'Slow Media' as your form of outreach
MEDIA BYTES
By Rev. Marty Levesque
THE INTERNET is a very loud place, and lately, it’s been getting louder between the frantic pace of the 24-hour news cycle and the pressure to post content that goes viral; our digital lives have become an endless cacophony.
Even the Church has fallen into this trap. We often feel the need to pump up the volume to be heard, filling our feeds with bright graphics, "Join Us!" countdowns, and busy productions.
But what if the most evangelistic thing we can do isn’t to add to the noise, but to offer a sanctuary from it?
In a world of digital chaos, silence isn't just a spiritual discipline; it’s a magnet. If our goal is to reach a world that is exhausted, anxious, and over-stimulated, sometimes the best way to point to the Word made flesh is to give them a moment where they don't have to process any words at all. Let’s talk about slow media.
In marketing, you need to grab attention in the first three seconds. Usually, that means loud music or fast cuts. But you can also grab attention with a digital oasis. When a seeker is doomscrolling through their feed of outrage and ads, and they suddenly hit a post that is nothing but a flickering candle or the sound of wind in the churchyard trees, they stop. Not because we shouted, but because we offered them room to breathe.
Offering a "slow" presence doesn’t require a large budget; it requires the courage to be minimal. Here are a few ways your parish can practice "Slow Media" as a form of outreach:
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The "One-Minute Sanctuary": Post a single, unedited minute of video. It could be sunlight hitting a stained-glass window, incense rising, or the sound of church bells. No background music, no voiceover, just sixty seconds of sacred space.
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The Visual Fast: Our feeds are usually cluttered with busy graphics. Try a minimal approach: a black-and-white photo of a single object like a stone, a prayer book, a cross and pair it with a single sentence of Scripture.
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Audio-Only Moments: We spend our lives staring at screens. Offer your community eyes-free media. A thirty-second voice recording of a prayer, or a single verse of a hymn, recorded in the natural acoustics of your church allows people to engage with their hearts while keeping their eyes closed.
We often think that to reach the modern world, we must be louder than the world. But we forget that God wasn't in the wind or the earthquake; He was in the still, small voice. By offering a Slow Media presence, you aren't just managing a Facebook page. You are providing a digital porch where weary, over-stimulated people can finally sit down and be quiet. When we stop trying to sell the church and start offering a space for the Spirit to speak, we find that the quietest posts often have the loudest impact.
Rev. Marty Levesque is the rector of All Saints’ in Waterloo. He served as diocesan social media officer.