By Jeff Harvey, Content Strategist
In the United States, we are blessed to have our right to practice our beliefs protected by the Constitution. However, recent societal shifts show a mounting pressure that threatens to limit or even deprive churches of their fundamental rights. For example, many churches around the country have won court cases by proving that they were unfairly targeted by government agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More persistent examples — though perhaps lesser known — come from social media platforms muting, blocking, or removal of church live streams and videos due to alleged violations of their ambiguous “community standards.”
But what does this mean for your church?
Churches are overly dependent on social media
These days, approximately 85% of churches broadcast their services via live streams, primarily through Facebook Live or YouTube. In addition, over 70% of churches use Facebook for staying connected with their community.
And why wouldn’t they? It’s easy to create a Facebook page or start live streaming on social media, and — better yet — it’s free. Or is it? As with anything “free,” there are hidden costs — and they add up. For example:
Censorship & ownership
Not only do these platforms reserve the right to censor any content they find offensive, they also own the content that you upload to their sites. This means they can redistribute, delete, or hide your content without your permission.
Ads & distractions
Social platforms like Facebook and YouTube show distracting ads and suggested content that may contain questionable material.
Cyberbullying
If your church monitors comments and group chats, there’s a good chance your team could be exposed to aggressive, rude, or offensive remarks and content, causing unwelcome stress.
In the end, any ministry that’s heavily dependent on “Big Tech” platforms needs to know that their content or profiles could be blocked, censored, or even de-platformed overnight.
This isn’t to say that your church should immediately delete these accounts. However, it’s important to consider using technology that allows you to continue to reach your people, even if your social media channels are blocked or taken down.
Use church tech that values your religious freedom
Unlike Big Tech, the Subsplash Platform is solely built to equip churches to share the gospel and engage their communities — without restrictions. When you’re working day in and day out to spread the life-changing news of the gospel, you should own all of your content. And your people should always be able to access it.
But tackling new tech can seem overwhelming, and getting started with multiple new platforms can feel daunting. The Subsplash Platform was created to solve all of this — ease of use, simplicity, and everything you need to engage your church community online and in-person — on one single platform.
Here’s how it works:
Live streaming & on-demand videos
With Subsplash, you can live stream your services to your church’s website, mobile app, and social media platforms with one click. Following your events, these will automatically be converted to on-demand videos that are added to your searchable media library. You can rest assured that you own your content and your community will always have access to your content.
Online giving
Some online donation platforms, especially those not created with churches in mind, can instantly remove your church’s ability to receive and process gifts for violating their terms of service.
Subsplash Giving, on the other hand, is built to encourage generosity and has given back millions of dollars to churches through GrowCurve — an exclusive program created to keep as much of your ministries funds in your hands as possible!
Communication
Subsplash provides a suite of communication tools that are not subject to social media policies. These include direct messaging, instant messaging for groups, text messaging, push notifications, and even email — all on one unified platform!
More than 17,000 churches and organizations partner with Subsplash to reach, engage, and disciple millions of people around the world. Connect with a ministry consultant today to protect your church from the risks and limitations of Big Tech and grow your impact on the only platform built for discipleship.
Jeff Harvey lives in Austin, TX and is a husband, father, and bonsai enthusiast.
He’s served churches for over 20 years as a pastor, teacher and missionary. He also holds a MBA from George Fox University and is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish.
Since creating the first church app in 2009, Subsplash continues to build upon their platform to make an impact for the gospel. Today they partner with over 17,000 organizations to bring the good news of Jesus to billions of people around the world.
