Lent is a season filled with imagery. The cross, the upper room, palms, thorns, etc. All of them are helpful in deepening our connection to our suffering Savior as we walk with him on our own Lenten journeys. Those images are certainly something that we can use to enhance our personal or ministry related messaging on websites, blogs and social networks too. Perhaps you need an image that introduces a lenten sermon series or Bible class. Maybe for a weekly or even daily Facebook post/devotion/inspirational thought.

I’ve been getting into Instagram a lot more lately and have found it to be a great inspiration for Lenten imagery, as well as an outlet for my own creativity. For example, just go to the Instagram website in your browser or open the app up on your phone or tablet and search for hashtags. I searched for #lent2017 and found over 10,000 examples of lenten themed photos and in many cases Bible references. Lots of ideas there. Check every few days for new ones added.

If you’d like to create your own, there are also easy ways to do that. I’ve been using a wonderful little app from Adobe called Spark Post. It allows you to pick your own image or search for others, add text, and then easily post to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. It’s free and easy to use. I’ve found it to be just perfect for these little Lenten images/messages. I am jumping into my photo archives, finding an appropriate image and then applying a relevant lenten Bible passage. It’s been fun and hopefully inspiring to those who see the images.

See my screencast below where I cover searching Instagram and a quick walkthrough of Adobe Spark Post.

Application/audience

Pictures are a powerful medium, and with the proper inspiration and tools, you can take advantage of them in your online endeavours. I’d suggest considering using seasonal images in almost any digital postings you make:

1. Sermon or Bible Study series promotion
2. Short devotional thoughts on social media sites
3. As a lead image in a long form blog post, similar to this one
4. Just sharing on image sharing sites like Instagram or Pinterest where people can “like” or even better, share with their friends
5. Change your profile picture to a seasonal image that sends a spiritual message

Related resources

Besides Adobe Spark, there are any number of image creation tools that allow you to upload your own image or find an existing one, then overlay text in creative ways. Two that come to mind are Canva and PicMonkey. Another place to find inspiration are through sites like Outreach, where you can purchase entire campaigns or program…or just search through their resources that might spark other ideas for your ministry.

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