Rev. Fr. Cecil Paul OMI
Director CCNQ
CATHOLIC COMMUNICATION NETWORK QUETTA (CCNQ)
Rev. Fr. Cecil Paul OMI, director Catholic Communication Network Quetta, proudly announces for the faithful of the Vicariate and its Clergy priests and religious serving within the country and overseas, that the Apostolic Vicariate of Quetta, Balochistan has marked a historical milestone in launching their website on the auspicious occasion of the “Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady on Dec 8th, 2022”. With immense joy I extend my hearty congratulations to our Apostolic Vicar His Excellency Bishop Khalid Rehmet OFM-Cap, faithful and Clergy that this small Ecclesiastical unit (Apostolic Vicariate of Quetta)
has taken an initiative to come up on the webpage to extend our communication and Vicariate on the road to success, through service, peace, and development which is possible through your prayers and generous contribution.
Why our Church should focus on Media Ministry
- Media can help us be where our audience is
As a church, our job is to help & serve others. The question is, how can we serve someone if we do not go to or be where they are? Today, statistics show that out of the 7 billion people in the world, 2.5 billion are on social media channels. That is 35% of the world’s population. If you and I, as ministers are not present on this platform, how can we serve and minister to the billions of people who convince others by their products and wrong spirituality on social media?
- Media can help us influence
As custodians of God’s word, we are called to influence the world. We are the salt and light of the world. We are the yeast that is destined to influence the dough. We are the vessels that carry solutions to the world’s biggest problems. And social media is where people are asking questions, looking for answers, and spending time researching. Studies show that an average person spends close to 2 hours a day (118 minutes) on social media. If our ministry or church is not present on social media, how can we influence the people who are crowding around this space for hours?
- Social media can help us to educate
If we are in teaching ministry we should be on social media. Period. Social media is well suited for education from a technical and design perspective. Here our website and blog post will help many of our youth and minister of the word of God on how social media can specifically help our teaching ministry.
- Social media can help us to make disciple
Making a disciple takes time. And time is a big challenge for people today especially in our Country Pakistan very specially in our province Balochistan. Even the ones who are keen to go through a discipleship program may have the heart, but not the time. If we structure our discipleship program around social media (where people spend time anyways) we have a higher chance of being effective.
- Social media can help us build a community
God’s plan for His Church is to operate as a community. And social media networks are designed to facilitate community building. That is why I believe the Church and social media are such a good fit. Building a community online requires specific technology, features, and infrastructure. Most social media networks come with those features already built-in let us try to make members with some good content, group events, group calendar, privacy settings, instant messaging facility, notifications, etc.
- Social media can help us make ministry announcements
Social media channels are mostly accessed by people using their mobile devices. This means any communication going through social media can be instantly delivered to the recipient. That is why social media is such a good tool for churches and ministries to make announcements to their congregation. Using social media for announcements can also make life easier for your church members. They need not log into multiple websites, software, and apps to get church-related information.
- Social media can help us sell your ministry products
Social media networks are fast integrating E-Commerce into their platforms. Facebook already has a ‘shop’ tab inside business pages. If our ministry has products or services that we like people to buy, we should consider using social media channels for E-Commerce.
- Social media can help you receive donations
Facebook already has a built-in ‘Donate’ button for nonprofits. Twitter is experimenting with the features. By integrating social media into our ministry, we can make it easier for people who like to partner with us in finances.
- Social media can help our minister to people when they travel
When the members of our congregation travel, they may not be able to attend some of the events or church services. If we use social media to LIVE stream or make available recorded content of our ministry this will help them have continuity of learning.
- Social media can help our minister to people who cannot travel
Some people may not be able to come in person to our church or ministry events due to various reasons. For example, health reasons or family challenges, or some religious constraints. In those cases, social media can be a great way for people to stay in touch with your ministry and access all the resources that they need through social media.
- Social media can help and strengthen our internal team communication
Social media is not just for ministering to our congregation or church members. It is also useful for us to communicate, minister to, and build our team – staff and volunteers. We can have internal Facebook groups, instant messaging, and even specific posts created exclusively for your team. Social media can help us build a motivated team, strengthening their faith and ensuring that they are aligned with our vision and goal.
- Social media can help you convey our ministry vision
If God has given us a vision that can impact society and build His kingdom, it is good for us to share it with as many people in as many ways as possible. Social media is designed to take a message and spread it among a specific group of people. So if we can take our vision and strategically communicate it to our audience on social media, then people may want to help us accomplish that vision. Using social media we can communicate our vision visually and interactively, making it more engaging and interesting.
- Social media can help us improve our ministry event attendance
Promoting ministry events will not be a challenge if we spend time laying the foundation for our social media ministry. Simply because once we consistently provide good content, people follow us. When they follow us and share our content regularly, our social media reach starts to grow. With a good reach, whenever we promote our events on social media, the right audience will get to know about it and sign up. You can also use social media to make the event experience better for our audience.
Conclusion:
In short, I would say that Social media is not just a trend, mood, or fashion that will fade away. It is an evolution that is here to stay. It will continue to grow and influence the way we communicate with each other. As a church and ministry, the earlier we adapt and get on this platform, the more we will reap the rewards in the future.