So you’re interested in using Facebook in ministry, but want the insider tips on how to do it right? Here is a quick MinistryCOM video with the answers. For more information on using social networking in ministry, attend MinistryCOM 2009 in Chicago. Jeff Wilson from Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma City will be presenting on this topic.
Free Webcasts:
Conference:
MinistryCOM 2010
Church Communications Conference
October 20-22, 2010
Dallas, TX
Leadership Track
What Every Church Needs to Know About Marketing
Richard Reising
Should We Throw Out the Bulletin?
Jeff Wilson
Building Buzz: Getting People in the Doors
Lawrence Swicegood
Can You Make It More Creative?
Katie Moon
Guerrilla Marketing for Non-Profits
Chris Forbes
Basic Training Track
It starts with a Plan
Paul Spilker
Quick! Write Something They’ll Read
Jamie Shafer
Design in a Snap
Jennie Byers
Don’t Go It Alone – How to Develop a Communications Team
Elizabeth Gilbert
Help Me Help You – Leading Up to Best Serve Your Church Leaders
Jenn Collins
Lessons Learned – Sharing Stories with Fellow World-Changers
Evan McBroom
Design / Technology Track
Social Media: The Cyber-Reality
Jody Wissing
Building a Rockin’ Church Website
James Dalman / Cory Miller
Web Magic
Randy Jeter
Designing Usable Websites
Terrell Sanders
Using Video in Ministry
Jerod Chambers
Ministry Logo Design
James Dalman
MinistryCOM
Copyright © 2010 All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2010 All Rights Reserved
Just a thought on tip #1 – make your profile public. I would caution churches on how much information they make public when it comes to youth group profiles. Kids posting and saying that yes, they will be at such and such an event at such and such a time etc. is leaving them vulnerable if the profile is open to anyone. We keep certain elements public so that people can get a sense or a feel for what is going on, but then they must become friends to see the exchanges among the kids.
Good comments. The idea is that “staff” should have public profiles, not students. Granted that can cause some bleed-over of data from the student posts.
We had a big wake-up call when we realized how much information could be obtained.
Scenario:
You have a youth page (run by the Church) and a lot of the youth in your area sign up as friends.
You have your events posted.
A child posts that they are looking for a ride to the next event and they live in such and such an area.
People reading this group now have
1. approximate age and grade of the child
2. child’s first and last name
3. where they are going to be at what time
4. approximate area they live
That is without them posting any further information on their profile. If their profile is public then all bets are off.
I have often wondered how much liability that organizations such as churches hold in situations such as this. Our answer here has been to lock down the interaction portions, as we really can’t control what the kids say or how they restrict access to their profiles. Of course, unscrupulous people can always pose as a child and gain access that way, but we can say we have taken reasonable precautions.
I would be interested to know if anyone else has had a legal/liability opinion on any of this type of online stuff.
[...] Reach Out with Social Networking Social networking sites are not without their dangers. However, they also provide unique and effective avenues for ministry. Ministry.com offers 10 Tips for using facebook for your ministry outreach. More info [...]