LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. 

The networking site–which functions similarly to Facebook–offers 810 million users the ability to look for jobs and hires, connect with other professionals, and learn. Every week, 49 million people use LinkedIn to find a job, and more than 1 in 10 LinkedIn users log onto the site every single day. 

LinkedIn has changed the way people think about professionalism, and has certainly changed the way people seek employment and networking opportunities. 

But is it right for pastors?

In the following article, we’ll take a look at what LinkedIn is, why it’s beneficial, and why it can be a tool for pastors to connect with others, expand their networks, and grow the Church. 

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is an online platform that allows employers, employees, and entrepreneurs to connect. Every user has a profile with basic details about their career, professional and educational background, and any other relevant information they choose to share. 

Like most social networking platforms, LinkedIn allows users to share posts, connect with other members, and privately message their connections. LinkedIn profiles do not openly display connections, but users can see mutual connections with other members. 

Here are some of the unique features of LinkedIn:

• Unlike other social networking platforms, LinkedIn members can see who has viewed their profile (to a certain extent; a paid version is required to see all profile viewers).
• LinkedIn offers a paid “premium” version that allows users to directly message up to 30 people they are not connected with, as well as advanced tools for job searching and hiring. 
• LinkedIn gives users the ability to publish long-form blog content directly on the site. 
• LinkedIn users can receive or give recommendations to former or current colleagues. Just like any other platform (Yelp, Google reviews, Glassdoor), external reviews lend credibility to a person’s work history and bio. 

At the end of LinkedIn’s first year in service, it had 100,000 users. Today, the professional network is growing at a pace of more than 100 million new members per year. In 2021, LinkedIn had 690 million members; as mentioned above, it now has 810 million users. People all over the world are discovering that LinkedIn is a convenient and valuable tool for growing their career. 

LinkedIn: It’s All About Opportunities

The core benefit of using any social media platform is connection. When used well, tools like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok help people to connect with friends and family with posts, messages, and comments/likes. 

LinkedIn isn’t so different, but it does provide one significant advantage over other social networks: It provides its users with opportunities. 

While there are a tiny percentage of people who make money on platforms like Instagram by building a personal platform and then promoting specific products, LinkedIn is more universally useful for its users. It’s designed to help people find work, hire new team members, and connect with peers, consultants, and creatives. 

And it works. Over 35 million people have been hired by a connection on LinkedIn. And 122 million people received an interview through the platform. 

The three core benefits of LinkedIn are:

• Networking. “Networking” gets a bad rap, maybe because it’s associated with small talk, posturing, and nerve-wracking events with strangers. But the reality is, networking is simply making connections with like-minded professionals. At best, networking can help professionals get creative ideas, make improvements, and discover new opportunities. 
• Finding work. As mentioned above, LinkedIn helps its users with one of life’s most pressing and critical needs: finding a job. Every minute, six people find a job on LinkedIn. The site has a job search tool that delivers customized results to users, and more than that, can help connect job seekers with recruiters, companies, and potential clients (for contractors). 
• Hiring. Lastly, LinkedIn can be used to look for employees, staff, or team members. Leaders can use the platform to look for candidates, review their profiles, and connect them with potential opportunities. 

LinkedIn users don’t typically log on unless they’re interested in connecting in a professional context. There’s a high level of interest in forging connections, finding opportunities, and taking action. 

More than a platform for mindless scrolling or exploring new trends, LinkedIn is a tool for effecting real change. 

That still doesn’t answer the question, however. Is LinkedIn right for pastors?

LinkedIn and the Church 

Many pastors don’t think of LinkedIn as a point of connection. After all, people who are in full-time vocational ministry may not be looking to discuss corporate culture, hire remote employees, or post content that isn’t directly evangelistic. 

However, the kinds of discussions and posts that get traction on LinkedIn align well with what pastors do on a daily basis–lead people, create connection, and influence culture. 

Leadership is a hot topic on LinkedIn. People want to know how to lead well. They want to know how to create healthy expectations, how to lead others on mission, and how to create trust. Topics like “servant leadership” are no longer limited to the Church. They are actual business terms, valued and discussed on forums like Investopedia. 

Few people are more qualified to teach on leadership than pastors. They are expert leaders, tasked with the enormous responsibility of helping to lead others in their relationships with God and with others. The majority of pastors have also dealt with lots of conflict, overcome multiple hurdles, and faced resistance. 

LinkedIn may be a great platform for pastors to offer others informed insight and a healthy perspective on leadership. 

Empathy, or the ability to share someone else’s feelings, has become a popular topic in corporate culture. Thought leaders like Brené Brown have made empathy famous (This cartoon on empathy has been viewed over 18 million times), with good reason. Leaders and team members who are able to communicate with kindness and compassion are ultimately better at their jobs and more effective people. 

If they’re aligned with the Word of God, pastors are also experts on empathy. If you’re looking for opportunities to practice empathy, get involved in a church. 😉 Most pastors have learned to communicate with a whole range of personality types. If they’re doing their jobs well, they know how to lead with kindness, regardless of the situation. 

LinkedIn can be a great place to share informed experience on empathy in an organizational culture (like a business or church). Pastors have the experience and authority to talk about empathy, even on a secular platform like LinkedIn. 

Finally, the topic of organizational culture is becoming more important. Leaders want to create company culture that encourages productivity, increases workplace satisfaction, and attracts great talent. Pastors know that culture doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intentionality, self-awareness, and strategy to build healthy rhythms of communication and work. 

Again, very few people are more qualified to teach on organizational culture than pastors. Churches that thrive often align with intentional cultural values such as honor and transparency. 

Pastors: Here’s Why and How to Use LinkedIn

LinkedIn can be practically useful to professionals in ways that Instagram or TikTok could never be. Surprisingly, it may also be a great platform for church leaders to teach on topics like leadership, empathy, and healthy organizational culture. 

But can LinkedIn actually help pastors to grow their communities and connect with like-minded people? 

Absolutely. 

Here are four practical benefits of LinkedIn for pastors. 

Networking. 

There’s that word again. Networking isn’t just for professionals who are looking for investors for their startup, or potential hires for their remote-first team. Networking is about expanding personal reach to create new conversations and opportunities. 

Pastors can use LinkedIn to connect with like-minded pastors, organizational consultants, and other ministry leaders. Using LinkedIn, a pastor might find a peer who shares their specific vision for growth. That new connection can lead to shared insights, mutual encouragement, and even new possibilities for speaking opportunities. 

“LinkedIn gives you the ability to expand your network in a mutually beneficial way,” says John Prickett, a leadership expert and former executive pastor at Antioch Waltham Community Church. “It alerts you of connections you already have within your network, for example two degrees away.”

Prickett continues, “You can engage with an actual person far more easily because of LinkedIn when job hunting than you would otherwise in a conventional application process.”

We live in a hyper-connected world that’s no longer limited by geographical boundaries when it comes to building community or team. The church doesn’t have to be any different. 

New hires. 

Churches that are open to hiring staff members or leaders externally can use LinkedIn to look for people who might be a good fit. LinkedIn is a great way to review someone’s credentials and work history before reaching out to them personally. It can also be a good way to look for people that have mutual connections. 

For example, a pastor might use LinkedIn’s job search tool to look for a digital marketer who works in a church context. Logging onto a professional network gives the pastor far greater access and reach to a larger pool of potential hires who may be a great fit. 

Fresh insight. 

Many of your church members may be on LinkedIn. If you’re in a metropolitan area with lots of young professionals, that likelihood is even higher. It’s important to gain insight into the conversations, topics, and areas of professional growth that are relevant to your church family. 

Using LinkedIn, pastors can learn what people are talking about outside of the church, and outside of mainstream media. LinkedIn has a very unique culture of encouragement, growth, and insight. Logging onto this platform may even become a source of inspiration for church leaders. 

For example, a pastor may get inspired by a post on startup culture, and apply the insights to building a church staff. Or, a pastor may see a post on work-life balance, and bring this insight into a sermon on rest. 

Increased credibility. 

Unfortunately, many leaders in the church have lost the trust of their members and the trust of society at large. People want to know that church leadership is trustworthy, authentic, and transparent. They also want to know that leaders are informed, thoughtful, and connected. 

That being said, credibility is critical. 

LinkedIn is a great start to establishing credibility online. More than writing a blog or even creating a social media account on Instagram or TikTok, LinkedIn shows work history, personal recommendations from others, and mutual connections. 

Ideas for LinkedIn Posts

LinkedIn has become increasingly popular as a platform for sharing personal insights and thoughts on work-life balance. It’s also become a tool for celebrating successes–large and small–in the workplace. 

Here’s how pastors can post on LinkedIn:

• Get personal. The lines between work and personal life are blurring; for pastors, there has always been plenty of cross-over. Post photos of meeting up with mentees, studying Scripture in preparation for a sermon, or a fun photo from a staff meeting. 
• Engage in conversation. Comment on posts that discuss relevant cultural or work-related topics. Share insights, tag friends, and re-post. 
• Be relevant. LinkedIn is not a social media platform, per se. It’s not a place to advance a personal message, unless it’s related to work culture. Pastors can be Christ-centered without directly preaching on LinkedIn. 
• Learn. Adopting a growth mindset is the most helpful approach to engaging on LinkedIn. Log onto the platform with an attitude of humility and thoughtfulness, and seek to learn from those who are different.
• Get creative. Use video and photos, and don’t be afraid to write “mini blogs” on LinkedIn. Longer posts perform well on this networking site–users may be more likely to read, and less likely to scroll. 

Finally, follow leaders or figures that are inspirational and thoughtful. It’s helpful to see what others post, and how they engage on this platform. 

Final Thoughts

As Christians, we often hear the phrase, “We’re called to be in the world, but not of the world.”

LinkedIn is a wonderful example of this principle. Pastors, church leaders, and all believers can use this kind of platform to grow new connections in the Body of Christ, influence others with Christ-centered teaching (such as on servant leadership), and glean insight that can make their work more effective and informed. 

As Prickett explains, “LinkedIn is a win-win.”