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5 Ways Church Planters can Use Social Networking Media like FaceBook and MySpace in Outreach
By chris | July 10, 2007
Church planters can use Social Networking media like MySpace and FaceBook as a tool for reaching people in their target audience and could potentially build contacts for a core group in a church plant. Consider this, not only can you develop a target audience persona profile like I mentioned in the last post on MinistryCOM, a church planter could also make contacts for a new church start.
1. Build a space featuring the church plant and links to the new church’s website. Put a little of your personal testimony and blog updates about what is going on at the new church plant. Start a group with your new church’s name and post events about your church on your space. (Be sure to keep the surfer’s perspective in mind as you write copy!) Add other content, like videos, sermon audio, pictures from happenings at the new church, links to spiritually refreshing websites, etc
2. Invite all the members on your core group church planting team to be your “friends”. Your church planting team should join you as missionaries on the web and help you reach out to people on the Internet just the same as they help you reach out in your community.
3. Invite people who fit your target audience profile to become your friends or join your groups. It is easy using the advanced browse features of the social networking sites, browse for people who live in the vicinity of the church plant using zip codes of communities near where you are planting the church. See how MySpace does this.
4. Be a genuine social network community member. People on social networking sites are suspicious of people with too much of an agenda, so develop real online friendships. If you make a good connection with people online by being a respectful encouraging friend, people may become more open to stopping by and paying your church plant a visit. Even if they don’t, you will have started an Internet encourager ministry, and the web needs more people with a ministry mindset online! Remember as you surf, you can also be an evangelist online.
5. Update your space with regular, relevant information frequently. Be a spiritual resource person. Make the conversation two-way just as you would in face-to-face conversations. Be careful to respect people’s privacy if they come to your with prayer requests or questions.
Topics: Tips Right Now |