Instagram. Once upon a time, it was the social media app for artful photos of food and travel, a hipper version of Facebook.

But Instagram is so much more than latte art and picture-perfect snapshots of daily life. It’s one of the most dominant social media apps on the scene, and your church should be using it if you’re not already.

Wondering if your congregation is the wrong demographic for Instagram? Worried about the time commitments or requisite photography skills? Keep reading—we’ll go over these concerns, plus teach you how to use Instagram to expand your church’s reach and minister to the people around you.  

Half of Your Community Is on Instagram

According to Pew Research, 47% of all US adults are on Instagram. That’s half the adults in the country!

There’s a wide differential in the average age of Instagram users, wider than any other platform. Just 15% of adults 65+ use Instagram, compared to 78% of adults 18–29. That makes Instagram non-negotiable for churches who want to reach a younger demographic online.

And if you serve a church with an older congregation? We still recommend covering your bases by cross-posting to multiple platforms. While most adults are not on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, the data suggests they are on at least one of those platforms.

By posting to all four platforms, you have a much better chance of reaching the people in your community online than if you were to focus on one platform alone.

Instagram and Facebook Have Great Cross-Posting Potential

Afraid that adding another social media platform to your church’s online strategy will take up time and bandwidth you don’t have? Not to worry! If your church is already on Facebook (and we’ve covered why you ought to be in this blog post), then running an Instagram account is virtually no extra work.

Both Facebook and Instagram are run by Meta, which makes it incredibly easy to post the same content simultaneously. So even if you’re concerned that your church’s demographic isn’t very active on Instagram, it doesn’t hurt to cross-post to both platforms.

All you have to do is connect your accounts on both platforms. Once you’ve done that, you can enable automatic crossposting on your church’s Facebook page. Then, every time you post on Instagram, the post will also appear on your church’s Facebook. (You can find a full step-by-step walkthrough on Instagram’s Help Center.)

This feature means you don’t need to worry about Instagram taking up too much of your time. If you're already posting to Facebook, you can reach Instagram users with zero additional effort.

Best Practices for Churches on Instagram

Ready to start using Instagram as a tool for ministry? Here are some tips and best practices to try:

Fill out your profile with your church’s branding.

That includes using your logo as a profile picture and putting your tagline and a link to your website in your bio. Create as few barriers as possible for people to learn more about your church.

Use graphics to promote upcoming sermon series and events.

Do you have graphics made for events, sermons, and service opportunities? Those will fit right in on Instagram! Make sure service times and locations are clearly visible in the graphic as well as included in the caption so that readers can easily find out how to attend.

Try to prioritize quality photos. . .

Instagram users typically expect to see crisp, well-lit photos. Post pictures of your church services, pastors preaching, members smiling and engaging in fellowship, and church-wide events in action. The occasional photo of your church building or grounds is fine, but keep the majority of your posts centered on people.  

. . . But don’t let amateur photography stop you from posting.

Gone are the days that Instagram was only for artsy cell phone photography. More and more, users crave realism and authenticity. A picture that’s slightly out of focus or off-center can add a human touch to your account, making it clear that your church is made up of real people.

Use Instagram Stories to share sermon clips.

If you’ve been following the GraceLed blog for a little while, you know how important sermon clips are for churches on social media. Stories are Instagram’s short-form video content, which makes them a great home for snappy, succinct clips of your sermon videos.

Get connected with local hashtags.

When someone searches for churches in your area or explores local hashtags, an active Instagram presence increases your visibility dramatically. Take a peek at what hashtags other churches near you use to see if there are location-specific hashtags popular in your area. Include those hashtags in your posts to increase your reach.

Conclusion

The people in your community are already on Instagram. The question isn't whether you should join them—it’s how quickly you can start connecting with them where they already are.

Instagram isn’t about perfection; it’s about connection. With powerful visuals and short-form video, your church can show the people in your community that you’re all human, and that there’s a place for them, too.