In my last post...and others before it...I said that your church Facebook page should look like your church. And I talked mostly about content and how the content of your page should be a microcosm of what your church really does.
This should also go for pictures.
A few weeks ago was invited to "like" the church facebook page for a local church. I clicked on their page to check it out. The first thing I saw was their banner picture at the top of the page. It was beautiful: a sunset scene over a picturesque mountain lake.
There was one problem: this church is in Indiana. This actual scene doesn't exist anywhere within a thousand miles of this church.
It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes a picture is worth 4 words: "that's not your church."
Please don't use stock photos. Its so easy to get good photos of your own stuff, there's no excuse.
Let me show you three pictures that are a dead giveaway that this picture doesn't belong to your church.
1. The perfectly diverse group of young people
I want diversity. I love diversity. But don't advertise your church as diverse if it's not. I won't meet any of these people at your church. This is not your youth group. Your youth group is full of awkward white kids with pimples. And that's ok. If you want to work towards racial diversity do it in real life, not with stock photos.
2. The ridiculously beautiful scenery
I'm pretty sure that has to be the hill from the sermon on the mount. One problem: that happened in the Middle East, not the Midwest. This is not where your church is. The scenery around your church is strip malls and cornfields.
3. The unbelievably perfect Jesus picture
Yes, people should encounter Jesus at your church. But at no time in history did the above picture actually happen. Jesus didn't hang on a perfect cross with perfect lighting and pose for iconic pictures. And he probably wasn't white, because that would have freaked out absolutely everybody around him who also was not white.
Ok, so what pictures should you use?
1. Your people. Ask them first. Most people are totally cool with it.
2. Your place. Take a picture of your sanctuary. Your people are really proud of it.
3. Your events. Is something big happening? Are the kids everywhere? Are your people serving? Snap a pic.
WOW this is a great article. thank you so much for sharing this. Great truth spoken here. I especially like your comments about white Jesus. My Jesus was not the white guy with sandy brown hair and blue eyes. When I say that people do freak. Won't they be surprised when they SEE Jesus. Doesn't the Bible say that the earth was dark and the earth shook when Jesus died? THANKS for posting this - people sit up and pay attention and make changes to your fb page where needed!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that placing images that are not of the church and the surroundings is misleading. While I am certain the intentions are all good there is something to be said when you place images that are in-line with your church. Our page we try to ensure that only images or videos from the church are posted. For VBS we placed an image of our VBS background yet again if you were to step into the church during VBS you will see that same theme image. The trick is to ensure that the images represented are images individuals will see and connect to.
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