I’m in the process of moving and cleaning out old files. I found some old youth group newsletters from the late 90s, run off on bright-neon paper.
Back in the dark ages—just 10 years ago—every month, I took the time to write, copy, fold, address, and stamp an actual letter with all the dates, times, and encouragements that I hoped would be read and posted on the fridge door. That seems so ancient now that we can text an event or word of encouragement in an instant! An upgrade from the printed newsletter, the email newsletter is now just great for parents, but as you know, way too old school for most of our students.
Most students I know don’t even check their regular email unless they are required to for school or a particular class. They use Facebook and IM, but most of all, they text. Thanks to being in youth ministry for a long time, I’ve actually been on Facebook longer than my teenage sons. It’s a little scary to be friends with some of their friends, but I believe that social media—with good boundaries—is really the way we can best communicate with our students because that's where our students really live. We have to be good at communicating in their world and understand how they receive information, not expecting them to relate to our world even if it’s not much older than their own. And we need to be able to use and understand these tools as well as they do!
Sadly, this isn’t the case for some in ministry. They are still fighting the Internet is of the devil battle and are thus losing the ability to just keep in touch and build relationships with their students, much less help students connect with God.
A couple of years ago, I spoke with a youth worker from North Carolina who was banned from Facebook because her church leadership felt it was not a godly form of communication. She wasn’t even supposed to have her own Facebook page, much less use online communication of any kind for her students. I asked her what they were so afraid of and realized they were burying their heads in the sand, avoiding and/or denying the major cultural shift that has taken place in the last few years.
While I’m not a big fan of how much time we all can spend getting sucked into vortex of the Internet, especially Facebook, I do know that in order to communicate in a relevant way, these are the tools we need to use because, whether we like it or not, Facebook and the cell phone are how students connect, and if I’m honest, it’s more likely to be by phone through texting than even on the computer.
I decided to do a little research among my youth ministry Facebook friends and see how they’re using Facebook, etc., to communicate with their students. Here’s a sample of what they said:
Patty Kernstock, Lutheran youth pastor, writes:
I use both texting and fb. I have a giant whiteboard in my office telling me who has what (because not all kids have either or both)! I find fb very effective, particularly in a large congregation, for last-minute events, where things have to be publish ready really early in the week. Example: We did a laser tag day (nothing says Christian fellowship like let’s run around in the dark, shooting each other!), and I got 2 students from the bulletin and 23 from the fb announcement. We don’t have a youth page, per se, but I do have one for our students doing a particular trip.
Jim Holland, youth pastor in New Orleans, writes:
We have a Facebook page and create events using FB. It connects with about 70% of the active teens. We also use a mass text system (http://www.txtsignal.com) to broadcast important information for our events. But that only works if they sign up for it. Teens don't read email at all anymore. We can send out messages to all members through FB as well. We do not encourage anyone to sign up for FB. But since teens are using it and are going to use it then I'm not going to ignore it out of principle. It's a way for us to connect. But, I expect parents of church kids to know what their kids are doing on the Internet (thus help them to protect their personal information and be aware of predators).
Like Jim, I believe it’s our job as leaders to help our students learn to use the Internet and their cell phones in responsible ways. We need to help them see the power of these communication tools and how this power can be used for good or can be abused. We can also help them see the differences between online communication and real, face-to-face relationships. We can and we need to help students learn to communicate and build real friendships, not just Facebook ones; and help them understand the importance of community in real time, not just in the virtual.
And don’t forget all the great ways we can use the tools online and on the phone to help them connect with Jesus in a new way too…like my student who texts me and 60+ friends a Bible verse and thought each day, or my friend who texts “I’m praying” to all his students at a specific time each day.
Also, check out some of my favorite websites, just to name a few:
Sacred Space
Sacred Gateway
Bible Gateway
ReJesus
24-7 Prayer
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I would not say that I am a novice when it comes to social media, but in no way am I an expert either. However, as a person who wants to be a continual learner about the effective uses of social media, I believe I can offer some voice about social media and its uses for ministry. From this perspective, I also hope that I can speak to those people who are less sophisticated about the uses of social media, as well as those who are more sophisticated, and perhaps give them more of a layperson’s point of view so they can have compassion and sympathy for us plebeians. So, here is my take on social media.
For starters, most are probably familiar with the term social media but may need some help coming up with a precise definition. I have to admit I had to go online to find a definition. From Wikipedia, I found this: “Social media is a term used to describe the type of media that is based on conversation and interaction between people online.”
Second, as part of an older church that is more conservative in its theology, I often have interactions with folks who think various things are sinful or inappropriate for church use. One of my favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 10:31, where Paul says, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” As I examine the context and words of Paul, I understand him to be saying that more than what you do, it is about how you do things, for the glory of God. Hence, when parents tell me their children are on the Internet too much (which is probably true) then ask whether they should cut off Internet access at home, I always remind them of the positive uses of the Internet at home (such as for homework!). Essentially, I am telling them that it is not so much the Internet that is the problem but how it is being used. In that same way, as I see social media, I would not say we should view it as evil or good, but we should look at how we can use it, particularly for the glory of God.
This reminds me of something I just read. In the winter 2010 issue of Leadership, there is a quote by Michael Buckingham, who notes that “the Internet isn’t powerful because it connects you to information but because it connects you to other people.” Thinking further back in the history of youth ministry, I remember a thought contrasting relational ministry vs. programming, which noted that programs are just a means to an end. We may take this latter thought for granted now, but there was a time when youth ministry had forgotten that programs were just means to deeper relationships. Ultimately, these are just examples that make me think about social media and how someone like me—stuck between being a novice and expert—can use social media for the glory of God.
Ultimately then, in having used and in continuing to use social media for the glory of God, I really believe it has blessed our youth group in this—connections to people. In other words, in light of Michael Buckingham’s quote above, social media has really helped our youth group connect. About two years ago, I challenged myself and our volunteers to write Facebook posts on at least five students’ pages a day for one year. I don’t know how that may sound to some of you (crazy, stupid, madness), but I can tell that the daily ritual of writing to them was a true means to an end…which led to many deeper responses, deeper conversations, and deeper connections. In other words, Facebook became a way to connect more deeply to students.
Similarly, social media has allowed our group to connect by sharing prayer requests, Scripture, and encouragement with one another through different pages our youth group has made together. Moreover, it has been a good tool to welcome newbies to our group and get out the word about events and activities of our youth group (and to parents too). I know there are so many more uses for it, but even in these ways, social media has been a great tool for our youth group.
Finally, a few quick thoughts deal with some cons of using social media. First, some students (believe it or not) still may not have social media outlets. Thus, you have to consider how you can connect with them. Second, students (and parents) may not be consistent about checking it. Thus, you have to have ways to make sure your social media outlet is connecting with them. Finally—and I have heard this from many students and parents—there are parents and students who check the social media outlet of their youth group, but youth workers are not consistent and committed in their use of it. Hence, if you set it up, make sure to be committed in your use of it so people will have a reliable source of interaction and information.
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Paul Sheneman
The timing of this question is appropriate as Facebook's marketing team is reeling from the backlash over privacy concerns. Couple that with the buzz in the blogosphere over a rumored mass exodus of users from the social networking giant, and we are afforded the perfect time to discuss the essence of and engagement with social media.
We should begin by viewing social media as a technology. Blogs, microblogs, vlogs, glogs, forums, video sharing, picture sharing, and wikis are just a few of the social media technologies. As a technology, social media promises to enhance human functions or traits. It specifically seeks to improve human relationships by virtualizing interactions and collaborations. Social media, along with advancements in hardware and wireless communication, breaks down the barriers of time and space, allowing for instant and constant communication between people.
It is easy to observe that social media has delivered on its promised enhancement. Our current adolescent generation is growing up online. They talk about their "social network," which refers to people they know strictly through the Internet (Have you seen that creepy Microsoft® Kin commercial?). They give social gestures such as link, friend, dig, tweet, tag, add, like, and follow in an instant to people all around the world. They upload stories, images, and videos of their life in real time. They can give running commentary on a plethora of activities and events that are happening thousands of miles away from them. As youth workers, the question that follows is, What are our students learning from their use of social media?
Naming the Unreal: The prophets had the difficult task of naming the unreal to those who believed otherwise. For Israel, Amos declared that their religious practices, which were believed to be a sign of faithfulness to God, were actually hollow acts because they did not lead to justice for the oppressed. For our students, we must point out the "unreal" which social media peddles. Specifically, they believe social media produces community, connection, and relationships. However, the unreal is that all interactions produced by social media are disembodied or "virtual community."
The problem with virtual community is that it is not human community. We cannot hope to separate the self from the body and believe that what results is authentic humanity. Our bodies ground us in a specific place and provide us the means of interacting with people. Social media provides us with a technological buffer. It promises interactions with other people, but what we actually get are interactions with technology. Therefore, it provides a way for a person to collaborate with content and interact with objects. It does not provide a human (self and body) encounter with another person.
Practicing the Real: We cannot simply stop at naming the unreal for students, though. We need to move on to experience community as God intended. So we attempt to cultivate practices which open us up to being community. Hospitality, prayer, singing praise to God, keeping Sabbath, and other Christian practices are means by which we learn authentic human relationship.
Extensions of the Real: Though community cannot be realized through social media, I do believe that students can extend Christian practices through social media. They can participate in the virtual community in ways that point to reality.
Three elements to aid our discernment of social media practices are Christian practices, relationality, and contextuality. First, Christian practices inform our imaginations in discerning ways to interact with others. For instance, what implications does keeping Sabbath have on constant tweeting? Second, relationality emphasizes the need for social media practices to have their origin and end in a community. In other words, are our teens sharing stories and images from their days to keep up with friends, or are they trying to "meet" people? Finally, contextuality emphasizes the need to see social media practices, like any practice, as being embedded in God's story. Thus, we should be asking ourselves, Is my social media practice a participation in what God is doing in the world?
Paul is a youth pastor at Grandview Church of the Nazarene and is well versed in technology. He has been involved in youth ministry for 10 years and lives in Kansas City with his wife and their newborn son.
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http://mashable.com/2010/06/17/facebook-connect-fail/