Why Engagement Needs Three I's

But is it really fair to lean so heavily on views? For example, Facebook counts something as a “view” if someone has watched the video for just 3 seconds. 

 

My staff and I have experienced that a “view” driven ministry can lead you to a comparison trap or ultimately to an inflated or deflated ego if you do not tread carefully.

 

As a staff, we decided to shift from focusing on views to leveraging engagement. I know, you may say that views can give you a lot of admirers, but engagement can give you with followers. So, ask yourself the question, who would you rather have; an admirer? Or someone in the trenches with you serving the Lord? 

 

In the Church today, we have enough of the fan-based Christianity; we need more laborers. To leverage engagement, we need to include some I’s of engagement. Three to be exact. 

 

Here they are:

• Interaction

• Investment

• Involvement

 

Instead of just driving people to “like” and “share” your videos, teach your church body to build interaction, grow investment, and gain involvement. 

 

You may be asking yourself what this looks like; here it is:

 

Interaction starts with inviting friends to watch your church online, watch parties, or view a video with a friend. Then, interaction moves to comments such as: “How are you doing?”, “I’m glad you joined”, or “Is there any way I can pray for you?” You get the idea. If a guest comments, you welcome them. If someone accepts Jesus as their savior, you celebrate. 

 

Investment is what you do to help an online guest get more comfortable with you about their life and faith. This happens before and after the church online or watch parties. In this stage, it’s all about sowing/showing love and building a relationship of trust. Jesus modeled this as the heart of disciple making. He invested in the 12 for 3 1/2 years. It would be better for you to pick a few friends that you are trying to reach and invest in them. Here are some tips; be creative, send cards, messages, prayers, food, etc. and watch what God will do, because love changes lives. We know that love can breakdown walls of hurt, pain, disconnect, and pride that could be holding someone back from taking a step of faith toward God. 

 

Involvement is last but is certainly not least. God saves us to activate people into a life of service. This doesn’t mean someone gets saved and we promote them to leadership. Growth takes time, but you should work toward the goal of connecting people with opportunities to flesh out truth.

 

Invite the new followers of Christ to start interacting with others with you, encourage them to make a list of lost friends and to start praying for them. As they grow in character, gain awareness of their passions, and spiritual giftedness then you should involve them into your serve team, small group leadership discussion, or whatever leadership pipelines you offer. One thing you can’t do is to let them settle and sit on the sidelines. Remember, we have enough fan-based Christianity, we need laborers.  

 

We believe when you insert the three I’s in your engagement, lives can change. When lives change, the world changes. 

 

So, how can you start inserting the three I’s today? Who can you start interacting with, investing in, and lead toward involvement? This carries more weight and depth than a “view.”

 

Go for it.

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Jason Williams

Senior Pastor, Foundation Church