Posts Tagged ‘Black Church’
How important is social media in Church Growth?
Today I present a post by guest blogger Mike Holmes. This will be the start of a wonderful relationship between our two blogs, and hopefully Mike will be a continuing guest blogger on our site. Mike the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. He’s also a blogger that writes on leadership development from a Biblical perspective. Please Enjoy.
The web is still buzzing about Pope Benedict’s message to his priests: go forth into the world and blog the Gospel! In his message he acknowledged that cultural shifts have brought conversations online…but…the church must be willing to change its methods to better communicate the Message. He wrote:
“Using new communication technologies, priests can introduce people to the life of the Church and help our contemporaries to discover the face of Christ.”
And it’s no wonder! With his own iPhone App, Facebook page, YouTube channel, his growing influence on the web, and his nickname (via Mashable)–the “social media pontiff” could he tell them any different?
Social media and its social effect
It’s no secret that social media is growing at a mind-bogglingly high level–with Facebook and Twitter leading the pack! And we can’t deny it has an inescapable presence in our lives.
Case in point, the Haiti Crisis:
- It wasn’t the news media that first picked up the effects… it was through Twitter.
- A video of the quake was broadcasted on YouTube
- Wyclef Jean galvanized support through Twitter
- Red Cross raised millions through a text messaging campaign and through their Twitter page…in a matter of moments!
- CNN, in the earliest stages, was the news organization with the most material on the quake, and they enriched their work with social media.
It’s changed the way we do business as 94% of companies sponsoring online communities plan to increase their social networking support as well as engage with other social media tools.
Oh!! And let’s not forget my man “Pants on the Ground” becoming an internet sensation…and being adopted as the Minnesota Viking’s official mascot!!
But what about ministry?
Social Media and the Church
USA Today wrote an article today about the changing ministry model. The article summed it up best in saying, “the congregational model is suffering.”Add to the fact that according to a study of U.S. congregations — only 19% say they are in excellent financial health, down from 31% in 2000. Less than half (48%) could report at least 2% growth in worship attendance, down from 58% in 2005. Because of this many churches have closed down or “merged” with more prosperous ministries.
Also Barna group estimates that in 2010 10% of Americans will rely exclusively on the internet.
The landscape has truly changed!
It seems going forward we’re only left with two options:
- Embrace social media as a tool that can be used in spreading the Gospel, meeting the needs of people, and overall Kingdom work
- Or, reject these changes, and continue to go forward.
The choice is yours…
The end of the matter
I must admit…I could care less about church growth!
Huh!
Leading people to a building means nothing to me!
However, leading people to a relationship, or a greater relationship with Christ is everything! And if social media gives me the tools to do that, affect my community, and inspire spiritual maturity in God’s people…then I’m all for it!
What are your thoughts?
Guest Blogger Mike Holmes
Bio: Mike Holmes is the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. He’s also a blogger that writes on leadership development from a Biblical perspective. It’s leadership by the Book! When he’s not writing blogs or speaking he can be found writing bios in the third person. Check out his website/blog here.
Happy New Year – Getting the Year Started Right
Hello everyone and Happy New Year – We are just getting back into the office officially and I wanted to start this year off on the right foot. In the accompanying video, I lay out my 5 foundational strategies for 2010. These are not resolutions but really a way of centering my self and the company for the prosperous new year. We are also participating in an Entrepreneur Fast – please check it out.
What can I say I am so excited by this new beginning. Leave me a comment and let me know how do you get your New Year started. God Bless.
Best regards,
Win in 2010 Christian Entrepreneur Fast
Courtesy of bensonkua
It is the beginning of a new year. A time to reflect on the past year, and recalibrate for the upcoming year. This is a time to set goals, make new choices and in some cases shed the old baggage that has kept you bound to an old paradigm. Wow that was a long sentence. One of the things that should be chief among any Christian entrepreneur, is to hear from the Lord.
As such, this year I have joined with Rod Kirby of the Success Center, as well as many other Christian entrepreneurs to sponsor, the Win in 2010 Entrepreneur Fast. What is it? Well, I will let Rod explain.
What Are You Doing?
The “Win in 2010? Entrepreneur Fast is a corporate fasting challenge designed to take your life and business to the next level. It’s based on a Daniel Fast which adheres to not eating meats, sweets, breads, and drinking water only. If you’ve never fasted before, don’t worry, you can sacrifice meat only, drinking water only, or not eating sugar only. The main idea is to sacrifice something to be blessed with everything you’ll need to “Win in 2010!”
For more information on the Daniel Fast check this out.
For information on the types of things you can eat read this.
Why Are You Doing It?
I personally wanted to do something for God that would be awesome and to share something with you that would bless your business. This was the best way to accomplish both goals. Also, I’m seeking the Lord to take The Success Center, Inside the Success, and everything that I do to the next level. I’ve accomplished a lot this year but I’m no where near where I want to be. This is an opportunity to quiet my soul in order to get the direction I seek.
Guys that is it in a nutshell – this will be a time for us as a kingdom business community to join together in personal as well as business harmony, and hear from God. I believe that my business is not just to make me rich. That will happen regardless. I believe my business is here to IMPACT the World. Won’t you join us. Watch the video below and then head over to the Success Center to get further information.
The Indispensable Church
Hats off to Chuck Warnock for stating what I have been feeling in my spirit for quite some time – What is the definition of church?- Chuck cleverly describes the downfall we are having in our church discussions now. With all of the marketing, church growth meetings and conferences – we are loosing the battle for people’s souls – Please take a look at this article. It may change the concept of your ministry.
http://chuckwarnockblog.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/the-indispensable-church/
Posted in Church Growth | 
Tags: African American Church, Black Church, Church, Church Marketing, urban church marketing, UrbanChurch Marketing | 
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Networking and Technology
Over the week-end, I was the keynote speaker for the Networking and Technology Luncheon in South Plainfield New Jersey. What a great time we had exploring all of the unique ways of integrating technology into ministry and business. The luncheon was sponsored by Kenneth Irvin and Man2Man Ministries. Also joining me on the luncheon was Keith Sedor from Apple Consultants. Needless to say his presentation was so impressive I have committed to transitioning my whole office to Apple products before the end of the year. I thought you might want to see some of the things we discussed, as well as the resource form I gave out of the tools I use for my business and ministry. Please enjoy.