Four Basic Guidelines for Engaging with Youth on Social Media

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Connecting with the kids in our ministry on social media makes things even riskier. As their “friend” on Facebook or their “follower” on Twitter, we are offered a candid window into their lives. We are able to see how they talk and interact with their peers, and learn about what they did over the weekend. Often, we’re not going like everything we see. How we react, what we do and what we say matters.

 

An Introduction to Social Media Youth Ministry

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I was a Young Life leader during the height of Myspace’s popularity. Even though I had a Myspace account, I never mustered the courage to use it in my ministry. I was scared. Stories about Myspace predators and scandals kept me from meaningfully engaging with students on the platform. Looking back, I wonder how much more effective I could have been if I used the platform to reach out connect with students. We’ll never know, but I can’t help but imagine how I would’ve used the social media tools that are now available to today’s youth ministers and leaders.

 

 

Use Social Media to Celebrate Baptism

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During my conversation with Meredith, she told me about her recent wedding and how she made a real-life event, a completely social experience. She shared the whole story in her book Getting #Married: Using Social Media to Celebrate the Sacred. In short, it’s an excellent guide for planning and sharing your wedding using social media. However, it also challenged me to think more deeply about how the church can use social media to celebrate and share the sacred outside of the four church walls.

 

 

A Beginner's Guide to Google + For Ministry and Outreach

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Google + is a Facebook and Twitter milkshake. The best qualities of the two leading platforms were combined to create a very compelling, new social network. As you might imagine, Google put it’s own spin on the platform, layering in some seriously powerful features. If I were to describe it to you in one word, I would say “clean”. They’ve even spared us the advertising (for now). Many early adopters (myself included) are excited about where the platform is heading. Even though few have gone “all-in” on Google +, the church still needs to consider it as a viable option for social media ministry.

 

A Beginner's Guide to Twitter for Ministry and Outreach

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Facebook is naturally more accessible. You share stuff you like, with people you like. In comparison, Twitter is like traveling to another planet. Instead of Friends, Status Updates and Conversations you plunge into a world based on Followers, Tweets, Hashtags, Retweets, Lists, Tweetchats, all in 140 characters or less. Where Facebook is based primarily on relational communities (people we know), Twitter is based on communities of shared interest. It’s the best place to meet people who love what you love and do what you do all over the world.

 

What Christians Need to Know About the New Facebook Timeline Profile

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Sometime in the next few weeks, your Facebook profile is going to get a serious makeover. For those of you who haven’t already upgraded to the new “Timeline” profile, Facebook is making the new profile style mandatory for all users. As of right now, only personal profiles will be affected. Like all Facebook changes, the Timeline profile will be adopted, begrudgingly by many Facebook users. There will also be a resurgence of “What was the matter with old Facebook?” posts on your Newsfeed. Rest assured, this new update will make Facebook more beautiful and meaningful.

 

A Guide For Using Facebook to Share Your Faith and Grow Your Church

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That’s right. I used the word “need”. Facebook is the leader in social networking with over 800 million users. Each week more than 3.5 billion pieces of content (status updates, photos, videos, and comments) are shared, making the platform the most visited site on the internet. Even more interesting is that each user is connected to 130 friends and 80 fan pages. We need to be sharing our story of faith in the social media era, and Facebook is the perfect place to start.

 

A Conversation About Religion, Faith, and Jesus is Happening Through Social Media

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Do you hate religion, but love Jesus? A conversation that started on social media, has spilled over into churches, class rooms, and living rooms across the country. The video inspires passion and strong opinions. Many cheer. Many gasp. Many shrug their shoulders. It is the conversation happening because of the video that is making it famous.