By TheChurch.Digital:
Clubhouse is the latest craze in Social Media. It’s composed of audio chat rooms that can be open or closed. This opens up fun possibilities for engaging in conversation online that are more personable than simply typing into the chat room. Clubhouse also enables the ability to host rooms that have a moderator who can help take questions from the audience in the room. Clubhouse is exclusively for iPhone for now, although there are plans to open it up to Android eventually.
Here are some easy ideas for how churches can use Clubhouse:
Closed Small Groups: Small Groups can be facilitated on Clubhouse. I’d suggest hosting a brief 4-week study that is linked to a tentpole series. (At The Movies/Marriage Series/etc.) to begin getting people involved. The lack of video actually helps improve the ability to engage. Not everyone is capable of engaging in a visual medium. Some prefer audio because of their life circumstances. Clubhouse doesn’t even give you the option, it is purely audio.
Post Message Discussions: Pastors and leaders can facilitate discussions after the service in Clubhouse to allow further discussion. This can be leveraged to help people take next steps.
Reaching subcultures and communities: Clubhouse allows users to join ongoing conversations in communities with ease on the basis of shared interest. Christian influencers who desire to leverage their interests to reach people for Christ can join a group, and leverage discussion to share the Gospel or point people to church.
Special Interviews: Churches can facilitate interviews with leaders in their community to answer questions, but also help the church grow in their ability to influence outsiders. I’ve seen churches, such as Transformation Church in North Carolina, do this well on other platforms utilizing Instagram Live. The difference is that you can take questions from your audience in the same format that you’re engaging. Chat doesn’t work as well for these opportunities. The value for attending goes way up because you can have a conversation with the guest.
Clubhouse is exclusive for now. And while it’s rumored that Facebook will be creating a competitor soon, it’s ok to jump on the bandwagon while it’s hot and see where it goes. The benefit of being an early adopter is that you get to reap the benefits of reaching the people who are first to the platform.
