Have you heard of these new websites called Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn? Of course you have. They are creating a revolution!
The real question is: Are you utilizing these resources to further the goals of your organization?
Social media is quickly influencing the culture around us, and you cannot easily ignore these websites. Socialnomics.com, a popular social media blog, boldly states that “Social media is not a fad; it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.”
Check out some of the facts that back up this statement:
- 175 million people log in to Facebook every day.
- There are more than 350 million users on Facebook, and this rate has been growing at a rate of more than 40 percent over the past six months.
- If Facebook were a country, it would be the fourth largest in the world.
- The fastest-growing segment of Facebook users is females ages 55 to 65.
- The average number of tweets per day on Twitter is 27.3 million.
- Wikipedia has more than 14 million articles.
- One in eight couples that married last year met on a social media website.
- 80 percent of companies use LinkedIn as their primary resource to find employees.
- YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, and it has more than 100 million videos uploaded by users.
I think it’s fair to say that social media is changing everything! It’s changing the way we interact, the things we do, the stuff we buy and in many ways, who we are. We use social media when we decide where we go, what we do and whom we do it with. Social media has sneaked into so many aspects of our lives without our even realizing it. It is creating a revolution.
In his book, “Crush It,” Gary Vayerchuk states his belief that in today’s world, all someone needs is a FLIP camera, a laptop and a lot of passion. Vayerchuk has used the power of social media to take his family’s wine business from an estimated value of $4 million to more than $40 million while building his own personal brand. He has used Twitter, Facebook and his personal blog to further his organization’s objectives far beyond the geographical limits that once limited their potential.
As a pastor at Community Bible Church (CBC), my objectives are likely different from those of your organization, but the need to utilize these resources is just as critical. Our purpose as a church is to reach, teach and help people in Jesus’ name. In the past, this was accomplished through weekend services in our church building and various activities throughout the week.
In today’s culture, everything has changed with the power of social media. As a church, we have new opportunities to reach, teach and help people anywhere in the world at any given time while sitting in the comfort of our own home or office.
We recently began an experiment at CBC by having church online. On Monday nights, we broadcast one of our worship services with music and preaching, and we have added a chat room feature for the congregation to interact with one another, integrating Facebook and Twitter.
What we experienced that night was church. It wasn’t like the church we grew up with, but it was still church. By beginning to embrace social media and maximizing these incredible resources, we were better able to fulfill our goals of reaching, teaching and helping people in Jesus’ name. The exciting part is that it went far beyond the geographic barriers that once limited our potential opportunity for impact.
In just our first few weeks of offering church online, we have seen hundreds attend from all over the world, and we have seen relationships deepen through social interaction online. We have already added three additional service times, and we expect to add many more. We know we are just beginning to catch a glimpse of what is to come, and we cannot wait to see the future impact of our efforts to further the ministry of CBC through social media.
What are your organization’s goals and objectives, and how might you begin to use social media to accomplish these?
If you are interested in experiencing one of our online services, we would love for you to join us either on Monday nights at 7, 8 or 9 p.m. CST or on Wednesdays at noon CST by going to http://live.mediasocial.tv/cbc. You can also get more information about CBC at www.CommunityBible.com.
