“You showed up on my TikTok feed. My wife and I are looking for a church and we're gonna be checking yours out.”
Gateway Church
Location
Winterville, NC
Church Age
41 Years Old
Weekend Attendance
200
"A 500% increase in reach on Facebook in less than 28 days.”
The Challenge
Gateway Church had a desire to reach their community. Their Lead Pastor, John Bowling, explained their problem, “Despite being in the region for 40+ years, many people still don’t know we’re here.”
How Posts Have Performed
In the first month of partnering with SocialSermons, Gateway began reaching into their community far beyond what they were used to.
A 500% increase in reach on Facebook in less than 28 days. Engagement was up 40%. And new followers had increased 60%. All in less than a month.
Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok all showed similar boosts in activity. Across all four platforms, thousands of people were getting connected to Gateway Church that never had before.
What About In-Person?
Pastor John says he saw his church’s new efforts online quickly crossover to in-person encounters:
“I was at work last week. I’m a bi-vocational pastor. And someone that I work with about once a month came up to me and they said, “Are you a minister? You showed up on my TikTok feed.”
Then it happened again:
“I was picking up a grocery order at the supermarket. And a guy comes up to me and says the same thing, “Are you a pastor?” And when I said yes, he responded, “You showed up on my TikTok feed. My wife and I are looking for a church and we're gonna be checking yours out.”
These kinds of crossover events are our favorite stories to hear at SocialSermons. Online ministry making a powerful impact in local churches.
As Pastor John describes it: “People are seeing us. Knowing that our church is here. And we're getting The Gospel in front of people that we otherwise wouldn't be able to reach.”