church – Meagan Louise

10 Insta Story Content Ideas

Day to Day Content

One of the most valuable aspects of Social Media is that it is personal. Allowing your followers to see what your church is up to on a regular basis creates a connection and builds a relationship outside of the hour on Sunday.

Bible Verses Related to Your Weekend Teaching

Sharing Bible verses from your weekend content not only allows you to bring your followers back to the Bible throughout the week, but also gives you consistent content.

Create shareable graphics or use “create” mode in the story to post a simple black and white text story. The message is more important than the fancy design.

Church of the Highlands use a super simple, high-contrast stories template to share scriptures.

TIP: Create drag and drop templates in Canva or Unfold to maintain a consistent look and feel to your stories without the hassle of starting from scratch.

Highlight Ministries of Your Church

Whether you do this every weekend, once a month, or once a quarter, you can use Insta Stories to highlight not just the ministry itself, but the volunteers that comprise it. Share what they do on the weekends or throughout the week, interview key volunteers, share stories of the ministry that has happened because of that ministry.

Use the show don’t tell approach. The goal of this might be to get more volunteers, but you’re simply showing people the benefit of being one.

Staff Highlights

Going back to one of the most valuable aspects of social media being that it is personal, sharing stories and moments with your staff can take an ambiguous church feel known. We watch insta stories of people playing with their kids, or hanging out with friends. Take a similar approach with your staff. Highlight a specific staff member with funny questions.

Vogue took this approach with their Youtube Video Series 73 Questions

Polling Stickers

Use the polling sticker to ask what sermon topics people want to hear about. When we are asked our opinions, it helps us feel heard and that our input matters. This is also a valuable touch point when planning upcoming sermon series.

Interviews + Guest Takeovers

Having a guest takeover is a fun way to switch up your content and share a different side of your church.

TIP: Make sure that your guest takeover is someone who is either comfortable on camera or someone who is willing / able to be coached. Being a great storyteller is key to getting people to listen to your story.

Highlight Recently Published Blog Posts

If you’re publishing blogs, give your followers a heads up. This is beneficial to both drive traffic and re-purpose content. Win / win!

Life.Church has a highlight dedicated to blog posts shared in their Insta Stories.

You may not have the swipe up feature, but you can share the URL or even better, ask them to DM you for the link. DM’s are one of the most underutilized ways to connect with and grow your audience.

TIP: Check out this video from Jasmine Star on how to use DM’s to engage and connect with people. Think of how you can take her advice and apply it to your context.

15 -30 Second Sermon Clips

Take each weekend message, and trim a 15-30 second clip that will capture people’s attention. The average person attends church 1.25 times a month, so sharing online content creates connection and meets them wherever they are. Send them to the full sermon at the end of your story (post the URL) or ask them to DM you for hyperlink.

Testimony videos

Stories are one of the best ways to connect people to the person of Jesus. Re-purpose your testimony videos outside of the weekends to remind people throughout the week. Church wasn’t meant to be experienced in an hour on Sunday.

Live Videos

Instagram Live allows users to ask questions, comment on your live video, and provide real-time engagement. Most users will even be notified with a push notification when you start broadcasting live. This is great for boosting engagement and connecting with your audience.

Brene Brown hosted a 15 minute church service on Instagram Live. Simple promotion, simple execution. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be relational.

That Church Conference: What I learned about using social media in a Church environment

A few months ago, I was forwarded a church conference suggestion by a co-worker, and I thought, “Meh. What the heck…”

YOU GUYS. How highly did I underestimate the divine appointment that this conference, nay, this COMMUNITY was.

Communication and social media gurus from all kinds of different churches and businesses shared their wisdom and passion with us. Inspiring us to reach more people for the kingdom than we ever could with just our buildings.

Big picture: Social Media is not a megaphone to shout noise at people, it’s a telephone to connect, relate to, and draw in people. And if we’re not listening to people, we can’t minister to people. As a church, we have the amazing opportunity to reach millions of people via our online presence. If we choose to engage, we can get people’s attention that might not have thought twice about church, or really needed to hear that particular message that particular day.

The choppy waters of the 2D world is a new place for most of us, and we’re trying our best to leverage it for the gospel.

I can’t even tell you how great it was to sit in a room of like-minded people, all hungering for direction as we navigate our ships through the cumbersome channels of social media communication and digital strategy. The good news is that we’re all in this together. We’re offering lifelines and navigational tools to help pave the way. And even when we fail at it, we’ve got people around us to offer support and prayer.

If you’re looking for more practical things, email me at meagan.ranson@242community.com and I’ll give you ALL MY NOTES or go to That Church Conference next year. It’s worth all the things.

A Story of Mercy

Mercy: (especially of a journey or mission) performed out of a desire to relieve suffering; motivated by compassion

Walking through a tough season of pain, disappointment, and loss, I am feeling jaded and worn. My hallelujah is tired. I am tempted to draw a line in the sand of my faith and say, “I can’t go any further. I might even take a step back. This is TOO MUCH.”

But God is waiting in my doorway, standing on my doorstep, just waiting for me to open the door. He hasn’t left, and he hasn’t yelled to be let in. He’s just…waiting. I look out my windows at Him and contemplate the person that disappointed me. Who didn’t answer me when I called. I am angry at Him, and I am unsure of our relationship. How do I act if I let Him in? Can I hear what He has to say?

But then He sends people to me that I do trust. He softens the blow and heals my heart even though I’ve kept him standing on my doorstep. They tell me that He is waiting for me to show Him my brokenness. That if I would let him offer me mercy, He wants to relieve me of my suffering and fill me with the only things that can fill this hole in my heart. Faith, joy in suffering, and hope.

I unlock the deadbolt.

Unable to stop thinking about the storm swelling under the surface, I tell Him, “I’m not ready to let you in yet. But I’m here. I am still here.” I pull a chair up to the window and talk to Him through the door.

I ask a lot of questions, laced with distrust and anger. He listens.

I stop asking. And open the door a crack.

He reaches around the frame and holds my hand.

All he offers me is comfort. Reminders of his love for me. He tells me that His heart breaks too. That I am brave. And that the mercy of redemption is always on the table, and He is always sitting at it.

He stills sits on my doorstep, but my door is cracked a little. We are talking now. Maybe we’ll laugh some too.

But I’m not hiding anymore. My shades are not fully drawn. I’m letting the sun in, even when my skin cringes at the exposure.

{God, thank you for never withdrawing your mercy. Thank you that you never take mercy off the table for me. Help me to take it today and offer myself to follow you.}

3 Things About How God Speaks To Me

God said some big things to me today. BIG and CLEAR were these things, and I love how He talks to me. But I know that the idea of God talking to us can sometimes be very confusing. It tends to get blown up to this enormous mystery that only certain people seem to understand. But how I feel God talks to me is SO SIMPLE.

(But simple does not always mean easy.)

Now, I am not a genius. I am not a theological expert. I only speak from a place of experience, and of trial and error. Note that the “error” part is still a part of path that I am walking, and I am certain always will be.

That being said, I think that God talks to us often. I know He talks to me way more than I am listening. And sometimes, it takes big things and a lot of wandering to make me hear what He has to say.

But when I do…

1.) It sounds like my own voice.

I’ve never heard an audible, out-loud voice booming from the heavens. Usually, it’s just a thought. When I was a teenager, Gods voice sounded like a teenager (albeit a wise one) and now his voice sounds like a 20-something. He uses my language. He doesn’t speak in King James or use language I don’t understand. He is exactly who I need Him to be, exactly where I am.

2.) It often repeats itself.

When I see/hear the SAME thing over and over again, I start to pay attention. Sometimes it’s the meaning behind the same song, a phrase that different people keep saying, a scripture that seems to be everywhere I look. When something is repeating, it’s not coincidence, it’s God talking.

3.) It comes with peace, not confusion.

If the above two are happening, but I have a sense of confusion and not confidence, that’s not God. I know because HE SAID SO. Paul told the church at Corinth “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” and since 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is God-breathed (meaning God spoke it), we can believe it to be true. God’s character doesn’t change, and His character is PEACE, not chaos or confusion. Anything that resembles the latter can be ignored.

There’s no formula or science behind hearing Him. HE WANTS US TO HEAR HIM. As a human, I like to overcomplicate things, but it’s just not that way. Thank goodness.

I also believe that God speaks to people differently. Like I said before, He is exactly who you need Him to be, exactly where you are.

How does God speak to you?