Everyone’s connecting electronically these days – Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, Youtube, texting, etc. Even when people are physically in the same room, they still engage these new technologies for even more connection. Steve Douglass, President of Campus Crusade for Christ once referred to the internet as the 8th Continent. Watch the video below for more about Social Media today.
How do we reach this 8th continent? How do we leverage these technologies to not only reach people with the gospel, but to disciple them and build spiritual movements so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus? Keynote is seeking ways to do just that.
November 2009 saw the launch of a brand new area of Keynote -New Media Labs. This tech-savvy team is developing online resources to help campuses host weekly CRU meetings online to involve even more students in their movements. The website/blog for the CRU ministry becomes a gathering place for dialogue about God, questions about life, sharing resources and connecting with events and people.
Brian Barela, current Missional Team Leader at Chico State in California developed a template for this kind of ministry – www.chicocru.com – and has seen some great things happen as a result. At the end of the one of the first simulcasts, Matt, a student who watched the webcast, left this comment, “How can I get involved with Cru?” Later that week two student leaders involved with the Cru movement met with Matt, and eventually led him to Christ!
New Media Labs has also set up a blog to share resources with others who want to effectively use their online presence to connect with students and share the gospel. Mediaforministry.org contains info about setting up a blog, incorporating video, and all kinds of other cool technical stuff! New articles are posted weekly to share new ideas and other resources from sites like mashable.com.
Currently the team is focusing on developing an iPhone app that will help allow easy access to all of the ministry tools from Campus Crusade for Christ – Knowing God Personally, Satisfied, Life and Large and more. Stay tuned for more updates or subscribe to the media for ministry blog.
Question: What tools or articles have you found to be helpful in the area of social media?
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