?

No answer received more than one mention.

  • On a scale from 1 – 5 (where 5 is most important), how important are the following social media vehicles for your ministry?

Facebook   3.48
YouTube    3.21
Twitter        2.12
LinkedIn      1.88

What can we conclude from these findings? At this point, only that social media is an emerging tool, not a primary tool, for the leaders that took part in our survey.

This was not a scientific survey; it serves only to give you a quick snapshot as to what social media have been making an impact on Christian leaders in Canada in 2011.

The final question we asked gave opportunity for respondents to submit suggestions on what they would like to see us include in future surveys. We received great feedback, including sermon series ideas, governance models, and spiritual health.

If you find this type of information to be of value, please reply to this post and let me know what you’d like to see, or DM me on Twitter at @WScottCochrane.

What else would you like us to survey?

Filed Under: Ministry, Poll Tagged With: , , , , ,

Top 10 Most Ministry-Impacting Podcasts

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Media Survey Results: Part 3

In conducting our recent survey to see what ministry leaders were having an impact on your ministry, one finding in particular stood out.

After books, the next leading source of equipping media seems to be podcasts. Podcasts appear to be having more impact than any other form of digital or social media, including blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Other findings of note:

  • Two Canadian ministries were in the Top 10; Mark Buchanan of New Life Church on Vancouver Island, and The Meeting House in southern Ontario. I love to see Canadian leaders connecting with other Canadian leaders.
  • One “secular” media source made the list; Ted.com. As Bill Hybels says every year at the Global Leadership Summit, “Leaders can learn from a variety of disciplines.”
  • Andy Stanley’s podcast is far and away the most popular podcast, according to our survey. You could almost say that Andy Stanley was first; everyone was else was second.

 We asked:

Which 3 PODCASTS, Christian or secular, are currently having the most impact or relevance to your ministry?

Here, in order, are the top 10 results (clicking on the name of each podcast will take you to its home on iTunes where you can subscribe to it);

  1. Andy Stanley
  2. Timothy Keller
  3. Mark Driscoll
  4. Bill Hybels
  5. Craig Groeschel
  6. Focus on the Family
  7. Ravi Zacharias
  8. Mark Buchanan
  9. TEDTalks
  10. The Meeting House

Note that this is not a scientific survey; it serves only to give you a quick snapshot as to what podcasts have been making an impact on Christian leaders in Canada in 2011.

While we received literally dozens of varying answers to this question, only 8 other podcasts received enough mentions to be deemed statistically significant. The entire list can be found by clicking here.

Here are the previous survey question results:

So, what about social media? To what extent does Twitter, Facebook and blogs impact ministry, and who is creating that impact?

Check back soon to see.

What podcasts would you add to this list?

Filed Under: Poll, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Top 10 Most Ministry-Impacting Authors

January 27, 2012 By 1 Comment

Media Survey Results: Part 2

Have you ever noticed how a new author can appear on the Christian leadership scene and cause such a wave that soon every title he or she produces is simply “must reading”?

On the other hand some writers have transcended beyond being “the latest thing”; their writings seem to speak powerfully to every generation.

When The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada recently conducted an online survey of Christian leaders, we were eager to discover which writers were creating such buzz among leaders. Here’s what we found.

Which 3 AUTHORS, Christian or secular, are currently having the most impact or relevance to your ministry?

Here, in order, are the top 10 results (clicking on the author’s name will take you to their website where you can get more information on the author, their books and other resources available);

  1. Tim Keller
  2. Bill Hybels
  3. Andy Stanley
  4. NT Wright
  5. Francis Chan
  6. Dallas Willard
  7. Eugene Peterson
  8. Henri Nouwen
  9. Brian McLaren
  10. Patrick Lencioni

Note that this is not a scientific survey; it serves only to give you a quick snapshot as to what authors have been making an impact on Christian leaders in Canada in 2011.

In total there were 55 authors who made the list. To see the complete list click here. (Note that responses deemed statistically insignificant are not included.)

To see the previous survey results, Top 10 Books, click here.

Our survey included other forms of media and resources. I was fascinated to see that, after books, the media which was gaining the most traction with Christian leaders was podcasts.

Which podcasts are most popular? Check back soon to see.

What authors would you add to this list?

Filed Under: Canadian, Culture, Leadership, Ministry, Poll Tagged With: , ,

Top 10 Most Ministry-Impacting Books

January 24, 2012 By 6 Comments

Media Survey Results: Part 1

Wherever Christian leaders gather, it isn’t long before the topic of conversation turns to the question, “So, what are you reading these days?”

Leaders don’t ask this to make idle chitchat. Leaders are readers. In addition, leaders value their time as a precious commodity; they want to know that the next book they pick up (or load on their Kindle) is likely to have an impact. They can’t afford to start reading a new book, only to find out after half a dozen chapters, that it just isn’t delivering what they need.

With all this in mind, The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada recently conducted an online survey of Christian leaders in Canada, and the first question we asked was:

In 2011, what were the 3 most ministry-impacting BOOKS you read?

Here, in order, are the top 10 results (clicking a title will open the publisher’s website where you can get more information on the book);

  1. Sun Stand Still, Steven Furtick
  2. Radical, David Platt
  3. The Power of a Whisper, Bill Hybels
  4. Surprised by Hope, NT Wright
  5. Humilitas, John Dickson
  6. Prodigal God, Timothy Keller
  7. Sticky Church, Larry Osborne
  8. Disappointment with God, Philip Yancey
  9. Leading on Empty, Wayne Cordeiro
  10. Simple Church, Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger

Note that this is not a scientific survey; it serves only to give you a quick snapshot as to what books have been making an impact on Christian leaders in Canada in 2011.

In total there were 49 books that made the list. To see the complete list in alphabetical order click here. (Note that responses deemed statistically insignificant are not included.)

Interestingly, the next question we asked was to find out which authors were having the greatest impact. To our surprise, the list of authors did not always match the list of books!

Check back soon to see the list of top ministry authors.

What books would you add to this list?

Filed Under: Effectiveness, Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , ,