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I know a pastor who started at a new church right in the middle of the pandemic. You can imagine what that was like. Everything shut down. She could not meet people the normal way. She could not go to community events or have coffee with neighbors or show up at the local diner and introduce herself.
So she did something else instead. She used Facebook. Not the way most of us use it. Not to post about church events or share devotionals or let everyone know what the youth group is doing. She used it to listen.
And what she found changed everything for her church.
The Facebook Discovery Method
Most of us think we know what our community needs. We have lived here forever. We have seen the same faces at the same stores. We assume we understand.
But assuming is not the same as knowing. And guessing is not the same as listening.
Here is what this pastor did. She joined all of the Facebook groups she could find for her town and the areas around it. Not church groups. Not Christian groups. Just regular community groups. The ones where people talk about lost dogs and yard sales and who has the best pizza. The free garage sale groups. The “Buy Nothing” groups. The “What’s Happening in Our Town” groups.
She joined them all, and then she just watched.
She wanted to learn what people were actually talking about. Where their interests were. What made them tick? Not the people in her congregation. The townspeople.
I love how she put that. She wanted to know what made them tick.
1. Join The Right Groups
The first step is finding where your community is already talking. For most towns, that means Facebook. Look for groups with names like:
- [Your Town] Talk or Chatter
- What’s Happening in [Your Town]
- [Your Town] Free Stuff or Buy Nothing
- [Your Town] Garage Sales
- Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Join them all. Do not worry about which ones seem most relevant. Join them and see what shows up.
2. Listen Without Posting Anything
Here is the hard part for most of us. Do not post anything. Do not introduce yourself. Do not announce your church. Do not share event invites, prayer requests, or Bible verses.
Just watch.
For a while, that is all she did. She paid attention to what people were talking about. She noticed what questions kept coming up. She looked for patterns.
And the patterns showed up.
The same question kept coming up over and over and over again.
“Where can I donate stuff that’s not Goodwill?”
People said it all the time. They had things to give away, but they did not want to donate to a big organization. They wanted their stuff to stay local. They wanted to know that what they were giving would actually help someone in their own community.
And then there was the other side of it. People would post, “I’m going through a hard time. Does anybody have X, Y, or Z?” And then other people would jump in and say, “Oh yeah, I’ve got this” or “I got this.”
She watched neighbors helping neighbors right there in the Facebook comments. People giving things away for free. People asking for help and getting it.
3. Look For The Gap
Here is what else she noticed. Her town used to have a resale shop. It was run by wonderful folks, but they all got older during the pandemic and could not get it going again. So there was this gap.
People had things to give. People had needs. But there was no place for them to connect. No place where donations could go and actually help the community.
She looked at all of this and asked herself a question. Not “What program should we start?” Not “How can we get these people to come to our church?” Just a simple wondering.
“I wonder if there’s a way that we can meet the needs of those who are looking for things, but also meet the needs of a place where folks can donate and know that what they’re donating is actually helping their community.”
That is what listening on Facebook does. It shows you the gap, and then you start wondering.
4. Start Small And See What Happens
Now here is the part I love. She did not go to her church board with a ten-page proposal. She did not form a committee. She did not spend six months planning.
She saw a post in the Small Church Ministry Facebook group about a church doing a free garage sale. And she thought, “Maybe we could try that.”
So, they did. They filled the fellowship hall for one Saturday afternoon. People from the church brought stuff they did not need anymore, and they let anyone come and take it for free.
The first time they did it, the stuff spilled out of the fellowship hall, down the hallway, and into the sanctuary. There was not a space in the church that did not have items in it. They had so many donations that they had to do another free garage sale a month later.
5. Keep Listening Even After You Start
Between those big garage sales, people kept emailing. “When are you having your next one?” “I really need this.” “Do you have any idea when you’ll do it again?”
They had leftovers from the first sale. They had a space in their building that was not being used. They had tables and shelves and stuff just sitting there.
So they looked at each other and said, “What can we do with this other than just store it?”
That is how the Really Free Marketplace started. Not as a grand plan. Not as a five-year strategy. Just as a way to fill the gap between the big sales.
They went into it thinking, “Let’s see what happens here.” They built the plane while they flew it.
And they kept listening. Even after the marketplace started, they paid attention to what people needed. They noticed when volunteers needed a break. They noticed when they needed more space. They noticed when community members wanted to help.
That is the thing about listening. It is not a one-time thing. You do it once, and then you keep doing it.
What You Will Discover
Here is what I want you to see. None of this happened because they copied another church. None of it happened because they followed a trend. It happened because one person took the time to listen to what people in her community were actually saying on Facebook.
She did not start with a program. She started with Facebook groups and a willingness to pay attention.
And because she listened, her church ended up with a ministry that actually fits their community. Not something they imported from somewhere else. Something that grew out of the actual needs of actual people who live near their building.
That church only has about 50 people on a weekend. But now they are known. People know they are the church with the Really Free Marketplace. People know they are a place where you can get help with no questions asked.
The Question to Ask Yourself
What would happen if you spent the next month just listening on Facebook? No posting. No promoting. Just watching and learning what your neighbors actually need.
You might discover something you never expected. You might find a gap your church is perfectly positioned to fill. You might become known for something good in your community.
And if you do, I would love to hear about it. That is what this community is for. Sharing what is working and encouraging each other to keep going.
If you are not already in our Small Church Facebook group, come join us. It is a place where small church leaders and volunteers can be honest about the struggles and celebrate the wins together. We would love to have you.
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