Call it what you may but facebook has become one of the most widely used forms of communication around the world. It is the perfect example of how social networks can bloom in so many ways that they build themselves into a necessity.
In it’s early days social networks like myspace and facebook were seen as juvenile and just for young college students to keep in touch with each other. Now everyone from seniors in college to seniors who are retired are utilizing social networks easy applications to reach out and touch many people almost simultaneously.
The church is not an institution that is usually involved in gimmicky technology, or platforms that are used for entertainment so why would they use something like facebook? Today we find that not only is the church more mainstream and across many genres but facebook is helping them fill those communication gaps.
When worship service is canceled because of the weather, someone in the congregation needs prayer with urgency, or there is an opportunity for members of the congregation, how fast or effectively can the congregation be reached? Some communication methods have become past time and today it is more important to diversify the methods in which the church communicates.
Worship alone has broken many barriers as of recently, from the emergence of christian hip hop movements, to social clubs for young worshipers, praise is multi-lateral today and this is being recognized by some churches today.
More and more of the congregation is popping up on facebook and twitter, they are using it to share a lot of information that would normally be featured in the weekly church bulletin but much faster.
Facebook of course is not the ultimate tool, and of course not 100% of the congregation will be part of the network. But in its own way, it can be a great tool to help create awareness of the happenings of any church community and utilized to do what is most important, spread the WORD.
One of your most important “friends” may be your Pastor.
