It’s not a holy trinity, but more of a dynamic duo: churches and social media.

According to a survey of 250 randomly selected Christian churches in the U.S., houses of worship are embracing the new platforms as a method of outreach.

“What the survey shows is that they use it regularly and see it as one of their most important outreach tools,” Bob Hutchins, the owner of faith-based marketing firm BuzzPlant, said on the company’s blog. BuzzPlant conducted the survey.

“As more and more resources are devoted to social media in churches, the congregations will become even more connected to each other and their community,” he added.

More than 50 percent said that at least one member of their senior staff blogs regularly. Among the churches that blog, two-thirds do so on a weekly basis, while one-third of them post two to three times per week.

Perhaps most impressively, social media is a valued asset to their communication arsenal, with 46 percent of churches indicating it’s the most-effective method of outreach, better than knocking on doors, newspapers, TV, and radio.

However, all of that blogging and Facebook updating is adding more work to the staffs at these organization—or else it’s falling upon a volunteer. Three-fourths of respondents said they do no have a paid employee who updates social media pages.

Keep that in mind the next time the offering plate comes around.

Here’s the infographic:



(via Mashable)