Church social media policy template: fill in, adopt and sign
A fill-in church social media policy your pastor or board can adopt: who may post and who approves, account ownership and two-step sign-in, personal accounts, photos and children, comments and moderation, prayer requests, copyright, a crisis pause and a signature page. Information, not legal advice; check with your denomination or insurer.
Free printable PDF
Church social media policy template
What is inside
- A twelve-section policy with blanks for your church name, accounts, approvers and administrators
- Account security: at least two adult administrators, two-step sign-in, separate logins and access that ends when someone steps down
- Rules for personal accounts, photos and children, comments, prayer requests, copyright and a crisis pause
- An adoption page for your pastor or board; a short notes block for the United States, Canada and the UK; and notes for several campuses and a solo volunteer
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What the checklist covers
Who speaks, and who holds the keys
- Name who may post as the church and who approves a post before it goes out. The pastor, or whoever governs your church (a board, council, elders or a church meeting), or a delegate you name, has the final word on teaching, people and grief.
- The church owns its accounts. Keep at least two adult administrators on each (a Catholic bishops' conference recommends at least two; see Sources), turn on two-step sign-in, give each person their own login where the platform allows and end access the day someone steps down.
- Personal accounts of staff and volunteers do not speak for the church.
People, photos and prayer
- Get permission before an identifiable person is shown, and a parent's or legal guardian's permission for anyone under 18.
- A prayer request, a diagnosis or a family crisis belongs to the person. Share it only as far as they agreed.
- In the UK, the regulator lists health and religious belief as special category data; in Canada, where PIPEDA applies, sensitive information generally needs express consent (see Sources).
Comments, rights and a bad day
- Write down what you hide or delete, and why. A Church of England comments policy lists hate speech or discrimination, spam and private information as examples.
- A CCLI streaming license does not cover other kinds of creative work, so check each song, clip and image.
- Name one person who can pause every scheduled post in a crisis, a backup and who decides when to resume. Review the policy on a date you write on the last page.
Frequently asked questions
Start with which accounts it covers, who may post as the church and who approves. Then account ownership and security, personal accounts, content standards, photos and children, comments and moderation, prayer requests and confidentiality, copyright, crisis communication, record keeping, and a review date with signatures. This template gives each of those twelve a short section with blanks, and a page for your pastor or board to adopt it.
Whoever has authority over the church's public voice: your board or council, or the pastor, according to how your church is governed. If your denomination or diocese has its own policy, it comes first, and some require its approval. The last page has lines for the pastor, a board officer and the media lead, and a line for each person who posts to sign that they have read it.
More than one. A Catholic bishops' conference's guidelines say there should be at least two site administrators, preferably more, and that passwords and site names should be registered in a central place that more than one adult can reach. Turn on two-step sign-in too: Google's help page describes it as an extra layer of security in case your password is stolen.
Yes, but personal accounts do not speak for the church. The policy asks people to say their views are their own, not to share confidential information about others and not to post pictures of others without approval. A bishops' conference suggests a disclaimer on personal sites. Your denomination's policy may say more.
Get a parent's or legal guardian's permission before an identifiable child is posted, and treat anyone under 18 as a child. A national church body's guidelines ask for a parent's or guardian's permission before posting pictures, video or other information that may identify a minor, and a church insurer says to have a signed release for any child who is pictured.
Write down in advance what you will hide or delete (such as hate speech, spam and private information, as one Church of England comments policy does), who checks comments and how often, and who takes a hard conversation offline. A church insurer's checklist suggests a point person who coordinates resolution of a sensitive issue privately. Record what you hide and why.
One policy, with short country notes. The policy's rules (who posts, account security, consent, moderation) are the same everywhere. What differs is the privacy law: in the UK the Information Commissioner's Office lists health and religious belief as special category data, in Canada the federal PIPEDA covers commercial activity and Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec have their own laws, and in the US the United Church of Christ notes that state and local laws vary widely. The notes at the start say where to check.
Healthy church media rules is the short version: twelve principles and a sign-off for your pastor and media team. This policy is the longer document a board adopts, with blanks for names, accounts and dates. Use the rules to agree what you stand for and this policy to write down who does what. Each one names the other.
Yes. Enter your email, confirm the code we send and the PDF downloads. It is also emailed to you. Marketing email is sent only if you tick the separate box. This template is information, not legal advice; check with your denomination or insurer before you adopt it.