Why WhatsApp?

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring the possibility of using WhatsApp to help communicate with specific groups within South Calgary Community Church. We recently invited our members and attendees to complete a short survey, and we’re thankful for the 39 people who responded — thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!

Here’s what we learned:

• 60% of respondents said they already have and use WhatsApp.

• 20% said they have it installed but rarely use it.

• 20% said they don’t currently have it installed.

• When asked if they would be willing to install and use it if we started using WhatsApp more often, 80% said yes, one person said no, and a few others asked for more information — which brings us to this update.

Why We’re Considering WhatsApp

We’ll continue to use email as our main communication tool — especially our weekly Church Updates email that goes out to everyone. However, WhatsApp can be helpful for quick, group-specific communication.

We’re already using it in a few areas of church life, such as:

• Staff communication

• The Men’s Evening Gathering

• Young Adults group

• Family events organized by Pastor Russ

  
  

For example, if Pastor Russ is planning a hiking trip and the weather suddenly changes, WhatsApp allows for a quick update to all participants. Or if a parent has a question that others likely share, it’s easier to chat together in one place than to send multiple emails.

Our Russian Language Ministry has also been using a similar approach for some time, and it has proven to be a very efficient way of staying connected and sharing timely updates.

How We Plan to Use It

Our goal is to use WhatsApp for specific interest groups within the church — where quick updates, reminders, or group discussion make sense. Some groups, like the Men’s Evening Gathering, already find this helpful. Others, such as the Men’s Coffee on Wednesday mornings, may prefer to continue using email — and that’s perfectly fine!

If certain groups within the church would like to begin using WhatsApp, we’d like to recommend a consistent and unified approach so that communication remains clear, organized, and respectful across all groups.

In the near future, we also hope to have a webpage listing possible church groups and ministries where people can request to join the WhatsApp group that fits their interests.

Thank you again for helping us shape how we stay connected as a church family!