Tag Archive for: Culture/Social Media

Can Ministry Have Two Worlds?

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It’s quite amazing to watch everyone get bit by the social media phenomena. I think about every pastor I know is on Facebook and Twitter; and if they’re not on it yet, I guarantee you they are talking with their staff about putting their profiles up very soon.Part of this online and social media phenomenon is that you don’t have to look very hard to find news or information; it finds you! It used to be if I wanted to know what was going on in my community, my church or in the world I would have to go out and seek information. But, now it finds me! It finds me on my Facebook, my Tweet Deck and on my phone. This new wave of interaction with people and information has quickly changed media and our culture. So, with that being said how will this effect how we do ministry?

Can you really reach and impact people in 140 characters or less? Can your Facebook profile and personal brand across different social media platforms be used to spread God’s Love and Hope to hurting people? Can ministry be divided into two worlds – Online & Offline?  Could it be possible to lead an online ministry that impacts thousands of people every day? The answer of course is YES!

I’ve been pleased to see so many ministry leaders embrace the online world and social media as a tool to bring awareness and connect with people; but I think it will get deeper than that. I think new ministry terminology will be created.

For example, LifeChurch.tv has coined a new word that we can add to this new terminology for Online Ministry:  Digital Missions. They have learned how to intersect pornographic viewers by placing ad’s on Google about LifeChurch.tv. These days, you can reach any audience you want. LifeChurch.tv wanted to reach individuals who are at home looking at porn. So, through Google ad’s they intersected porn viewers. So instead of seeing naked women, they would see and hear the Gospel message of hope and love right into their homes, computers or i-phones. Testimonies have flooded in on how men have been turning their hearts to Christ.

The online community is a dark world and it’s a mission field. What can your church do right now to reach people online in your community and around the world? What will be your digital mission? Or, what can be your digital ministry?

Your Thoughts?

Social Media Revolution – The Landscape has Shifted

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The media landscape has shifted dramatically in the past 4-5 years and even more so in the past 1-2 years. The flow of communication, information and media isn’t a one-way channel anymore, it’s a two-way channel. Watch the video below. It will be interesting to watch how it impacts the church and ministry leadership landscape.

(Guest Blogger: Micah Davis) Twitter + Live Experiences = @ParaTweet

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A lot of folks have asked me how to utilize Twitter at their live experiences. With most applications centered around the web or phone, there hasn’t been much in the way of an answer. Hence the decision to build http://ParaTweet.com. (@ParaTweet)

ParaTweet is a real-time, full screen display of tweets pulled from any #tag or search term(s). It also provides powerful moderation capabilities that allow for any tweet to be approved or disapproved prior to showing on the screen. Since #tags aren’t exclusive for use, they can often come with:

•    Inappropriate content (profanity)
•    Irrelevant content (other folks using the #tag for other purposes)
•    Spam (when a #tag becomes popular…in come the spammers)

This is where ParaTweet’s moderation and filtering really helps out by only displaying relevant and appropriate tweets to a live audience. It has been used by the Catalyst West Coastand Catalyst One Day conferences.

Pastors could use it for Q&A with the audience. It could also be run between services to help facilitate community and ministry announcements. And rumor has it that there are several new features in the pipeline for ParaTweet, but those will have to wait for another time. Until then, enjoy!

Micah Davis is the co-founder of ParaTweet and Roov.com. He is a creative social entrepreneur and non-profit activist. He attends Gateway Church in Dallas, TX. You can follow him on Twitter @mdavis.