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| A user launching the TikTok App |
The coming of social media has changed the ways things are generally done in terms of how we communicate. Each social media platform has its strength, but TikTok is sweeping the world of the video apps, as every other app is altering its features to maintain its users. The introduction of reels and youtube shorts by Meta and Google is a perfect example of how media giants are competing with TikTok.
One Christian leader who has been using TikTok to spread the gospel, R. York Moore listed 5 areas TikTok and also social media are becoming bigger and better than the use of radio and television. In an article, TikTok: Could ‘Algorithm-Based Evangelism’ Be a Bigger Opportunity for the Gospel Than Radio and Television Combined, the gospel Tiktoker mentioned that he was doubtful about the success of the video app, as the use of other social media platforms has not been encouraging.
He mentioned that he started using TikTok in July 2021 and the instantly positive results were coming in as he saw "real impact and a loyal following of brand new believers hungry to devour God’s Word".
He listed the following things he discovered from the use of TikTok and how others can make use of it and other social media apps to spread the gospel.
Spiritual Power & Authority
Producing gospel videos on TikTok is not all that nice and interesting, as anyone may feel, Moore, noted.
He clarified that the proclamation of the gospel in digital spaces comes with attacks from powers of darkness who make use of various means to disrupt the gospel.
The Tiktoker acknowledged that the anyone making use of social media for spreading the good news of Christ must depend on the Holy Spirit to foil the evil plans of the enemies of the gospel, who made use of various ways to attack the gospel, such as making use of distractors to make profane comments about the gospel.
Residual Returns
He also raised the influence of how the social media app supersedes the preaching about Christ physically to people. Moore cited that in his 30 years of travelling around the world for evangelism, he receives messages from people about their decision to follow Christ daily through the propagation of Christ through the app.
The revivalist wrote, "I’ve spent nearly 30 years travelling the world preaching Christ. Countless hours hoping when I got to the destination, there would be people to preach to, that there would be fruit. I’ll never give that up but there has not been a single day where I’ve not seen decisions for Christ on TikTok... The library of content continues to be viewed 24/7/365. Posts don’t die on TikTok, they live on."
Metrics
Moore mentioned that with TikTok it is easier to measure the exact ways viewers are interacting with his videos.
"With the data I get from TikTok, I can objectively see when viewers scroll away, how many watches to the end, and with clear calls to action, I can see exactly how many are responding to the gospel in the comment section," Moore observed.
Also, he revealed that he gets response from viewers who acknowledges how they participate in activities he asks them to perform.
Consistency
The revivalist noted that the Algorithm used by TikTok focuses on "consistency in messaging and content," hence anyone attempting to use the video app to spread the gospel must a specific, as the niche he or she wants to be involved in.
Moore noted "I post 3-5 short videos a day, on a variety of things—mostly basic doctrines of sin, judgment, righteousness and addressing common struggles like pornography, anxiety, fears, family pressures and the like. The algorithm can depend on my account to provide fresh, engaging content on a specific niche (Christianity) and, in turn, it pushes my content to the ‘For You Page,’ or FYP. Normally, over 80% of the views on my posts are not coming specifically from my followers but from views on people’s curated FYP’s."
Value
The revivalist mentioned that value is gotten with the use of the social media app. He noted that he receives encouraging feedback from his followers telling him his contents are adding value to them.
"Before I found your account, I didn’t know anything about God. Now I am a Christian and am getting baptized," is one of the comments Moore mentioned that he received from his followers.
The Tiktoker york.moore, stated that he gets more than 8,000 users engaging with his content daily amongst his 280,000 followers.
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