Posted by Matt Harrell on March 5th, 2009 In the last week I have gleaned a stronger vision for what I think churches really want from online technology. They just don’t know it.
Social media, social networking, Facebook, Twitter…churches are being bombarded by a slew of social technologies and online tools to help build “community” and connect their members and staff. It’s absolutley mind-boggling how fast all this technology is moving and being adopted. Churches are looking around asking not only What? but also Why?
Churches are hiring consultants to come in and establish a social media plan for their church. In the words of Lee Corso (ESPN’s College Gameday) “Not so fast, my friend”. The market is flooded with social media gurus who simply aren’t *that* at all. Be careful before you pay someone to teach you about social media that takes your money and provides no value. Or perhaps even worse, plugs your church into the grid, only to find out that it doesn’t line up with your church’s vision and value. Churches are being advised to put together a plan and execute it accordingly. But so many churches and other organizations act without really, really thinking about what they want.
What I’m hearing is that churches definitely want private online groups for their ministries, small groups, teams and staff. Internally, churches want to use the power of the internet for logistics, planning, coordinating and communicating. But the other big one that some churches don’t even realize they want or need right now is the ability to communicate with other churches! Learn from other churches, share resources with other churches, and generally learn from each other. After all this is what this “social” media thing is really all about…the sharing of information, ideas and networking. And if churches are sharing information and strategies isn’t this a good thing for the Kingdom? I think so.
What do you think? What does your church use social networking or online technology for? What do you want to see with online technology for churches? What do you think about partnering with and sharing with other churches as opposed to competing against them?
I believe the concept of churches sharing information with other churches, is a much needed concept that will be critical for the church’s survival in the 21st century. That is part of my reasoning behind establishing the Issachar Network (http://issacharnetwork.org), to communicate what the Global Christian Community is thinking, praying, and doing in real time.
With video communication solutions dropping at phenomenal rates, along with the growing ease of machine translation and crossing language barriers, the possibility and the need for mutual communication to respond to social change will only increase.
Thanks Daniel. I will definitely check out the Issachar Network. Good stuff.
Good stuff Matt. I work for a Christian non-profit and Im not an online or social media expert. But what I learned when engaging in online technology is to slow down, don’t just jump right in. Its good to really think deep of your objectives first. Research through listening online is also important to know where people are, what they say about your church or organization and what they need. With this in place the church can build an effective technology or social media strategy to meet their online goals. @JasonBruce or @BreakPointPFM.
Good point about listening first. Just like one should read a lot before they begin to write, one should listen a lot before taking a serious plunge into social media. Especially if your entire organization’s reputation is at stake.