Social Media is a must for any church leader hoping to connect with new people. The vast majority of people will never darken the door of any church until they have checked out a church website, listened to a sermon or two and investigated the church Facebook page.

Today, we talk about basics for leaders to get and stay connected on the web.

We also talk protocol. Many pastors ruin their presence on the Internet by not understanding these fundamental "rules."

Here is a free download mentioned, called the Social Media Roadmap

Bluehost is what I recommend to pastors and leaders who want to take the next step and own their own real estate on the web. Click here to get started.

Transcript of Today's Show

Do you ever get frustrated with the fact that your sermons require so much labor to produce, but often don’t have much life after they are done?

I mean, the typical leader will spend somewhere between 6 and 15 hours each week working on a sermon. Even if you don’t spend concentrated time at your desk, you are collecting thoughts and ideas and formulating what to say each Sunday, doing your best to be certain your message expresses what is on God’s heart.

That is a huge responsibility. When Jesus told Peter In John’s gospel, feed my sheep, he created billions of hours for church leaders throughout the centuries to prepare sermons. A responsible pastor is praying, thinking, meditating, researching, and reading all the time.

Even if your sermon hits the ball out of the park and everyone thanks you for helping them in some way, you go home for a nap and realize that the next sermon is due in seven days and it is time to start over.

Now I don’t know about you, but I write out my sermons on Microsoft Word in an outline form. Typically, I use a template to get started that triggers the things I need to include or pay attention to each Sunday. Once that sermons has been completed, I save it on my computer.

Over time, that is a lot of sermons and a lot of files. I look at all those sermons and the hours spent; the prayers to God for guidance, the investment of time in reading, studying and researching and realize that unless I re-preach them somehow, they are lost.

In many ways, preachers are like moms, who prepare great meals. After everyone enjoys the hours of preparation and care, the food is consumed and forgotten in just a few hours.

We experience many of the same dynamics. People hear what we preach, but pig out in front of a ball game or go shopping or do some other Sunday activity. If you ask most church members what the pastor preached come Sunday night, most have already forgotten.

Now we can talk about Jesus parable of the birds of the air coming and taking the seed out of the minds of hearers to prevent sermons from having lasting impact, but that sermon will probably get forgotten as well.

Some of you have taken steps to record your sermons and post them on your church website. That is one way to make sermons last longer. It is also extremely important because one of the main ways people choose churches is by examining your church website. Before they darken your door, they want to hear a sample of your preaching.

Make no mistake. The first thing they look at on your website, is the length of your sermons. If they see an hour each week, most people move on unless the subjects are so compelling that they want to push the play button.

Visitors to your site will listen to your voice, your humor and then judge whether you are a good fit for them. They will also respond or react to the sound quality. If it sounds like it was recorded in the church bathroom through a