God has a fan page. As I write this, 2,970,932 have declared themselves “fans”. At first, I thought there must be something demeaning about a fan page for God. Then, I realized it’s just another example of how people are learning to appreciate the power and potential of social media sites.
In June, a survey by The Conference Board, a research organization, reported “43% of the online community now uses social networking sites” such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn. The organization reported Facebook is “used by 78% of online households, followed by MySpace (42 percent), LinkedIn (17 percent) and Twitter (10 percent).
Fan, friend, or follower (on Twitter), I’m intrigued by the ways people have found to use the internet for inspiration. In fact, a Facebook friend inspired me to write this. Christina McGairk has a Master’s degree in Journalism but a dream for something different. That’s why she is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Shine 5:16. She describes it as an online magazine for single Christian women. Her mission is to “let them know they are not alone in this world. That there are other single Christian women who are trying to do God’s will and be obedient.” McGairk says “nothing beats good ol’ face-to-face networking. But being online enables you to work with people beyond geographical boundaries.”
The Billy Graham organization used Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to promote its “Rock the River” Tour this past summer. The tour featured a variety of musical performances and an evangelistic message from Franklin Graham. The organization designed the tour to reach young people. “The reality is,” the tour’s web site said, “75 percent of those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior do so by the time they are 18. We should not neglect anyone of any age, but if we want to rescue people for Christ and build Christ’s church for the next generation, we must reach out to youth or chances are they will never be reached.”
Mike Barclay of Crawfordsville is a counselor and a blogger. By day, he advises homeless men who visit the Wheeler Mission in downtown Indianapolis. As a blogger, he writes The Passionate Pursuit. He says his blog is designed for Christians who want to do more than just go to church on Sundays. “I have attempted with my blog,” he says, “to motivate Christians to grow closer to God and live out the Bible in real life not just in theory.” Barclay says he sees “huge potential” in the ability of social networking to “help those in need, share prayer requests … and how we as the church can best help.”
Sometimes, the sites are not spiritual as much as promotional. Churches have discovered ways to market themselves via social media. A site entitled “Media Salt” carries the motto: “God isn’t bland. The church shouldn’t be, either.” Media Salt’s founders say, in the old days, churches led the way in art and culture. Now, they say church use of media has become “an embarrassing afterthought and a poor imitation of what’s being done in popular culture.” That’s why the Media Salt site encourages church leaders to be creative and “stop waiting for it to catch on.”
Christina McGairk is clearly not waiting. Shine 5:16 allows her to reach her audience of single Christian women without the expense of publishing a glossy magazine. She admits “nothing beats good ol face-to-face networking but being online enables you to work with people beyond your geographical boundaries.”
Mike Barclay says the “current generations of Christians is not willing to accept the faith of their parents and grandparents. They want to get involved and make a difference. This is also the same generation that can’t live a day without checking with Facebook and Twitter. I am excited to see how God uses the internet to make a difference for the people he loves.”
When I mentioned all of this to my friend Justin Bessler, formerly of the Salvation Army of Indiana, he said he’s not a fan of the God fan page. “I’d rather consider myself a ‘friend’ of God,” he said, ”but Facebook won’t allow him to have a profile … Maybe I’ll just follow him on Twitter.”