Monday, October 1, 2012

Social Media for Evangelism: The Power of "Share"

Yesterday I had the opportunity to participate my first "Skypture" (my term for a lecture given over Skype). The topic was one that is near and dear to me - Using Social Media for Evangelism.
Think about this: Nearly a third of the world's population has internet access. Of those 2.3 Billion people, nearly a billion of them are Facebook users. That's nearly 1/7th of the entire world's population who is available just through Facebook. Consider as well the statistic that 500 YEARS of YouTube videos are watched on Facebook every day. If you follow the logic and simple math, why wouldn't we use things like Facebook and YouTube as tools to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature" (cf. Mark 16.15)?


I can't help but think that since God gave us that command, He also providentially provides the tools necessary to carry out the task.


The key to using social media as an effective evangelism tool is first realize that social media won't evangelize for you. At some point, someone will have to make physical contact with the person being reached, if for no other reason than to baptize them. But you can use social media to reach out to and influence people who you might never have been able to reach before. Since the main concept of social media is interactivity, the strongest use of it will be to use it to start a conversation. The key to doing this is sharing. 


Take the time to share blog posts, videos, pictures, podcasts, and website articles which might cause people to ask questions or be curious. When you see a discussion where someone has a Bible question, give them a link to an article or blog post that answers the question. Above all, be consistent in doing this; Do it every day if you can.


Below I have a list of a few websites which I think are good starting points for finding material to share. If you have any suggestions for additional websites, just leave a comment and I'll consider adding it to the page.


Blog Posts (as "conversation starters")



Podcasts



Videos



Some Recommended Websites:



Click here for the next part of this series: "CLEAN UP YOUR TIMELINE FIRST!"

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5 comments:

  1. Adam FaughnOctober 1, 2012 at 8:40 AM

    Wow, man. Thanks for including me on the list!Keep up your great work!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Don ClemOctober 1, 2012 at 12:03 PM

    Yesterday I was part of Bro. Howell's first Skypture lecture class. Great job Daniel. It is amazing what can be done with Social Media.Thanks for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DanielOctober 1, 2012 at 12:18 PM

    Enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Margaret ShirelOctober 1, 2012 at 3:06 PM

    Daniel, I also was a part of your audience for the Skypture Sunday. I have had a fb account for some time, but looked at it as a way for me to keep up with the activities of family and friends. I appreciated your thoughts about using it to spread the Word and plan to look at the links you shared with us. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DanielOctober 1, 2012 at 3:23 PM

    Thanks! I hope it was useful!

    ReplyDelete

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