Berita NECF Newletters

Churches and Social Media

Description: THERE are two types of people in this digital age: Digital immigrants and digital natives.

Churches and Social Media

by Eugene Khoo

 

THERE are two types of people in this digital age: Digital immigrants and digital natives. Digital immigrants are those like myself, who grew up without most of the technology that digital natives, like children today, are accustomed to. They have a myriad of gadgets at their disposal and many use more than one.

I like to call digital natives the i-Generation. They are all about connecting and networking through media channels, expressing feelings and personal opinions with a candidness many from the older generation are not used to. The latest of these media channels is social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ (that's Google Plus, for the uninitiated).

It is no surprise then, that Facebook, the popular social networking site, is the third largest "country" in the world by population count. Malaysia is one of the leading countries in terms of social networking with almost 13 million Facebook users. According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), this 13 million represents almost half our internet users and over 46% of the population. The average Facebook user spends over 16 hours per month, has 130 friends and is connected to over 80 groups or events. They also create or share almost a hundred pieces of content monthly. And Facebook is only one network. What about blogs, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and more?

 

Where's the church?

The new media frontier is where the church needs to make its presence felt. How does the church today compete for attention with everything else available through these devices and media? Many pastors are unsure of the new media and where to even start. I personally feel that churches ought to at least experiment with the new media. It is a new frontier and the Great Commission did call us to go to the ends of the earth. False teachings, false religions and misinformation are moving in quickly online and gaining followers. The global nature of this new frontier makes it even more important for churches everywhere to plant their stakes.

Today, it is entirely possible to connect with a complete stranger with a sermon via audio or video streaming and then "connect" with them on social networks like Facebook to follow up with a conversation. As social channels were created for connecting and befriending, ultimately, these channels can be used to share the Gospel.

 

Engagement

Today, it is no longer enough to just have a church website, assuming your church already has one. The key word from social media experts is "engagement". Online engagement via the new media is one way the Word is spread. The possibilities in bringing your church into the digital age are endless, from web-cast sermons to connecting church members and seekers online. But how long will all this take and who will do it? Should we be looking at developing new media pastors and full-time workers?

Understandably, investing time and resources to engage through social media is a big challenge with pastors and church resources already spread thin. There are no easy answers nor a one-size-fits-all solution. However, even if you ask large corporations, you'll find that most of them are also experimenting with new media. It's unchartered territory where users define the rules and strategies.

Here are some simple options that can be starting steps for any church. Not all will apply and churches will need to decide what is most appropriate for them:

  1. Podcast or stream your sermons. This is a simple way to have your message online and it's easily shared with friends.
  2. Blog. A blog can keep congregation members up to date with various happenings in church. Regular updates also raise your church's website rankings on search engines like Google. This makes your church website easy to find in online searches.
  3. Facebook. The 13 million Malaysians on Facebook mean that one in three Malaysians you are trying to reach will be using this platform. Consider these reach statistics. A local Petaling Jaya church initiated their Facebook page and gathered just 120 fans (people who 'liked' the page). With this number of fans, they could already potentially reach 42,000 people (friends of fans). If Lady Gaga can go viral and spread on Facebook, why can't we make the Gospel go viral, too?
  4. Twitter. Used by about half a million Malaysians, Twitter is good for issuing alerts on new postings to your blog, website, new sermons and more.
  5. YouTube. This video-sharing site is great for spreading video messages, special services or even trailers to invite people to that special Easter play your church worked so hard to produce.

 

The human touch

For all the exciting possibilities of new media, it is important to retain the human touch and to remember that there is a real person with feelings and a free will behind an avatar or an online pseudonym. In the social media context, it means that Christians should be mindful of the language or "Christian-speak" that we so easily slip into within church circles. People want to be treated and spoken to as people; we can't keep on referring to non-Christians as "lost" anymore than we ourselves would like to be called "infidels" by another religion. And connecting over social media should not be a substitute for personal fellowship that is so much a part of being a community of believers.

The role of social media in the church's context is to "connect" people who know and love Jesus to those who don't. The uniqueness of social media is making this personal connection with individuals in full view of a public, mass market audience.

For churches to navigate the online frontier, I find wisdom in Matthew 6:33 which calls us to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness. For churches, social media platforms are just tools to be used ultimately for God's kingdom, and not as an end in itself.

 


Eugene Khoo is a hyperactive-creative who can't really sit still. He has over 15 years in all things technology, web and customer experience management (now extending to Social Media). His passion is visual story telling in a visually rich world created by our God. He believes churches should do more to engage the online world where some people now spend more time in than in the real world. He is the owner of Xenitude Sdn Bhd and co-owner of EKML Visuals. His free time is mostly spent with his lovely wife and little son.



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