Matt Carlisle is a self-described "evangelist for web and social media" who previously served as the executive designer, producer and editor of UMC.org, the official website of The United Methodist Church. He founded Big Heart Design, a web and social media strategy consulting firm, and recently wrote about the importance of local congregations training members to become "your greatest social media advocates." Specifically, he suggests churches would benefit from offering Read More …
Social Media
New Ways of Being Church (#0365)
One of many signs of the increasing awareness of the importance of technology for ministry was The Clergy Journal's April/May 2011 edition's theme: Technology and Community: Building Community. Keith Howard, past executive director of the Emerging Spirit initiative of the United Church of Canada, and Aaron McCarroll Gallegos, executive producer of wondercafe.ca, contributed an article entitled "Technology and Community Building," which includes these challenging words: Social media Read More …
WWJD With Social Media in Ministry? (#0353)
G. Elijah Dann, author of God in the Public Square (2010) and an instructor of philosophy and religion for Simon Fraser University's Senior Program, recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post considering what Jesus' ministry might have been like had it occurred during the age of social media. Dann's introduction to the idea begins with the birth of Jesus and his use of MapQuest, GPS, Facebook, Google and Travelocity reminded me of The Digital Story of the Nativity. Additionally, he Read More …
Viral Misattribution (#0352)
On Sunday night, an unusual name appeared on my Twitter stream: Osama bin Laden. Through a number of tweets I learned that the United States military had killed this terrorist and of President Obama's televised address. On Monday morning I found myself paying less attention to social media than I normally do after experiencing several friends who were using uncharacteristically strong language of patriotism and of faith. Later that day, I noticed that a number of friends had posted the Read More …
Most Americans Are Now on Facebook (#0348)
Arbitron and Edison Research have conducted an annual survey focusing on trends in digital platforms since 1988. The 2011 report shows that the majority of Americans aged 12 and older now use Facebook. In three years the percentage of people using Facebook has risen from 8% to 51%. So What? Churches are also getting more involved on Facebook. According to LifeWay Research roughly half (47%) of all congregations now have a presence on Facebook. Creating a Read More …
Thursday + Friday = Maximum Facebook Engagement (#0340)
Buddy Media released "Strategies For Effective Facebook Wall Posts: A Statistical Review" earlier this month, which amounts to a comprehensive analysis of more than 200 of their clients' Facebook pages over a two week period. The full report (available as a free download after registering) features fifteen pages of information including a detailed breakdown by industry of the best days to post. Overall, for all industries considered, the best days for engagement are Thursday and Read More …
The Most Popular “Church Blogs” or Are They? (#0332)
Kent Shaffer is the founder of ChurchRelevance.com, an online resource created to inspire and train ministers to be more relevant and effective, and a volunteer strategist for lifechurch.tv. He recently published his updated list of the "Top 200 "church blogs." His list intrigues me for several reasons, beginning with his methodology, which he describes as follows: Several hundred blogs are reviewed in a preliminary screening to determine if their statistics are competitive enough to be Read More …
No Generation Left Behind: Social Media in Ministry (#0331)
Earlier this year I wrote about generational differences in online activity based on data from a Pew Research Center study that showed how many people in each generation participate in various online activities. The percentage of people who participate in a given category tends to decline from generation to generation, but even the oldest generations still engage in a significant amount of online activity. Increasingly the digital divide or gap between those who Read More …
Who Do You Follow? (#0326)
Recently technology expert Scott McClellan, editor of Collide and director of Echo, asked people to answer a poll about how they determine who to follow on Twitter. As of 11pm EST on April 7, the responses show that almost all respondents (92%) follow "anyone who might add value." Interestingly, of the 116 votes cast only 10 were for another option (4 for "only people I actually know," 3 for "everyone who follows me" and 3 for "as few people as possible." So Read More …
Social Media for Lent: Fast or Engage? (#0308)
Bruce Reyes-Chow is a forty-one year old Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor who serves as founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church, which primarily attracts young adults in their twenties and thirties. He served as the Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the 2.3 million member PCUSA. Serving as the youngest person ever elected to that office, Reyes-Chow became a pioneer in the use of social media in the mainline Protestant world. To connect with Read More …