This question could be framed a bit differently, because social media and new technologies are changing church ministries. I’ve experienced this firsthand. Through my blog, Twitter, Facebook, and other forms of social media I have made connections with people unexpectedly, leveraged some of those connections, and engaged in conversations I would not otherwise have had. As one qualification, I would not ever say that my online interactions constitute my ministry, but they are part of what I am doing as a disciple of Jesus.
I’m looking for resources on how social media and new technologies are changing church ministry. I’m looking for blog posts, web forums, books, articles, as well as the perspective of practitioners who do not host a blog or other web forum but could comment on how church ministries have leveraged social media or some other form of technology in a way they find helpful and/or detrimental.
Please leave links, insights, references, etc. This isn’t just for kicks–this is for a project. And if you can help me out, I would appreciate it.
I’ve read “Here Comes Everybody” by Shirky and “The Starfish and the Spider” by Brafman Beckstrom. They are not church-based but include some examples of the Church’s new role and need to respond to distributed Web 2.0 communications.
…and I blog about such things often, so feel free to check out the link above!
Tonymorganlive.com has alot of good blog posts, book reviews, and ideas for this exact topic.
Ben: A couple months ago, I learned thirdhand that one of our church members was having some medical problems. I phoned. No response. I emailed. No response. Then I just happened (do things “just happen” in God’s economy?)to go onto my Facebook account (where she is a “friend”). She had posted about her medical issue. I commented. She commented back. I commented with a short prayer for her healing. Facebook = a ministry tool.
One other example: The prayers in the 40 Days of Prayer Campaign have been a joy to my spirit. And I never would have known anything about that without Facebook.
I consider social media another way of incarnational ministry — another way of being present.
give me a shout when i get back in country sunday. or you can peruse my categories of links on delicious. http://www.delicious.com/gavoweb i’ve been trying to keep that going better this past year, so there is good stuff in the ‘social media’ and/or ‘church’ technology categories i am sure.
Thanks all. Good stuff so far. Gavin, I’ll follow up with you soon.
If you have other friends that can help please pass along my request!
I’ve recently launched a new blog (mediumdeep.com) on the subject of media and spirituality. I have not yet taken steps to make it available to my (relatively small) target audience. I seek to bring a critical eye to technophilia and technophobia within the church and to develop a more mature framework for the evaluation of the strengths and limits of technology in the contexts of ministry.