Would it be wrong of a church or ministry to maximize the use of social media to propagate the gospel? Certainly not! In fact, many ministries have now have started building platforms on social media, and if your ministry still hasn't started, it's high time to consider getting started.

Social media has exploded in growth in recent years, and more and more churches, religious organizations and ministries are taking their efforts to build awareness, educate and reach out to people online.

To be an organization or personality today and not be active online could most likely spell a level of irrelevance. And while there are parameters to be observed in order to avoid its bad side effects, social media remains to be a neutral force that can either be used for bad or good.

Why is it so important for churches to get involved in being visible on social media platforms nowadays? Here are three compelling reasons:

It's where the lost are

Matthew 18:12 says, "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?"

Well the lost sheep are most likely online today. What are we doing to bring Jesus to the doorsteps and computer screens of people seeking God? The beauty of social media platforms is that it provides a non-intrusive, safe and convenient platform for the lost to absorb and embrace ideas.

It's where their members are

If you're a pastor of a local church, chances are a majority of your members are already online and tweeting your sermons, and if we're not strengthening and capitalizing on that, they just might share the wrong message.

Being online helps us provide strong contextualized truths through social media in a way that enables our members to consume and share messages that could be light in the dark.

It's where values are most clear

Philosophers once said, "If you want to know the level of the values of a society, look at their libraries." Today, libraries aren't as influential because people are paying more attenton to news feeds.

We know and learn about what our audience is most concerned about through the content they share online. Are they looking for answers to questions on political events, social injustices, show business? While we do not necessarily take part, we can learn about how people's minds work and how we can serve them best through social media.