A few weeks ago I was telling someone about a new book that just came out called Going Social.  Their immediate question was, “Are you disappointed that your book wasn’t released first?”  I answered quickly and honestly: “Yes.”  Later that day I downloaded the book and as I began to read it conviction quickly soaked in.

Going Social is a very good book and a great resource for the ministry leaders.  While the book discusses many of the same things that my coming book does, it is still very different and will help probably some of the same people, but most likely engage very different audiences.  I’m very competitive by nature, but my passion is genuinely for collaboration and unity in the body.

I wrote The Social Media Guide for Ministry simply to encourage and help ministry leaders to maximize Social Media for Ministry.  That is my goal.  I also believe that the more people speaking into ministry leaders about this topic, the better.  Other bloggers and authors are not my competition, they are my partners with a common goal.  I’m so excited about what they are doing and I hope you will check out their resources as well.

Here are 3 books for ministry leaders from fellow partners in ministry:

1) Going Social by Terrace Crawford- I downloaded this book on my iPad and have skimmed, but not yet fully read.  It looks to be a thorough book on Social Media for Ministry and well written and laid out.  It also includes a chapter from my friend Sean Cannell on maximizing YouTube for Ministry.  Terrace is a Youth Pastor that has been and still is actively using Social Media in Youth Ministry and shares from his personal experience.

2) The iChurch Method by Jason Caston- this is a personaly favorite of mine.  I’ve actually read it twice as Jason packed this book with a practical system for any sized ministry to maximize web tools.  It includes simple and practical steps for a new user of Social Media and web technology as well as complex systems and even HTML code for you to use.  While this book goes beyond just Social Media, I can’t recommend this book enough.  I also must add that Jason has become a good friend and someone I look forward to locking arms with in pioneering new technologies with in the future.

3) Social Media and Ministry by Rev. Dr Kenneth Lilliard- I honestly have not read this book, nor am I familiar with the author.  In searching for other resources though, this is the first that pulled up and seems to have a similar message of maximizing Social Media for  Gospel spreading purposes.  I would love for you to check it out and let us know what you think.

If there are other resources I have missed, I would love for you to share them in the comments.  This is an exciting time for ministry leaders as the world through social media is more connected than ever creating incredible gospel opportunities.  The challenge becomes understanding how to best utilize these incredible tools for ministry purposes.  Technology is changing fast and so must our methods in utlizing them with a critical need for innovative ministry leaders.  I’m grateful for these and so many other partners in ministry and the many people who are creating incredible resources to support ministry leaders in this way.  I’m honored to be a part of this exciting conversation!