Influencers for Jesus
Until a few years ago, I’d never heard someone refer to their job title as “influencer.” Intrigued, I set out to discover exactly what an influencer is and how they earn a living. My first stop was of course, the internet. According to influencermarketinghub.com, an influencer is someone who has two things:
· the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience.
· a following in a distinct niche, with whom he or she actively engages.
Influencers are not simply marketing tools. Rather, they are social relationship assets. It is through their social relationships that influencers connect with others. And it is these social connections that companies and brands use to achieve their marketing objectives.
More than 4.59 billion people actively use social media with the average person spending over 2 hours per day on it. This is more time than most people spend daily on cooking, cleaning or eating! Thus, nearly all influencers use social media to reach their audiences. To be successful, influencers must have a good reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a certain issue or topic. This is how they get paid. If people buy products they promote, the influencer is usually compensated in some way. Sometimes they are compensated just for making a social media post, regardless of how their audience responds. The reach and influence of an influencer is a perfect scenario for companies trying to target a certain audience and influencers are rewarded for it. I recently saw a post by someone who describes herself as a part-time influencer whose income last year was $66,000!
What does this have to do with Legacy Planning and Deuteronomy 30:15-20? Well, I think Moses was encouraging the Israelites to be influencers. Of course, he didn’t mean the social media type of influencers. As Pastor Ben shared on Sunday, I think God wants each of us to be an influencer – a kingdom influencer. Today, especially, this is a crucial calling. With 96% of those age 22 and younger not knowing Jesus, we have a huge potential audience.
So, will you join me in taking some cues from today’s influencers? To be successful, they must first KNOW what they are promoting. This means they have personal knowledge. People won’t buy if the influencer doesn’t model the product or service personally. Often this means modeling clothes or using a product such as an air fryer and posting a video for the audience to watch. Then, they must SHARE what they know and TEACH people how to use it or explain what the benefits of the product or service are.
We, too, can be influencers. In fact, influence is always happening whether we realize it or not. We may not have a social media presence with thousands of followers; however, people are watching us; they see what we are living out. But there is a difference with intentional influence. To impact the next generation for The Lord we must be intentional. Like influencers, we must KNOW what we are promoting. This means we must spend time with The Lord and His word. We must intentionally seek to know Him with our hearts and our minds. Then, we must SHARE God and His mighty works with our audience. Perhaps your audience is a grandchild or maybe a young couple who lives in your neighborhood. Let’s ask God to show us who our audience is. Once we know our audience, we must TEACH them about God and what He’s done in our lives. Just as an influencer explains the benefits of a product or service, we must teach our audience about God’s goodness, kindness, grace and mercy. It all comes down to relationships. Just as an influencer isn’t successful if they haven’t connected with their audience, we must find ways to connect with our audience too. It could be sharing a meal, scheduling an intentional time for coffee, or even a weekly phone call to check in.
The success of our nation and world depends on impacting the next generation for Jesus. While we can look to the influencers of today for some tips, we can help provide immensely more benefit than a social media influencer every could. We can provide a real relationship with our audience, one that is characterized by truth and love. And while at times we may feel like Moses who felt inadequate to teach because of his speaking problems, we are never beyond the ability to influence others for Jesus. In fact, our past failures, challenges, and problems are often exactly what God uses to connect us to others for His glory. What’s our payoff for being influencers for Jesus? Abundantly more than a mere $66,000 per year. The payoff is eternal. It’s literally life or death. There is no greater calling than to choose life so that generations after us might live. Will you join me today in committing to be an influencer for Jesus?
~ Nicole Bryan has been a member of LIFE Fellowship for over 10 years and holds a M.A. in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. She and her husband Callan have three children.