I remember reading an email about five years ago from a friend who told me about a “must-see” website. She insisted that I sign up to at least try it out.

For the first 48 hours I had no clue what I was doing, or why I was on there, but I had agreed to give it a test run. After about two days I got the hang of things, and once I realized the potential it had–I was hooked.

I’ve since come to realize that facebook can be an ally or it can be the enemy depending on how you choose to use or abuse it. I want to use it. In fact I’d like to see it used for the glory of God.

Certainly I enjoy connecting with my friends and relatives as I check out their photos and keep in touch with them over the years–I’ll always enjoy that. But facebook also has the potential to be a great ministry tool for those who, like me, enjoy being connected online.

Let’s look at ten ways that we can use it as a ministry tool:

  1. Share scripture with your friends. If you’re like me you probably have a mix of both Christian and non-Christian friends. But because all of my friends know that I’m a believer, they don’t mind me sharing my faith. In fact they’ve come to expect it.

    Popular belief is that living a “good” life is enough of a witness, but as we see in the gospel the Word also needs to be preached. The Word is infallible–my walk is not.

    For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:21

  2. Offer links to interesting videos or articles that might minister to your readers. There are so many inspiring videos and blog posts on the net just waiting to be shared.
    This doesn’t mean that your entire content has to be filled with words of wisdom. Friends are interested in your day-to-day life, which might include photos of you at the park or funny status updates. I prefer to show my true character, which includes a mix of both. God created me to smile and laugh, which is a natural part of who I am.
  3. Be friendly. Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly.” If you want to be effective online show a genuine interest in the lives of others. Comment on other statuses, send private notes of encouragement and always be ready to offer prayer–on the spot–when it’s needed.
  4. Be wary of status lines that slam other people, and don’t get drawn into the gossip. Remember you’re only reading one side, and more often than not, the person who is being slammed or insulted is reading the comments too. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” ~ John 13:35.

    Your love is a witnessing tool, therefore it’s important that you nurture and protect your attitude. Avoid the gossip pools that tend to take place on facebook, blog comments, and message boards.

  5. If you have a blog, set up “Network Blogging” through facebook. It’s an app that is easy to use and will automatically publish all of your blog posts onto your facebook page. Here’s a link: http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks
  6. Use Twitter Feed to have your facebook status automatically sent to Twitter. This doubles your exposure and offers yet another platform to share your ministry. The good thing about this app is that you can have a status line that is longer than a tweet. Twitter will prompt readers to click through to read the entire message. You can set that up here: http://twitterfeed.com
  7. Create a fan “page” in about 5 minutes. Simply go to a page like mine at: http://www.facebook.com/timewarpwife and look for “Create a page” in the bottom left hand corner. You can create one for your church or any ministry topic that you like. I have created several of these and they are great for connecting and chatting with people. One of my favorite pages was created for Evangel Chapel called, “Evangel Chapel, Past, Present, and Future.” Members of the church are connected there, and many who aren’t attending church any longer still have that constant connection. Love it! I’ve also created one for my church and my friend’s church.
  8. Invite readers to a church event or a Sunday morning service and link to your church website. Just a general invitation in your status is enough. If they don’t want to come, they won’t, but you never know who might be interested or who might be waiting for a gentle nudge.
  9. Create a fun or inspiring video and upload it to facebook. People love watching and sharing videos, so why not try creating your own? If you don’t know how, find out what kind of webcam you have and check if YouTube has a tutorial. Facebook allows you to load the video directly to your website so that it’s easily accessible to your friends and always in your sidebar.
  10. Be willing to stand up for your faith, even when it feels like you are standing alone. If someone comments on one of your status lines and disagrees with what you said, that doesn’t mean that you have to delete your status. You are entitled to say whatever you want to say, and there will ALWAYS be people who disagree. Even Jesus (especially Jesus) had people who disagreed with Him.

    Some words of disagreement may be worth considering and cause you to dig deep into the Word, but be careful that you aren’t compromising your faith just to make everyone happy.

Watch this video. It’s a little bit weird, but it teaches me how vital standing alone in our faith can be. It only takes one person to start a movement and make a change in this world.

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene

For comments or questions, contact me at:
darlene[at]darleneschacht.net

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