Everyday faith connection: Showing the Church at work…

This is how the Archbishop of Canterbury describes the business of being the Church in his foreword to the Church of England’s Everyday Faith reflection resource. He goes on to say that because of this "we are all involved in God’s mission – empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring the difference Jesus makes. Because mission isn’t something the church runs – but something each of us is involved in. We do this by following Jesus and being his witnesses. This call by Jesus himself makes life an adventure."

We are all probably aware that being followers of Jesus isn’t confined to church activities. Most of us will pray or think about our faith at some point during the day. How well do we support this everyday faith?

Secondly, given that most Christians spend less than 10 per cent of their time in church activities, the main ways that we connect with our neighbours are in the places we live, work, study and socialise. Increasingly many of these daily activities take place online as well as offline.

So, how can we use digital communication to connect people to a church around us Monday to Saturday, as well as let them know about a church near them for a Sunday? Here’s something to get people talking about God’s business, and ours... 

What will people in your church be doing this time tomorrow?  

We are all probably aware that being followers of Jesus isn’t confined to church activities. Most of us will pray or think about our faith at some point during the day. 'This Time Tomorrow' has proved to be the single most impactful action to take at the beginning of a church’s everyday faith journey. TTT (as most come to call it) is a two or three-minute interview with someone in a congregation, in a Sunday or midweek service, about where they will be this time tomorrow. It’s helpful to follow three simple questions:  

• Where they will be?  
• What challenges and opportunities they face?  
• How can we pray for them?  

It doesn’t have to be people in big jobs, and to begin with, probably shouldn’t be. And, it shouldn’t just be adults! Some people have found it helpful to find a person in the congregation to lead this time – and to help find the people to interview. The video below explains more. 

Use this on social media

Your TTT slot can also be a useful story for social media. Most people will prepare their responses in advance, so these can be typed as a story with a photo. Of course, for some people this might be sensitive, so do check beforehand and adapt answers for a public context. 

If you’re feeling more creative, you might want to do a separate video for your A Church Near You page or website. This isn’t as hard as you might think. Simply use the questions above as interview prompts. There’s a Learning Labs blog to guide you in how to record a simple interview on your phone.  

This question - What are you doing this time tomorrow? - could form the basis of a simple post on social media. Ask the question and invite your audience to share where they will be in the comments. Be sure to reply to those who have commented and let them know the church will be praying for them.

Other ways to use the same idea could be...

• Create an Instagram story and use the question sticker for replies. Share their answers and let them know you are praying for them. Learn more about Instagram stories here.
• Pray for your community on Monday morning in a Live Video, which your audience is more likely to see than a pre-recorded video. Learn more about going Live here.
• Tweet the question and invite your followers to reply - don't forget to reply to those who have taken the time to answer your question.

We've heard from many churches of how simple questions like these have sparked conversations that led to people reconnecting with their faith. Read one of these stories here.

Have you read our recent blogs on sharing faith online? Nick Shepherd inspires us in ways to use our digital platforms to reach the world around us Monday to Saturday.

• Everyday faith connections: A church around you
• Everyday faith connections: Visiting the church at work

Discover more

• Learn how to record a simple video on your phone.
• Find out more about our Everyday Faith resources.
• Subscribe to the Everyday Faith daily reflections.

Nick Shepherd
Programme Director for Setting God’s People Free