How much would you be willing to pay for a “magic tool” that could immediately help you understand your community better, increase your ability to engage the strangers around you, give you a convenient way to connect with and encourage the disciples you are making, and assist you in your task of evangelizing those far from Christ? What would a tool like that be worth to you? You probably couldn’t put a price on it—yet it costs nothing. It’s FREE! It’s yours to use … and it’s called “Facebook”.
Before you disconnect from this article, please consider these interesting facts about Facebook:
• It is the 6th most-trafficked Web site in the world.
• It has more than 70 million active users (up from 25 million one year ago).
• Users spend an average of 14 minutes on the site every time they visit (up from eight minutes six months ago). Most users visit multiple times each day.
• It is adding an average of 125,000 users per day.
• It contains over 55,000 regional, school, or work-related networks.
If that isn’t enough to keep you reading, Facebook isn’t just for college students anymore. Although it began as (and was limited to) a social networking media for college students, now more than half of the users are not college-aged. Its largest and fastest growing demographic is adults over the age of 25.
Mark Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook when he was 21 (he is now 24), insists that Facebook is a tool and only a tool. When you open up the welcome page on the Facebook site, it says: “Facebook is a social utility that connects you with people around you” (emphasis theirs). In the same way you find it beneficial to use utilities like phone service, electric power and water, Facebook can serve your ministry as a helpful utility.
In a cover-story article in Newsweek (August 27, 2007), Zuckerberg gave an interesting quote: “(Facebook)…is a world-changing idea of unlimited potential.” Changing the world sounds like an assignment the Lord Jesus Christ gave to His followers just before He returned to heaven. It stands to reason that we might be wise to use a tool that is designed to be helpful in reaching that goal.
If you are new or a novice to Facebook, I recommend you sign-up and explore the site (www.facebook.com). At the sign-up page, click on the “ABOUT” link at the bottom of the screen to learn more about the site. Chris Forbes has written an excellent e-book (see link below) entitled Facebook for Pastors which is a great introduction to the utility and to using it in ministry. By far, the best way to learn Facebook is to “facebook” (now a verb as well as a noun).
I want to explore with you several ways Facebook can be used to assist in your church planting and ministry activities. Facebook should not determine the activities you do or the way you spend your time. It should simply be used to further the tasks and goals to which you are already committed.
EXAMINE YOUR COMMUNITY. After you have exhausted the standard demographic and population research for your community, why not use Facebook to help you get a more personal glimpse of individuals in your area? Facebookers join groups. By regularly exploring these groups you will begin to get a sense of the interests, activities, and causes in your own backyard. For example, a quick search for my community of just under 6,000 people revealed a wealth of information:
• There was a group of 75 people interested in helping to save a local lake from the drought.
(I actually think they were trying to save their “party spot” for the summer.)
• There was a group of 72 people supporting a “Walk for Diabetes”.
• There was a political party group with more than 50 people.
• There were more than 150 people who hate the congestion on our local commuter highway.
• A group of 76 people were supporting a young lady going to Cambodia on a mission trip.
In addition to these, 15 groups had formed around existing churches or youth groups, one group was boycotting a local coffee shop, and there was even a white-supremacy group searching for members. Admittedly, this is very informal research, but it provides me with a revealing understanding of those I call my neighbors.
ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE. Since Facebook is all about connecting with people, it’s an excellent way to establish friendships and nurture relationships within your community. As you join groups in your area (or start new ones), you can gain “friends” by inviting them to be your friends on Facebook. These relationships can be developed around similar interests and experiences. The perceived anonymity of social networking encourages people to open up and reveal personal things about themselves. You can connect with people who “love the home team”, “can’t get enough of the local chicken wings”, or “have seen every Bette Midler movie”. Opportunities for community service and involvement flow throughout the groups. If a group forms in your community to clean up a vacant lot next Saturday, you can show up and rub shoulders with people who have the same passion.
ENCOURAGE YOUR DISCIPLES. Facebook is an exceptional method for connecting with and encouraging the people you are making into disciples. Lots of college and youth groups have discovered the value of this media for communication and promotion of events and programs. Why not form a closed group that can only be joined by those you approve? Use some of the powerful and creative applications available on the Facebook platform that share studies and thoughts, track progress, or provide levels of accountability. Have a daily meeting with each person using the Facebook chat function. While this approach could never replace the important, face-to-face interaction, it can provide a consistent and convenient method to express care and nurture on a regular basis.
EVANGELIZE THE LOST. The ultimate task of every church planter is to help connect those who are lost to God. Facebook can be one of the places you conduct that activity. Friends can be made and groups can be established for the purpose of giving God the opportunity to use you to connect people to Jesus. These relationships can give non-believers a safe environment in which to explore spirituality and hear from a believer in a neutral setting. In a day and age when Christians find it harder and harder to connect with those far from Christ, Facebook can be one vital link.
EXCHANGE IDEAS. Facebook is a very functional place to connect with other church planters and pastors for the exchange of ideas. You can involve yourself in chats with individuals or conversations with a group of people on a discussion board. The interactive features of Facebook make it extremely easy to post what you have read or are reading and even give a quick review of the book or blog. It’s simple to put a Web link on your Facebook page that would steer your friends to sites you found beneficial to your life or ministry. Facebook currently contains over 200 groups dedicated solely to connecting people interested in church planting.
Whenever a new opportunity presents itself, skepticism always accompanies it. As you entertain the prospect of using Facebook in church planting activities, be sure to proceed with all the caution and discernment you employ in every other decision. Start small and enjoy little victories. Happy Facebooking!
I'd love to hear how your church is utilizing social media to connect and communicate with people. What types of social media do you use, what has worked, and what hasn't worked?
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