Trending Up by Mark Forrester

Trending Up Reviews

• 
  Emily

  Great resource for churches and ministries to start or continue/rethink what they’re doing/how they’re using social media.
• 
  Rob

  This is a great conversation starter about how the church can effectively use social media. I say a conversation starter, because it barely scratched the surface of such a huge topic. I think this book should have been a blog instead -- the chapters were about the length of a blog post and the continuous nature of a blog would allow them to continue building the content. Overall, if you need something that will help you with social media strategy, then this will be helpful. If you need something very practical with lots of case studies and how-tos, then this book will leave you with more questions than answers.
• 
  George P.

  If it weren’t for Johannes Gutenberg, the Protestant Reformation might not have happened. Why? Because Gutenberg’s movable type press made it possible to print and distribute Martin Luther’s spiritual broadsides quickly and inexpensively. The medium facilitated the movement.
  
  Today, we are witnessing a communications revolution even greater than Gutenberg’s. Information technology has made it possible to communicate the gospel instantly, globally and personally via social media. Christians need to harness these media for Great Commission purposes.
  
  Trending Up shows how. Written by social media professionals from a variety of denominations, churches and nonprofit ministries, the book outlines social media strategies for churches and other ministries under five headings:
  
  1. Why Social Media?
  2. Content Strategy
  3. Story: Your Church’s Story and God’s Story
  4. Connecting with Your Church
  5. Reaching Your Community
  
  If the ministry you lead is looking for a primer on social media, start with this book. Case studies of social media campaigns appear throughout, showing how content strategy plays out in real-life settings. Additionally, the book contains an appendix of books, websites, blogs, platforms and other resources for further investigation.
  
  Near the end of the book, Mark Forrester writes: “Social media is equal parts art and science — and zero parts magic. Don’t let anyone tell you different. As with any form of communication, we must give painstaking attention to make sure our choice of words and images are appropriately reaching our community and resonating in our specific context.” In other words, Gutenberg facilitated Luther, but Luther had something to say that was worth facilitating in the first place.
  
  The same must be true of us. Technological innovations have made it possible to amplify our message. Let’s make sure people hear the gospel loud and clear on our social media.
  
   
  
  Book Reviewed
  Mark Forrester, ed., Trending Up: Social Media Strategies for Today’s Church (Springfield, MO: Salubris Resources, 2017).
  
  P.S. I wrote this review for
  InfluenceMagazine.com. It appears here by permission.
  
  P.P.S. If you found this review helpful,
  please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.
• 
  Shawn Bain

  This is a great book for churches looking to delve into the social media realm. Social media is an amazing tool for churches to reach people, but it can seem intimidating. Trending Up gives practical help in a way that is easy to digest.
  
  I would consider myself moderately proficient with social media, and I learned quite a bit from this book. That's bound to happen when you get some of the best minds in the social media community together though, right?
  
  I would recommend Trending Up to anyone who manages social media for churches, ministries, or businesses. In fact, I plan to send a copy to my team at DUDEronomy and Geeks Under Grace.