Transforming Church

How Might Social Networking Sites Help the Local Church?
I have been working a good bit in Facebook and Linked In to understand this social networking phenomenon. Facebook has a My Church application that allows you to set up a page for your church, where announcements can be posted. There is also a Cause application that lets you set up a Cause page for nonprofit institutions. I have set up a Cause, TransformingChurch.org, to support our Transforming Leaders Initiative. 71 people have joined so far, and I only know about a dozen of them. You can make donations right on the Cause page. You can send email to the members, post links and articles. There is also a discussion board where you can post topics, and others can respond.

As Facebook users know, when you post items to your page or to a Cause, a one-line summary shows up on your contacts Home page on Facebook. When you make a connection, you can generally see all the connections of your contacts. I have 79 Facebook Friends, who each have friends who are visible to me. So, if you are networking, you can find people in the same industry by searching your friends and your friends friends.

Linked In has the same ability to see the network of your connections. I have focused more time and energy there, since it is more of a business network. I have 123 Connections and they have 5400 connections (2 degrees away from me). If I wish an introduction to one of their connections, it’s a simple request. Linked In also has Groups you can create. I have created one for TransformingChurch.org, and am members with such groups as ELCA (167 members), Christian Professionals (6096 members) and ten other groups. In addition to groups, there are places for job postings, and you can provide Answers to questions posed by the community, raising your visibility in the community. Those who give the most helpful Answers on a given topic are rated as Experts. This Week’s Top Experts are listed on the Linked In Answers page.

I have begun to realize the great utility these sites offer to their communities. I have connected with old friends and colleagues. I keep up with people by seeing what they are up to lately from their updates. I share information with connections through the site.

Redeemer Connexions: Christian Businessmen’s Network
This last week, when I heard from another acquaintance at the church who is looking for work. After feeling the nudging for months, I decided to do something. First, I emailed a dozen or so friends at Redeemer seeing if some might help me start a weekly small group focused on building a men’s network at Redeemer. I realize this need is also very present for women, but they seem to have much broader networks of support in the church. Men also seem more reticent to reach out to others for support in difficult times.

I immediately heard back from one friend who had just been “downsized” as he put it. So, I asked the church to put an announcement in the Bulletin about a new group starting this Friday called Redeemer Connexions. Next, I started a new group in Linked In by the same name. I invited all my Redeemer men for whom I had email addresses to join this Virtual group, even if they can’t come to the physical meeting. Next Sunday, I will include the Linked In group in another bulletin announcement, to build interest in the congregation. I have started discussion threads, and posted information about the new group there. Only 4 people have joined so far, but it’s a start.

What would an effective Church Network look like?
I certainly don’t have all the answers, but here are some ideas. If we had a web accessible Career Database of church members, it would be a start. Think if you could search for a lawyer, a painter, a plumber or a remodeling contractor all from within your church family. If you could define those actively working or looking for work, it would help make visible those who are seeking a career move. This database could be password protected if developed on the church website. Given the lack of resources for web development in many churches, it might be easier get started with a public social network. You can create private networks in Ning. Dave Daubert and Kelly Fryer at ARE have begun creating private Ning networks for the churches where they are consulting and training lay teams.

The beauty of the web-based social networks is that you can create very detailed profiles of yourself and your interests. Since so many people are already on Facebook and Linked In, it may be more difficult to create a private network than to use the groups and causes on those sites for this purpose. Facebook and Linked In will look at your email address book and tell you who is already in their network, making it easier to find acquaintances and connect.

Sadly, I have found that many in the church are not early adopters of technology. So, too few are taking advantage of the emerging networking tools that are spreading like wildfire. Staying current with technology and information technology seems like a full-time job. However, those of us who wish to make inroads with the emerging postmodern culture will invest the time to learn of what is emerging. Social networking is a powerful tool that has many relevant uses for those of us in the Connecting People with Jesus world.

In this economic meltdown, some have lost jobs, all have friends who are hurting, and many are anxious about the future. Redeemer Connexions is an attempt to tap into the network of professionals and business leaders in and beyond our Redeemer to forge connections that will offer support to those who are in between, and for those who are so far surviving this crisis, a place to be thankful and reach out to others.

Tried Something like This? What ideas can you share?
How are you responding to this economic crisis? Have you tried something like this in your church or other organization? How is it working? What ideas could you share to help everyone build a stronger network of support? Please comment and share your thoughts with the community.