It is no secret that social media is not going away anytime soon. I’ve heard the complaints and the praises and, personally, I was not interested.
Yet, I have a husband that works insane hours, most days from 7am to 11pm without unlimited internet access. My husband loves Facebook because it is a viable and vital way to keep up with family and friends when he can only talk in the middle of the night.
Then I met Jerry Fultz over coffee to talk about our ministries. He said something that challenged me. Long story short, the online community is God’s mission field, too. An hour stretched into two as he expressed how social media is very much a tool of relational ministry. I was sold, with a smile. Which didn’t mean I don’t still have a lot to learn.
Recently, I read a book called “@stickyJesus” by Toni Birdsong & Tami Heim. It’s all about how to live out your faith in a online mission field. I highly recommend it. So, are you someone like I was, reluctant and busy? Or are you more like my husband, eager to get online and stay in touch? Maybe you’re somewhere in between.
God creates us all uniquely suited for the mission field He is calling us to join Him in reaching. I’m discovering just how big this new field is, and how hungry people are to feel heard. Just like any worldly place, there are the posers, liars, and crooks; the uninformed, misinformed, and bullies. It’s not unlike walking into a cocktail party and attempting to meet or know people.
Yet, when we really listen, even past the boring updates, the nervous chatter, and off color jokes. There are voices asking to be heard, willing to let us in, if only we will be kind.
I began attempting to be a listener on Facebook. My husband helped me set up a group for our past Prodigal’s to get in touch. Wow! What a response, especially to pictures. My account is now a gateway for teens and past teens to get in touch, keep in touch and strengthen bonds once more. God has worked in wild and wonderful ways, yet not just online. Online is where it starts, of course. God isn’t afraid of technology, He just uses it as a tool, not a replacement for relationship. Christ is still more interested in us coming together to get personal and relate to each other, then in anything impersonal.
I’m amazed sometimes in what our Prodigal’s share online. Recently, a teen I’ve mentored had a lot to say. First, her boyfriend was out of jail and they were together again. Then, that she was homeless with him now because her family wouldn’t let him move into her bedroom. Soon after, that she had discovered she was pregnant. Lastly, to say they had become engaged, did anyone know where they could stay the night, off the street.
Finally, a question, and then more. To these, I responded. Not to be a know it all or judgmental, but to invite her offline so we could share and she could ask all the questions she wanted. From there she invited me in deeper to talk with her and her boyfriend. God is at work.
Now I know my story is not yours. Yet, I don’t think it is any less relevant. There is nothing in scripture to say God created the internet as a solution. It is just another foreign land into which He calls us to be light in the darkness. Not to preach or judge, but to offer an answer to those who are seeking. From that light of Christ’s truth and love for them, a spark can draw people into real relationship. Is this as new a thought as it is for me? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences. =)
