Digital devotion: Can social media boost the Church’s congregation?

Dec 25, 2017 by Jill

by Callum May, BBC:

Every year in October, the Church of England publishes a meticulous set of spreadsheets showing how many people attend services.

There was a second set of figures this year: it said more people see the Church’s message on social media than in the pews.

According to the annual Mission Statistics, the worshipping community of the Church of England – the people who go to church once a month or more – stood at 1.1 million in 2016. Of these, 20% were under the age of 18 and 31% were aged 70 or over.

Attendance peaked during the Christmas period when 2.58 million people attended church.

But the usual Sunday attendance at church in 2016 was 740,000 people – which represents a 14% decline since 2006.

The Church has had the same realisation as political parties: that people are increasingly engaged online, and it is therefore trying to reach a new audience with modern digital marketing techniques.

It says its videos, podcasts, blogs and images now reach 1.2 million people online every month through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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