Within our social circles, we have a mix of relationships from very close friends to distant acquaintances.

Our closest relationships likely make up a close-knit group of friends and family who know us best. Acquaintances, on the other hand, are made up of a diverse group of people who can come from different contexts, such as work, school, neighbourhood, conferences, and old school friends.

In social graph theory, these two groups are referred to as “strong ties” and “weak ties”.

The people we spend the most time with are our strong ties. These connections are very familiar with our likes, dislikes, hobbies, clubs we belong to, and the church we attend. In fact, our strong ties likely share some of these things with us.

Weak ties, on the other hand, are people we spend less time with. They may be friends from work, neighbours, distant relatives, or friends from high school. We don’t see them as close friends, but weak ties are very powerful when it comes to social networking, online and off. These ties act as bridges between social groups and have been shown to be extremely influential when job hunting because they have access to a different pool of connections and information than we and our strong ties do.

The same benefit can be extended to the church — our weak ties hold the potential power to reach outside of our immediate social groups and reach newcomers, welcome new ideas, and evangelize.

Social media is the perfect way to stay connected with weak ties — that friend from high school or colleague from a previous employer. It’s also a great way to spread your church’s message across these powerful social bridges.

Every interaction with our church’s Facebook page or Twitter account is an opportunity to engage weak ties. A simple “like” that shows up in your newsfeed or activity tracker means that your friends, even the distant ones, see what your church or diocese is up to. If they “like” it too, it can spread exponentially.

This is why Facebook events for church picnics, barbecues and other events are so important. While you may never think to invite someone from the office to your parish barbecue, simply RSVPing through Facebook allows your weak ties to see that activity on your Facebook wall and may prompt a question or conversation.

As we prepare for summer and begin to think about the fall and Back to Church Sunday events throughout our diocese, give some time and energy to interacting with your church’s social media accounts. By doing so, we all can participate in reaching beyond our immediate membership to spread news, promote events and invite newcomers.

The newest member of your church is just waiting to learn about the exciting things happening in your parish. And that is all one click away.

Take some time this summer to engage with your church’s social media accounts. By doing so, come Back to Church Sunday, you may find yourself sitting beside your weak ties.