Creating & Maintaining Your Congregation's Facebook Page

The learning goal that I chose to tackle during EL3517 was to "engage at least one pressing contemporary learning challenge from within a faith community framework." The learning challenge that I chose to engage was media culture; specifically social media culture. In order to do this I created a Facebook page for our congregation. It has been an awesome experience and I look forward to continuing with this ministry long after this class has wrapped up.

You can find all of my reflections at feautor.org, but I'll share them here as well.

Within 24 hours of creating the site Zumbro Lutheran Facebook Page we had over 100 fans. Within one week we had over 200 fans. Several weeks later we now have 262 fans that receive frequent updates from the congregation and view often photos, videos and links that we provide. I hope that this will only continue to grow.

You can visit our page for yourself at www.facebook.com/zumbrolutheran.

I’ve received a great deal of positive feedback about the congregation’s Facebook page. Here’s what a couple parishioners had to say:

"Are you in charge of the Facebook stuff? What a great, I mean it, great outreach. I think it makes me feel even more connected knowing that my church is understanding how to communicate to this generation!"
-stay-at-home mother of three, 34 years old

"It is so cool to see how many people I know from church that are on Facebook and to connect with them. It has been great to see all the different ages of people that are fans of the site, too! I love the updates, knowing what is coming up on Sunday, and reading the Bible verses that have been posted. It has made me feel more connected while I'm away at school."
-college student, 19 years old

I’ve only been doing this for two months so I certainly don’t have all of the answers. I have, however, learned a lot about creating and maintaining a congregational Facebook page. I hope my experience might in some way be able to help you or your congregation reach people through this relevant form of social media. I’d welcome your comments or additions to my list!

Here are my Top 10 Ways to Successfully Create and Maintain Your Congregation's Facebook Page.

Using Video to Engage Conversation

I'll be honest with you. With three kids under the age of 7, I rarely get to see a movie that isn't either animated or rated G. Actually, most of the movies that I see outside of those two categories are when I'm on church trips. I've had some luck with finding good resources online for creating good movie discussion questions, but I bet there are more resources that I don't know about. Here's a couple I have used:

ELCA Youth Ministry Movie Discussion Index (Freat for jump start discussion questions. Even if I alter the questions provided, they give me a starting point.)

Rob Bell's NOOMA Videos (You have to buy these, but I think they are fabulous. I've used them with middle school kids through adults in their forties.)

What do you recommend?

Blogging...a gift in life and in death

Yesterday my mom and dad lost one of their best friend's to cancer. Sue was diagnosed with brain cancer nearly four years ago, and though I didn't know her well, I was able to learn life lessons from her about living and dying because of the blog that she kept documenting her journey. While Sue was alive, the blog was a wonderful way for her family and friends all over the country to stay updated on her journey. Now that she is gone, what a beautiful gift this blog is to those that loved her. Not only can they dwell in the words of prayer and support offered from those that love them, but they will forever have Sue's words and thoughts before them. Blogging...what a gift.

Portfolio: Section 5 reflections

1. •how did the reading assignments in this course support your learning? Were they relevant, pertinent, accessible? Which ones would you keep for future versions of this class, and which would you discard?
   

   I really did enjoy the reading assignments of this course. I especially enjoyed reading Here Comes Everybody because it was such a fresh break from the normal theological texts we read for seminary, yet it was incredibly theologically relevant to work in the church. I liked Engaging Technology in Theological Education, but I didn't gain as much from it as it pertains to this course. I think the audience of the book is meant more to be professors of theological education rather than students. It did serve, however, as great rationale for being a part of the MDiv DL program. I think I would even include reading my classmates' blogs as assigned reading material, and from them I have learned much!

   
   

2. •how well did the design of the course support your own learning? Was the structure of the class clear? Did the assignments support your skill development? How would you improve the course design?
   

   I loved the design of this course. I felt ready to hit the ground running after reading/watching the pre-assignments before class started on campus. The structure was very clear. Stretching the blogs and assignments out over a longer period of time allowed for more incubation of the course material. If possible, I would add at least one more day of class on campus. I learned much in those two days and would have enjoyed more time for that.

   
   

3. •what do you think future students should know about EL1515 to survive, or better yet, to flourish during the class?
   

4. I would encourage all future EL1515 students to arrive with an open mind. Unfortunately there are many people in our churches that doubt the profound ministry opportunities that technology and social media can provide. Come with an open mind and be willing to experiment in new ways of taking part in God's mission.

   
   

   •how have your experiences in this class shaped your future teaching practice, if at all? How have they shaped your role as a learner in other settings, if at all?

   This course has completely opened my eyes to the importance of using social media to stay connected with parishioners of all ages. I've been using e-mail, Facebook and texting to stay connected with youth and their parents for years, but not until experiencing with the ideas from this course did I realize the amazing potential and relevancy that social media has for staying connected with a congregation. The projects that I began while taking part in this class will not end when the course ends, and I look forward to continue to experience with new ideas, too.

   
   

Blogging While on Church Trips

I'm not an experienced blogger, but last year I tried an experiment in blogging while going to the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. Unlike most years when our mission trips have taken us on 15 passenger vans into the mountains of Appalachia where we haven't had cell service yet alone wireless internet, last year we found ourselves on a coach bus that was wireless equipped and in a hotel with free internet. I figured out how to set up a blog and let as many people at church know about it as I could.

I don't expect you to read through the entire blog (it got pretty long), but if you're interested you can find it here. Doing this blog turned out to be a fabulous experience...and here's some reasons why:

1. Parents back home knew what there kids were doing.
2. The congregation-at-large could follow what we were doing.
3. The congregation helps our kids raise a lot of money through fundraising efforts -- what a great way for them to see the experience that their financial giving was able to give to our kids.
4. The trip participants (youth and adult) were sharing the blog on their Facebook pages and with their friends. What an incredible means of outreach!
5. People on the trip all had the chance (if they wanted) to blog about what they were doing and thinking. What a great way to process the experience.
6. Even now, one year later, I look back at the blog occasionally and am brought right back to the emotions and memories of the trip. I hope others do the same.

I leave this Saturday for another week-long mission experience. This year we'll be going to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi to continue rebuilding work following the hurricanes that hit the Gulf 5 years ago. Here's where we'll be blogging this year. See ya there in a week!

Perhaps you noticed that all of my blogs were posted back to back… I’m actually on vacation this week and wireless internet isn’t as accessible as I thought it was going to be. Oh well! I’m in Blackduck, MN and just learned this evening that I can drive down the street to the AmericInn and get wireless access for $3 an hour. Ya gotta love Northern MN.

Here's what my week is really all about:

Charlie (2)

Will (4)

Jack (7)

Life with boys…oh so fun! Catching minnows, jumping off the dock, going fishing with Grandpa, playing at the beach, riding on the jet ski – life can’t get much better! Who needs technology, right? ;)

...but we are not the same church that had those things before

I really enjoyed reading Clay Shirky’s book, Here Comes Everybody. Maybe it was because it was such a nice break from the normal theological texts, but it was also such a fresh perspective on all of the changes that technology has brought to our society. There are many thoughts from the book that I could comment on, but I’m drawn to the quote that Shirky included.

“Everyone knows, or ought to know, that there has happened under us a Tectonic Plate Shift […] the political parties still have the same names; we still have a CBS, an NBC and a New York Times; but we are not the same nation that had those things before” (22).

What if we rephrased it like this: The churches still have the same names; we still have the 10 Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed and the Reformation; but we are not the same church that had those things before.”

Social media hasn’t changed everything that we do in the church and I don’t think it ever will, but we have to acknowledge that it has changed some things. Working in youth and young adult ministry, I certainly know that I don’t do my job the same way that I did it ten years ago. Not only do I never send out mailings like I used to, but now I have to publicize events on Facebook, e-mail and through lots of text messages.

Is it easier to get people together? Sometimes. If I need to find one worship assistant the day before the service I can text eight kids and I’m bound to get at least one person lined up. But sometimes not. Now, if I’m planning an event I can’t create just one simple postcard and mail it out to homes. Instead, I have to send Facebook messages, create a Facebook event, send e-mails (to kids and parents) and then send out text messages before the actual event as reminders. Social media might be more efficient and occasionally make things easier…but it isn’t always easier on me!

Regardless of the benefits, Jesus might be the same, but as the church we certainly can’t do all things the same.

“We are becoming increasingly individual, but we have this strong desire for community.

We become increasingly independent, while watching for more community.

We have more commercial, and we long for more authenticity.”

-Michael Wesch, An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube

Michael Wesch said something relatively close to this in his video documenting the rise and impact of youtube. I find this interesting to think about in regards to not just youtube, but all forms of social media. We have people that sit home independently, yet spend hours and hours on Facebook, youtube, or other comparable sites seeking out others. I don’t see much issue with this with those that are socially connected in the “real world” also. It is those that don’t have as many “real” social connections with others that I wonder about. I think of even some of my own Facebook “friends.” Often times those that comment the most on status updates or those that seem to be the most active Facebook users, are those that I don’t perceive as having as many healthy social relationships in the “real world.” Is this something to be concerned about? In one way, it is at least one way of seeking out community when the alternative might be simply home by oneself. On the other hand, are these people replacing seeking out real social connections by spending time just connecting online?

Learning Goals

The learning goal that I have chosen to work on during this class is Skill Competency 3e, “capable of engaging at least one pressing contemporary learning challenge from within a faith community framework.” One of the suggested learning challenges is media culture. While that seems like an easy choice for this course, it also is congruent with one of my goals at the congregation I serve at.

I’ve wanted to create a Facebook page for my congregation for some time, but it wasn’t until I started the reading for this course, specifically the text, Here Comes Everybody, that I decided to just do it. Actually, to be more accurate I asked a few other staff members, “How much trouble am I going to be in if I just create a Facebook page for us?” There was at least one hesitant staff member that was quick to throw out some of the negative things that could arise because of it (such as lack of control over user posted content), but since the answer to my question wasn’t, “a lot,” I just went ahead and did it. (By the way, the hesitant staff member is also not comfortable using any type of social media – professionally or personally.) I read a great blog recently entitled, “Simple Social Scheduling for your Church's Facebook Fan Page“ that I highly recommend reading if you might be thinking of doing the same thing.

I’ll reflect at the end of the course about how my goals have/have not been achieved through our Facebook page. Until then, I’d welcome any comments: www.facebook.com/zumbrolutheran.

worship with cell phones or cell phone worship?

So I went to worship this evening at House of Mercy in St. Paul to listen to a friend preach. While there I couldn't quite get away from the concepts we talked about in class. There really wasn't much of any technology used in this worship service...but there were cell phones everywhere! It started with Tim Snyder taking a photo with his phone from behind the altar to tweet that worship was beginning. Then it was the high school aged kid sitting in front of me playing Teeter on his phone (I couldn't tell if he was better than me or not.). Next it was the kid's mom tweeting something, followed by the kid's dad checking his Facebook feed a few minutes later. I went without noticing any cell phones for a few minutes, but then the friend next to me checked his e-mail quickly, and then I had to check what time it was on my own phone...

I've seen some really creative ways of actually engaging people's cell phone usage in worship for the purpose of worship. Jeremy Johnson from our class posted about what his church did on Easter Sunday. The Worship Community has some ideas that I'd definitely consider using in high school ministry. But what about the level of engagement we seem to have with our phones -- a level of engagement that many seem to struggle to leave behind for even an hour of worship? Does it help some of us focus on what we're experiencing in worship? Have we lost a sense of what it means to fully retreat as Jesus did and spend time with our Creator?

"all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings"

This quote is from the film You've Got Mail, quoted by Mary Hess in her book, Engaging Technology in Theological Education, and in many ways it does a great job of describing what being a part of a DL MDiv cohort at Luther Seminary has meant for me. Last night most of the MDiv DL students on campus gathered together with each other and several faculty members for a wine and cheese party. This time around I'm only on campus for one short weekend, but am soaking up all of the time I can with my friends. We might not do what most friends do together...as in spend entire days at coffee shops reading and writing...but we sure do experience community while we do it! Mary writes, "Far from suggesting that online learning is necessarily disembodied, or unrelational, we might actually suggest, instead, that this emerging space for learning can be quite embodied and quite relational (66)." I don't think that our community would be what it is today without the chance to come together on campus, but I also don't think we'd experience nearly the depth of relationships if we weren't engaged together all year in online learning. Thanks, Luther, for forming this community.

By the way, the picture is of several members of our cohort studying together for our RTA final this past January. Just another example of our DL community.