Web Presence: Social Media

Social media is what makes up what most technologists would call Web 2.0.  The reason is that this is not a static website.  This site has dynamic content that is used to feed the existence of a community online, usually.  What makes this content especially powerful is the ability for you to associate yourselves with your friends.  This will give you increased "context", if you will, to the rest of the community.  This increases your visibility to the Christian community as a whole and gives the ministry a platform to distribute information such as updates, news, events and the likes as well as the ability to organize efforts.  The possibility of social media for a ministry is endless.  I'll go over some of the more popular social media sites and what it can do for you, if any.  I know this will not be an exhaustive list but I will list only the most popular in this first post.

Social media sites that will not directly help a ministry (exception mentioned):

Myspace.com

Myspace used to be a site that is real useful for most ministries... and it still may... but it has become more of a platform for bands to expose themselves... and basically a media portal.  If this doesn't appeal to your ministry, which most ministry are not based on, then Myspace.com is likely not your ministry.

Linkedin

Linked in is for professional networking, kind of like a virtual job fair.  This is primarily useless for spending time on for your ministry.  It may be a good idea to maybe put up a simple profile in case ministry workers leave the field and need Linkedin as a form of reference and request your recommendation through the site.  Most people I know don't use that, though it does help some.

Facebook.com

Facebook has become the biggest social networking site out there.  It distinguishes itself from the other social media in that it is a way for friends and acquaintances to connect in a not so formal way. Most people can spend many hours of their lives every week on Facebook and get a majority of their social news, if not ALL there news, from Facebook.  Facebook is really popular due to the fact that it doesn't announce to users who has viewed them... only when another user request to be known does a user get notified about the visit. This attractiveness is in turn exhibited in all aspects of the social networking site that makes it such a great tool for ministry.

Facebook Pages

The most useful tool in Facebook for most ministries is the Pages application in Facebook.  The idea of a Page in Facebook is like a free website for ministries in that it is a page in Facebook that allows users to view the page, even if they are not a member of the site, and allows members to "Like" your page so that others will know that ... well, they like your page.  This association can spell to a lot of things for you.  Once an user likes a page they will receive posts on your page "wall" when you post them as well as the ability to invite others to like it.  This public "like" of your page allows you to see who they are and gives you the advantage of been able to profile your following on Facebook.

The advantages of Facebook pages is that it gives you a website for free right away.  It gives you the ability to very quickly post information on your page about what's going on in your ministry and all your followers will see those things in real time.

The beauty of Facebook pages is that due to the public nature of the page in that even non-members can view the page it becomes a cheap website for you.  You can use this as your only website, for ministries that are either umbrellaed under other ministries or has seldom access to the internet.  You can also use Facebook pages as a mirror website to your existing website to promote your ministry among your current fan base in an environment that they are in already, meeting them where they are to make it easier for your presence to spread.

For a little taste of a Facebook page, here's my own Facebook page for this ministry: https://www.facebook.com/FleetOfTarshishMinistry.  The terms and conditions of a Facebook pages is slightly different from a regular account and you can find the conditions here: https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php.

Twitter.com

Twitter is a fairly new phenomena that allows user to basically become a new source for anyone.  This site is different from Facebook in that it's simpler and only focused on distributing news... not so much as staying in touch with others like Facebook.  This site has the anonymous nature like Facebook but it also introduces the concept of quick distribution of news that links other accounts and concepts to your feed.  It doesn't have as many users as Facebook due to the amount of information coming from the site... but it is still very popular for broadcasting news.  Most news agencies and other government entities currently use Twitter to broadcast their news among the millions of other users representing individuals like you and me.

I currently don't have a Twitter account due to my personal lack of need for a Twitter account.  But this site is mostly useful for ministries that are primarily involved in communication and public relations.  Besides those, I really don't see how Twitter can add to a ministry.  The time commitment required to maintain a Twitter site is immense, it usually requires at least a few posts a week, if not multiple posts in a day.  Twitter is very much out of question for ministries that are primarily out in the back country... but if you are expected to broadcast a lot of information on a day to day basis, this site is a tool that you can't ignore.

Web presence: Websites for Ministries

One of the things that frustrates me the most about websites today is that ... not every one of them is designed with purpose in mind.  A lot of people put up websites because it's cool... it seems like the only purpose of a website for most is for cool factor.  Though you can make a metaphysical argument for this type of web publishing... it is not in God's purpose for missions to indulge in such practices.  God designed this life to have limited time and wasting time on "cool factor" seems to be nothing but working towards vain glory for ourselves, not God's Glory.  So we must not fall into the trap of self glorification when pursuing a website for ministry.

So what exactly is the purpose of a website for missions?  I can't give a formulaic answer to the question but I can sure ask more questions (as if this question isn't enough) and have some partial answers that are my perspectives on the topic.  So here's my crack at it in part 1 of my thought stream on this topic:

What is God's purpose for missions?

This is a loaded question that can have a TON of answers... but let's try to expound on this at a very high level.  Missions is for the advancement of the fame of the Lord.  As we can observe all through the Bible, God's purpose for confronting people is so that "He may be known".

How does God's purpose for mission translate to having a website?

That was a very vague and broad explanation of what is missions.  So how do we, mortals, participate in getting God to be known?  The answer really is uniquely different from ministry to ministry but it all boils down to two forms of communication: the nature of God through example and the nature of God through the Word.  If we see the work of missions like a meal we can observe that communicating God's nature through example is like the appetizer to the feast (by practicing our belief) and communicating God's nature through the Word (teaching of the Scriptures) is the entree.

There are other aspects of mission that involve other backend technicalities that are crucial to a mission's viability and that's where the website really comes in since it has to be a human that does the real work of missions.  Technology was first used to help human do our task more effectively and not become a means onto itself... and we should remember and stick to that theme when applying it to missions. NOTE: This analysis doesn't apply if the message of the mission itself is meant to be delivered through the internet

What role does a website play into all this?

The role of a website to a ministry is really not a central part of most ministries.  The reason is that to achieve the main goal of missions, and that is to let the Nations know of the Lord, we must reach the unreached.  Most unreached people groups don't have computers (or even know how to read) or are using computers that are blocked off from the web space that we have access to.  A website will not serve them at all.  There are exceptions to the rule but most cases involve people groups that won't be able to access our websites.

The role of a website can be for communication.  The website was first used as a form of communication... and still is used in such a way today.  The website is a "home front" technology for most ministries.  It is best used by most entities as a way of giving people who have heard about them more information.  The website, at least in web 1.0, is all about static information.  A website can become a web 2.0 (social networking) website... but most ministries don't have the resources or the power to leverage against giants in the secular world... so a static website is the only choice for most ministries.

As a static website, it can only serve as a point of reference.  Something you can refer someone to who you just bumped into.  That's all... and because it's static, it should only be a point of contact that links the visitor to other resources that are dynamic.  It should contain only the most crucial information with links at just the right place to keep the visitor from leaving in the short time that they are there.  If the visitor only visit the site once and is able to get everything they need there... then the site has achieved its goal fully, even though that's almost impossible for the serious visitors.

What does an effective website look like for most ministries?

This, again, has no formulaic answers but it should meet at least a few basic criteria to be deemed a success:

• Communicate who the ministry is:
• What the mission is
• What they believe
• Who they are affiliated with, if any
• A brief history
• Communicate what the ministry does
• An outline of on going projects, past projects and/or future plans
• Photos, videos or other media of what the ministry has done (optional)
• Connect visitors to the ministry
• Connect to blogs, newsletter, forum or other forms of news from those on the field
• How to get involved: 
  • A chance to give, online or other means
• How to pray for the ministry
• Provide ways to spread the word about the ministry
• How to help the ministry directly

Because the aim of the website is to be a center of reference and not really a place to dwell... it should have simple design that's inviting.  Every page shouldn't be long enough to intimidate but rather invite with simplicity... the point is to come, read, leave... and probably not come back if all the needed information is gathered.

Bottom line

If a ministry makes a static website the center point of their ministry and the web is not their target audience... then the ministry is very likely wasting their resources on a website.  The website should not be used for self glorification but only a point of reference for information.  The ministry should meet the audience where they inhabit and not try to compete with corporations (like facebook and twitter) that aren't really a threat, but a potential friend, of the ministry.

The website is like the information desk in a mall or store: it takes visitors where they want to go when they are lost.  If it becomes anything more it becomes a waste of resource.