Ministry Through Social Media

Can ministry occur through social media?

Blogs... that's so 7 years ago...

Myspace... that's so 5 years ago...

Facebook... that's so last year...

Twitter... now that's fresh!

Church leaders started with blogs about a decade ago or so. They used as it a way to journal and express their deepest sentiments about God, the Church and ministry in general. Community was found in comments left by the few select who would actually demonstrate their courage by leaving remarks about the blog entry.

Then came Myspace - an inventive way to connect with other people. Sadly, the enemy quickly saw his opportunity to prey on others and infect healthy community interaction.

Facebook was received as the new and improved social website where privacy and protection was upgraded. People developed friendships with old acquaintances from years ago as well as their neighbors. There was a safe, easy way for people to express themselves from behind their monitor. "Come get to know me," shouted the world. "But not too close, only through the distance of the internet."

And now there is Twitter. Community is expressed no longer by friends, but followers. Now, each and every one of us can be leaders! We can lead the world, limited only by profound messages expressed in 140 characters or less.

I have to confess, I've been a part of each and every one of these social media phenomenons. I value them as extensions of the ministry God is doing through me. There's a real danger, though. It's easy to get comfortable doing ministry from a distance - via the safety of the internet. We seem to be saying, "I want to get close to you, but not too close." I truly believe God has used these venues to speak to people and minister to them. Let's face it. I get mentored every day by the top leaders in the Church today, and they don't even know I exist! I connect with my followers by tweeting messages meant to encourage, challenge and lead people to the cross.

Community, connection, relationships, ministry.... Jesus modeled these concepts for us. While we can use all kinds of methods to begin these in our life, there's no substitute for being face-to-face. Let's use social media for God's glory, but let's not forget how and why He designed us - it wasn't to sit behind a computer hiding behind avatars and electrons. We're designed to be the ligaments and tendons, connecting the Body of Christ together through real, not virtual, relationships and community.