How To Use Social Networking Tools More Effectively In Your Ministry. . . .

Social Networking. . . good or bad? It depends on the person using it. Like everything in life, we can use things to the glory of God, or we can use them to the glory of the world, the flesh, and the devil. With our default setting locked in on sinful self-promotion and narcissism, we really need to be careful. . . . and our kids are watching. We must be very, very intentional about modeling healthy and redemptive social networking habits, thereby nurturing kids into faithful use of these potentially great and potentially destructive tools.

It's these realities and a host of horrible stories that have prompted us to launch our Digital Kids Initiative here at CPYU. As we've been spreading the word, we've had some youth workers step up and share with us some ways that they've been intentionally redemptive about their use of social networking in their ministries. Kevin Vinay is one of those youth workers. Kevin's been very intentional and careful about how he integrates this stuff into his youth ministry at Pleasant Hills Community Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. In fact, Kevin stepped up and sent us some great stuff that I want to share with you today. Here's what Kevin's come up with. At the end, you'll find a link to a pdf Kevin put together that you can download and reference as you seek to integrate social networking into your youth ministry redemptively. Thanks Kevin!

The vast majority of teenagers in our ministry (and across our nation) use Facebook and text messaging as their primary forms of communication with peers. Because of this, our youth ministry staff makes great efforts to reach teenagers from our community by using these popular communication tools to their fullest potential. Here are few basic ideas to begin using Facebook and text messaging more effectively in order to proclaim the gospel to a greater number of students:

USING FACEBOOK:
First, create a Ministry “Like” Page. Tell students from your ministry to “LIKE” your page (do this at every major event!), and continually remind them to invite their Facebook friends to do the same. As the number of students who LIKE your ministry’s page grows, the more free on-screen advertising you’ll have.

Second, post with purpose! Consider the specific reason for each post. Right now, our ministry has committed to two scheduled posts each week. We post an “I Am Second” video at the beginning of each week (purpose: evangelism) and we post pictures and videos directly after our weekly youth group event in the middle of the week (purpose: outreach). “I Am Second” videos share the gospel. The pictures and videos entice students to TAG, LIKE, or COMMENT on our content. This makes our ministry more visible to all of their Facebook friends. We do create posts outside of the weekly plan for special events. But, even these posts have specific purpose and plan, and are high-quality.

Third, post routinely at specific times. Develop a schedule for specific weekly posts. This point is crucial to the effectiveness of your Facebook page! Be as consistent as possible with the day and time of your weekly posts. This creates a rhythm for your content. Once students realize that rhythm exists, they may begin looking for the Monday night video (our “I Am Second” video) or Wednesday night photos (our mid-week event content). Create and share your posts at a time when the majority of your students are online – probably later in the evening – so that there’s a better chance they’ll see it in their newsfeed.

Fourth, make sure your posts are high quality. Content should be clear and creative, fun and informative. Attach a picture to the post. Make a short, funny video instead of just typing out a message (flip-cams are a good investment). Catch their attention. It doesn’t have to win an art contest or a Grammy, but it should be worth viewing.

Fifth, tell students to give feedback in your post. Studies show that people will give more feedback on Facebook if they’re told to do so. Tell students to LIKE the video, TAG the photos, COMMENT and/or SHARE the content in their profile. This increases your ministry’s visibility to more of their friends.

USING TEXT MESSAGES:
First, purchase a group text messaging service. “But it’s expensive,” you say. It’s not too bad, and we’ve found that it’s worth the monthly cost. Plus, if you use texting and Facebook effectively it will reduce the money you spend on postcards and newsletters (and time creating/sending them).

Second, tell your students to sign up (again, at every major event). Our students have signed up for the service, and now we can contact almost ALL of them instantly, and at the same time. We have a sneaking suspicion that students don’t always read their snail-mail (call us crazy!), but we can guarantee they read our text messages!

Third, send event information and reminders. Students are notorious for giving the excuse, “I forgot.” So, remind them about the event just hours – or even minutes – before it begins.

Fourth, consider the timing of your message. Send messages out when you know your students are with friends who aren’t part of your ministry (right after school, during sporting events, etc.). Encourage them to invite those friends to the event that’s coming next.

Lastly, integrate texting with Facebook. So you actually want to spend time with your family on a weeknight instead of sending out a new Facebook message? Fine. Post your info while you’re at work, then schedule a text message for later in the evening that encourages students to check out the Facebook page. Text messaging services should give you the option to schedule future texts.

SOME CLOSING THOUGHTS:
If a new student comes to an event, inviting them to LIKE the Facebook page or sign up for the text messaging service is easy and it connects them to your ministry faster. Communicating with parents can still be done via snail-mail when necessary, although we do have a growing number of parents who look at the content online as well. But, it seems to us that the best way to reach students is to meet them where they are.

We are very cautious about what goes on our page, and several leaders are automatically notified by email as soon as a comment is posted on our page. This helps us delete negative comments very soon after they're posted. I've also followed up with students who have posted negative comments (in person) as a way to foster discussion about online integrity.

You can download Kevin's pdf here.

You can see how Kevin's integrating Facebook into his ministry here.

A Blessed Christmas to You All! . . . Listen and Ponder. . .

The Christmas Story. . . Narrated by Kids. . . Nice. . .

Thanks Mike Flavin, for sending me a link to this. Done by the kids at St. Paul's Church, Auckland, New Zealand. To the rest of you, enjoy. . .

Christopher Hitchens Is Dead. . . How Did You Respond? . . .

In today's fast-paced media-driven world, the news about atheist Christopher Hitchens' death is old. He died last week. We mentioned it in the CPYU office. Then yesterday, Derek Melleby - director of our College Transition Initiative - blogged on Hitchens' death and how atheists have been helpful to him over the years. Derek's blog post is worth a read.

I've been thinking today about Derek's post. Very thoughtful and challenging. In fact, it challenged me in a roundabout way. Just Derek's mention of Hitchens' death reminded me of what I said in the office when I heard that Hitchens died. I remember saying something like, "I wonder what Hitchens believes now?" Fair question. But I'm trying to remember what kind of tone I used when I wondered out loud. Was it a sober and inquisitive tone that reflected grief over the death of someone who as far as we know died without coming to faith in Jesus Christ? Or, was it the more arrogant, proud, and compassion-less tone we so often use when someone who is not for us but against us breaths their last breath? In other words, was I saddened as I pondered the fact that Christopher Hitchens may have gotten what we all deserve? Or, was I gloating in the fact that I believed Christopher Hitchens got what he deserved? I hope it was the former.

We might not talk much anymore about the culture wars. Personally, I think that's a very good thing. But the years so many Christians spent fighting the culture wars (or paying mercenaries to fight the culture wars for them!) have indeed left some remnants that leave us looking less like Christ than what our calling requires. Perhaps that kind of response to Hitchens' death leaves Jesus grieving twice. . . one for Hitchens, and then for us.

Messing With The NHL. . . Or, How I Could Have Screwed Up The Winter Classic. . .

We took a little trip to Philly yesterday. Our humble and small CPYU staff loaded up for a road trip that included lunch and a tour of Citizen's Bank Park. That's the home of the Phillies in case you didn't know. It's also the home of the NHL Winter Classic, the new hockey tradition that's turned into a marketing bonanza for hockey and for all kinds of merchandise. In fact, it was the Winter Classic that made the tour even more interesting.



The field was buzzing with workers assembling the rink. Fascinating to watch. On prior Winter Classic telecasts we've been treated to a time lapse view of the rink assembly process. I can guarantee right now that if you tune in, you'll get to see it again this year. I know because as part of the tour, I went into the Phillies radio broadcast booth. Gone were Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen. They'll be back once the season starts. Sitting on Andersen's desk spot was a TV camera positioned to record what was happening on the field. . . and it was recording. On the camera was a note. You can read the note for yourself. . .



Now, you have to understand that our tour guide was already way down the hallway. Out of sight. I was in the booth with Chris and Derek. Then, something crazy happened. I was magically transported in a moral maturity time machine back to my college days. Once there, all sorts of devious thoughts went through my mind. I even wondered if sticking a small handwritten note of my own in front of the camera for a few seconds would yield some powerful subliminal messaging for the millions of folks who watch the Winter Classic in a little over a week. Don't worry. . . we kept our hands off.

When I got home, I posted this little ditty on Facebook with the picture of the camera: Oh man. . . this was far too tempting!!!! First, the NHL places an unsupervised camera in the Phillies radio broadcast booth to film the construction of the rink for the Winter Classic. Second, they put that sign on it. (It's like saying, "Don't eat the cookies that are in this cookie jar.") Third, they let me into the booth unsupervised! Are you kidding me?!?! I guess you'll just have to watch the time-lapse of the rink setup that the NHL broadcasts on the day of the game. . . .

Ron, a buddy of mine from college, was one of the first to respond. . . with this: You are a man of integrity. I'm sure you would not disobey the sign. Of course, if you need to be reminded that you're a man of integrity you might have some integrity issues! Good call Ron. The two of us exchanged a few more posts, some of them recalling felonious behaviors (felonious now, not then. . . of course!) from those college days.

Ron's little reminder got me thinking about integrity. . . especially in light of everything else I posted this week (Abercrombie&Fitch, Ellen, Sophia Grace, etc.). God made us as complete human beings. The Shalom he built into "all things" (including us) at Creation is the most perfect picture of integrity one could imagine. Now, in the midst of our brokenness and undoneness, we are called to pursue integrity in all things. The dictionary defines integrity as "the quality or state of being complete and undivided."

Divided. . . that's what we are amongst ourselves and within ourselves. It needs to stop. Jesus came into the world to make it stop. That's what we celebrate on Sunday. As His followers, we should do all we can to make it stop. One day, He'll make it stop for good. Until then, we need to humbly and gracefully expose and deal with the lack of integrity. . . without and within.

Cultural Hypocrisy. . . and Abercrombie. . .

Yesterday I blogged about Ellen Degeneres, Nicki Minaj, and the appropriateness of encouraging and celebrating the "Super Bass" worldview among eight and five-year-old kids. I question the appropriateness of the "Super Bass" worldview for anybody.

Yesterday long-time Philly sportswriter, Bill Conlin, stepped down from his job after being accused of sexually abusing children back in the 1970s. The accusations against Conlin are serious - very serious - and so they should be. Sadly, law enforcement agencies across our country are burdened with sexual abuse cases involving children. . . . and it's getting worse.

And yesterday my adult daughter texted me this photo. She took it in an Abercrombie & Fitch store while shopping near Philadelphia. It's a photo of a photo that sits on a fragrance display in the store.



This all got me thinking about just how mixed up and messed up we are as a culture. We stand up and intervene - as we should! - when children are violated and taken advantage of by sexual predators. But then we joyfully and without batting an eye let others prey on children's hearts and minds through imagery, art, song, film, etc. At times, we even applaud it and call it "cute" (see yesterday's blog). I wonder too, if a steady diet of this stuff during the "wonder years" doesn't socialize, nurture, and even create the kind of stuff that law enforcement has to deal with when those children become adults.

The A&F ad should make us think. Kids of all ages paraded through that store the other day. Some were with their parents. Some weren't. Who knows how many glanced at that photo. It's become so common that few, if any (I'm guessing) even stopped to stare. Did anybody even care? But what would have happened if - let's say - a man my age was sitting alone on a bench in the mall just a few feet from the entrance to the A&F store. . . and that man was holding a small copy of that photo in his hand. . . and that man was calling children and teenagers over to the bench to take a peek at his photo? See what I mean?

Perhaps the greatest irony of it all is that A&F has been filled of-late with scores of people buying gifts for others in celebration of the coming of Christ. . . the one who came to undo this mess and bring Shalom.

Crossing The Line With Ellen Degeneres. . . .

I've been thinking about and processing this since October. That's when I first saw the YouTube clips from earlier in the month. Initially, we gathered around our family computer and laughed at the viral clip of little eight-year-old Sophia Grace Brownlee and her five-year-old cousin Rosie. After all, they're cute. . . really cute. But the more I watched the more I squirmed. I kept watching. . . over and over again. . . and the squirming got even worse.

The effervescent little Sophia Grace wound up on The Ellen Degeneres Show after Ellen caught a YouTube clip of Sophia Grace singing away to Nicki Minaj's hit song "Super Bass." Ellen had the two girls perform live on her stage. Hmmmm. . . isn't that song a little naughty??? In true Ellen fashion, Nicki Minaj showed up, sending the little girls into a hysterical fit of joy. Their parents - in the audience - cried tears of joy as well. Then, the trio sang "Super Bass" together. You can watch it all below.





To be honest, you feel like a killjoy when you start to question stuff like this. But we still need to stand back and ask the hard questions. Did Ellen cross a line? Did the parents cross a line? Do we cross a line when we ignore what's really going on to enjoy the cuteness of a couple of little kids, justifying it all by saying, "Come on, they're only little kids"? Do we allow our emotions to trump responsible thinking and critique? I'm afraid we're losing our ability to think critically and Christianly about all of life, a reality which requires us to recapture and relearn skills that evidence discipleship of the mind.

I took some time to think more intentionally about this whole thing. I wrote up a 2-page 3(D) review of these videos of Sophia Grace with Nicki Minaj for our latest edition of ENGAGE. You can download the pdf of my review here. Use it to provoke your own thought. If you're a parent, talk about it with your kids. If you're a youth worker, spend an entire evening looking at, talking about, and thinking through the video clips.

After you read it, I want to know. . . Am I over-reacting? Should we be concerned? Is this evidence of deeper issues in our culture? If so, what are those issues? What do you think?