Why Your Church Should Be Listed On Foursquare

This past week I had one of the toughest battles I have ever experienced.  I mean a knock down drag out kick punch and scream battle.  Our Family Advocacy Team Leader and I were engaged in a constant neck and neck battle for leader of the foursquare board.  After a week of up and down we were actually both beat out by another pastor in the area who blew us both out of the water.  He was even in the top 30 or 40 out of all of the Foursquare peeps throughout Pittsburgh.

I think every church should be on foursquare.  That doesn’t mean that every pastor or member of the church has to run out and start using Foursquare, but the address and name of the church should be listed as a location so that people that are using foursquare can check in.  I’m not saying this because it’s a cool geeky, techno, social med thing to do (although it really is); and I’m not saying this as a way to get your church name out or as a way of advertising.  I’m saying this because of the potential for opportunities for people to share their stories together.

Imagine…if just one or two people in your congregation are using Foursquare then they will likely check in to your church each time they are there (I listed several other churches I visited on Foursquare and have since seen several other people check into those churches).  It is likely that if they are using Foursquare then they may have a Facebook account and possibly even a Twitter account.  Each time they check in using Foursquare it is possible that their Twitter and Facebook accounts are being updated.  If those accounts are being updated then it is possible one or more of their un-churched or de-churched friends might see the status update.  If their friends see the update they just might ask (via text, Facebook, or Twitter) “What were you doing at church?”  That gives the person in your congregation a chance to respond (via text, Facebook, or Twitter) with  something like the following, “Hey, I’m glad you asked.  Wanna meet for coffee or dinner? Then I can tell you about my church, my life, and this man named Jesus.”

Just imagine it…it could happen.