08 Feb Sharing the Good News

Dear Westwood Community,

Over the past year, we’ve been sharing more about our church on social media–especially including using video clips from worship as Instagram and Facebook Reels. A few posts have gotten quite a lot of attention–and (even better) allowed us to get messages that matter to Westwood UMC out into the world more broadly.

For a long time, I thought of websites and social media as a way to get folks to church–advertisements, like we used to put in the phone book or post on flyers. And, I do hope that our presence online will help people find this community and this place, but I find it energizing to explore ways to use this online presence to share the message of liberation and love that we find in the gospel.

Words like “evangelism” elicit complicated feelings in me, as I think of the ways Christians have frequently used them–in heavy-handed, judgmental and coercive ways. Up until the pandemic forced me to preach into my iPhone camera, I never imagined myself a TV preacher. But, I know that the words “evangelism” and “gospel” literally mean “good news,” and they have been used since the earliest church as a way of describing the character of what we have to share. What we have to share is meant to be good news for us, our neighbors, enemies, and all creation.

So, I love that our online presence opens up a window into the congregational life we share: thoughtful sermons, our children’s joy, inspirational music.

In the past year, our online reach has grown dramatically. The attached graphic gives some numbers that quantify this expansion–they tell of how some of our messages are getting out to hundreds of thousands of people. This is exciting.

Still, there are ways you can help make our presence online even stronger: your participation there. When you like, or share, or send as messages any of our content (from YouTube to TikTok, besides Facebook and Instagram), and when you comment or subscribe, it helps raise our overall visibility. Even better, when you share things with friends, or add your own voice, it makes a difference by helping our online life look more like our on campus and in the world lives.

Or, help us with the content that we’re sharing online. Is there a church event you’re involved with that you think we should share online? Our Social Media manager, Maureen Schultz, invites church folks to offer suggestions, and even has a new form that you can use to submit ideas or feedback. You can find it here. We want our presence online to depict the richness of our congregational life, and our work in the world.

As we upgrade our video systems on campus, some of this work will continue to get easier and better, as well, but our church life is more than what happens in worship. I hope you will help us embody the good news of compassion, justice, and love in expansive, grace-filled ways.

Instagram – @westwoodumcla – @theloftla
Facebook – /westwood.umc
YouTube – @westwoodumcla
TikTok – @westwoodchurch – @the.loft.la

grace and peace,
Pastor Molly