Much like we talked about last week, the use of the Internet is growing! No longer is the Internet being used by a small minority of the population out there, we are becoming the majority.
That being true, do we capitalize on it in a way that builds community with the people we are doing ministry with? In a way that grows the Kingdom by strengthening the core community in our ministires?
Some great (FREE) tools out there now are in “social networking.” These are the Twitter and Facebook people that share their days/lives online with friends via short text updates, photos and even videos, online! 
Tragically, the most common uses of these tools in our ministries come mostly from the ‘bloggers’ or the ‘techies.’ Which is great, but I can’t help but wonder why don’t we use these tools more!? Especially in Childrens ministry with our volunteers?!?
In ministry we want to know our team!! Not just as ‘a team’ but know the individuals of that team! We want to know how life is going, what challenges they are having and just share life with them!
The best way to do this is, and always will be, face to face! At the same time, in between those face to face gatherings, it would be great to have a way to share life with them beyond that! One of the great things that Twitter and Facebook open up, is the ability to do just that!
So many of our volunteers use Facebook and/or Twitter and they are posting how life is going! They are allowing us to be a part, but we’re probably missing it! These FREE tools open up so many possibilities for our teams…
- Us sharing our life & what God’s teaching us through our updates
- Volunteers sharing their lives & what God’s teaching them through their updates
- Starting groups to generate team conversations online
- Public praise!
- Getting the team to share their lives & what Gods teaching them to each other (this can be one of the most challenging things to generate in our teams)
- Celebrating birthdays
- Creating a greater accountability & even a means of ‘life inspection’
I could go on and on, but you see my point…it can really help us a lot! However, please hear me, I’m not saying we should…
- Use this as our main means of community, in person & being with our teams, is always best
- Be social networking stalkers or encourage that behavior
Gettting started is as easy as a mass email that casts some vision & shares your Facebook/Twitter info! It will take time, but people will respond, stay at it!!
Truth is, it can be a great way to share life! Our teams are already tapped in, are we?
Just what I’m learning…