Over the past couple of years I have done some promotional work on Facebook. Lately I’ve focused on promoting a few posts I’ve written for my blog. One post in particular has received an overwhelming response. Here it is:
This post is about the widows’ list in 1 Timothy 5 and how American churches have largely ignored its implications for needy widows in their midst despite the fact that there is increasing poverty among America’s elderly.
The response to this post on Facebook has been far and above any response I’ve received from any other promotion. Readers have liked this ad 558 times, shared it 259 times, and commented on it (many of these comments being very visceral and fervent) an unheard of 165 times. Clearly, people have a vested interested in this topic.1
And that’s just the ad. 7,000 people have downloaded and read the post itself and they’ve shared it with their friends on Facebook 1,384 times. One person reads the post for every 7 cents New Commandment spends promoting it: an incredibly efficient way of getting this message out.
So why such a huge response to this particular post? Here are six reasons:
- The post addresses a major and obvious need: poverty among our elderly.
- The post offers a simple solution: 300,000 thousand churches in America can have a significant impact on this problem if they understand their responsibility.
- The post provides a motive for churches to act: the Bible teaches this and churches need to obey it.
- The post shows how the church is relevant: this seemingly insurmountable problem can be resolved with the help of the church.
- The post provides hope: the church can do this if it just obeys the Bible.
- The post is clear and short: no legalese, no government gobbledygook, and no politics.
So now we need to pray that the church will increase it’s standing – its stature – in our culture by actually doing what the Word of God clearly commands it to do: consistently and effectively provide for its needy widows and others with long term needs.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
Now Available for Meeting to Meet Needs Members
Interviews: “Why Seminaries Don’t Focus on Men’s Ministry,” Dr. Bruce Fong
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Meeting to Meet Needs is a paid subscription membership site that helps men start and maintain men’s team ministries to their widowed and single parents in their churches and provides other resources for their men’s ministry.
Pastors, join Meeting to Meet Needs and receive 33% off of your Annual Membership for life. In addition, I’ll send you this free homiletics book: Invitation to Biblical Preaching: Proclaiming Truth with Clarity and Relevance, by Dr. Don Sunukjian. This is one of the best books on homiletics I know of. Learn more here.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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