Way #1 - To build ministry through relationships
According to Internet Evangelism Day, chat room outreach is similar to street evangelism. It is a direct, up-front discussion with those who will listen. Word of caution here against dogmatic, beat you over the head with the bible types of witnessing. This is not the sort of "preachy evangelism" you may encounter on the street. I'm sure you will cause others to stay away versus be drawn to Christ if you barrel them over with this approach. The type of ministry that works best is being light and salt in your online community, establishing relationships with no ulterior motive, and being ready to give any man an answer for your faith.
Five-fold leaders, if you sense God's leading you to build business/ministry through social networking, it can become an awesome tool to reach those outside of your local area in an up close and personal way. Be careful they are not just attaching themselves for namesake. So in other words, they join to make a name for themselves or to ride off the coattail of your name and have no intention of being ministered to. They may even desire to attach to get to "who" belongs to your network. The sole purpose needs to be to spread the fame of Jesus Christ and what He will do through the ministry.
Way #2 - As an add on to ministry
Social networking can be easily turned into an extension of face-to-face ministry. Keep in mind that it does open people up to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So, you may choose to have a ministry assistant who can share the load with you and respond in a timely fashion. An ideal person might be your adjutant, armour bearer, intercessor, or church secretary. The key here is assessing where they are spiritually and how they are already ministering and interacting with others within the ministry in a face-to-face capacity. Other points to ponder: How fast do they type? How well do they write? How much of an interest would this be to them? Are they called/handpicked by God to do it? After you prayerfully consider these points, here is an example of how it might work. You could take the day shift (so to speak) and s/he could take the evening to early a.m. shift (so to speak). Be sure to not taint the purity of the ministry by placing yourself in a position where people begin to find a place they can go to for support and then you become unavailable to meet the very need(s) that caused you to create a ministry network to begin with. Building ministry relationships take time, and if you are limited on time, then establish some boundaries and determine the exact hours of availability regardless of who's online.
If you have already established a ministry base locally or abroad, and sense God desires to expand the ministry and limit your time traveling, ministry networking will serve you well as an addition to what God is already doing via face-to-face ministry. Here are some ideas to jumpstart this expansion: You can posts blogs that teach, minister, and promote further discussion and collaboration. You can highlight ministerial, volunteer, and employment opportunities. You can also share photos or videos of ministry engagements to minister to those who God is adding to the ministry. These are all great ways for others to get to know the God in you. What a way to bring everyone and everything to one spot. Nothing does this quite like your ministry network; e-mail doesn't and blogs don't!
Way #3 - To keep in touch with those who you're already ministering to and see what's going on with them
Did you know that studies have shown that most individuals answer social network updates and alerts before they respond to e-mail? So, this is an excellent way to keep in touch with those who you are already ministering to and to see what's going on with them. "Where else are you going to get a view into their lives on a daily basis?" With this platform, you'll be in tune. Let's say you are called to train and equip others in ministry, you can see what upcoming ministry assignments, projects, and traveling engagements are on their radar. Subsequently, you can keep these assignments, projects, and traveling engagements in your prayers as you log in and out of the network. Forging a ministry network can be an excellent way to communicate the same message to everyone at the same time.
If your church has two different services, many of the ministry leaders may be like ships passing in the night and never really interact. In a ministry networking environment, they will be able to see one another's profile information and even special events like birthdays and wedding anniversaries and reach out to another minister who it may take weeks to see in real time. Hence, ministry networking serves as a connecting tool for others in the ministry.
There are many who wouldn't even say the words social networking and ministry in the same sentence. These same individuals are the ones who also never say ministry and marketing in the same sentence. Now, I know there are some who are extremely carnal and obnoxious in how they "get the word out" about ministry endeavors. At the same time, don't lump yourself and everyone else into this category.
The key here is motives. If your motives are truly to minister to the needs of others, then what's all the hesitation about? Ministry in any form is not about you, the minister, anyway. It's always about what God has in mind for His people. I often say this, but it's worth repeating. Stop using ministry to define you. You are not what you do. It's always about being like Jesus because in Him we live, move, and have our being.
The possibilities are endless in terms of utilizing social networking as a way to minister to the needs of others. How about the other ministry relationships and partnerships that might be forged as a result of your willingness to expand via ministry networking? I pray this article has sparked some creative God-thoughts as to how God might be gently nudging you out of the boat or ministry box you may find yourself in. I also pray it has destroyed some UGB's (ungodly beliefs) that keep many of us and others stuck doing same ole, same ole.
Social Networking Resources
Here are just a few to prayerfully consider:
Exclusively Christian
New Faithbook
Shoutlife
Heartbeat
Not Exclusively Christian
Ning
OR
Create your own . . . i.e., Ministry Space.com! Yes, you can use it if you desire.
International coach trainer, author, and minister Karen M. Pina has been creatively writing for over 15 years. She is author of the well-received Leadership FITness - Experiencing Fullness in The Temple and Is it the job, the boss, you . . . or are you an entrepreneur?, creator of the One Stop Marketing Program, and founder of Gifts Ordained by Direction and GOD's Coach U, a training and coaching practice. She is the virtuous wife of Stanley Pina, a leadership coach and pastor. They live in Connecticut where they raise two beautiful daughters. Mine for the gems in your career, relationships, and leadership development by joining the many readers of Gem News. Subscribe now and instantly receive a free audiobook chapter on career fitness. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_M._Pina |
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