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Well, it’s Friday again already and time for our weekly review of blog articles related to ministry and Internet technology.  Hope you find these week’s articles interesting.  Some of the videos in the last blog article mentioned are just hysterical.  We appreciate your comments and feedback on all of them.
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Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family, friends, and most importantly, Jesus.  I love this time of year because it’s a time of optimism and fresh starts.  More than any other time of year, in January we believe in the possibility of what could be.

Now I’m sure you’ve noticed in the last couple of weeks there has been no shortage of articles, blogs, and TV shows containing 2007 predictions.  They range from the dire like Pat Robertson’s prediction of a terrorist attack to the wacky (the Spice Girls will reunite.)  I promise not to scare you with doomsday forecasts, and while it’s tempting I’ll resist the urge to humor you with outrageous possibilities.

In fact, I’m kind of cool to the whole prediction thing, but I believe that success often comes from anticipating a trend and putting yourself in a position to ride the wave.  My hope is that by talking about some of the current trends related to Christianity and the Internet that you can position yourself to ride one or more of these waves in 2007.  So, here are 5 predictions for 2007 and their implications for Christian ministry. (more…)

I’m up in the Chicago area this week for the Acts 2 Conference put on by Willow Creek Community Church.  The conference is an interactive learning experience in which 5 innovative ways of doing church ministry are presented and then discussed by a panel of forward-thinking pastors.  Ideas being presented include the come-as-you-are culture, multi-cultural outreach, and community impact ministry.

Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv, spoke about multi-site ministry.  LifeChurch.tv has 8 physical campuses in 4 states plus an Internet campus.  Each campus has its own live worship band and its own campus pastor, and through the use of satellite technology Pastor Groeschel can teach at all 9 campuses simultaneously, including the Internet campus.  To see a physical church making a real effort to create an online church really sparked my interest. (more…)

For the last month Christian Web Trends has been talking about MySpace.  What is it?  Is it safe?  How can it be used for ministry?  But we left the best for last.  There’s one area use for MySpace that stands out in the crowd.  There’s one group of people who can benefit from using MySpace far beyond any other.  Can you guess who it is? (more…)

Today we continue our series on the most popular website in the U.S., MySpace.  Last week we asked, “Is MySpace safe?” and discussed what parents can do to make it safer for their kids should they allow them to use MySpace.  If you’ve read any of the comments readers have posted to the first 3 articles in this series, you know there are strong opinions on both side of the issue of whether Christians ought to use MySpace.

While some Christians believe we should protect ourselves and avoid MySpace, a growing number of Christians have the perspective that Jesus met people where they were at and if they are going to reach this generation with the gospel of Jesus then they are going to use MySpace as a means to do that.  Here are some churches that have created profiles on MySpace. (more…)

Do a quick search of Google News for “MySpace sexual assault” and these are some of the headlines you’ll see:

• Buda Man Indicted In MySpace Sexual Assault
• Michigan Man Busted During MySpace Rondevous
• Sex assault fugitive surrenders to police
• MySpace Molester Surrenders On Charges)

No wonder many people, especially parents, shudder and the mention of MySpace.  Critics loudly denounce MySpace saying, “It’s a feeding ground for pedophiles!”  “Kids post suggestive photos of themselves.”  “It’s a forum for all sorts of vulgar expression.”  Yet a recent survey found that 61% of American 13-17 year olds have a MySpace profile.  Is MySpace safe for teens? For adults? (more…)

Two weeks ago I kicked off a series on the most popular online destination in the world – MySpace.  While I had read a lot about MySpace, I had never been there myself, so I figured it was time for me to dive in head first find out first hand what all the buzz is about.  Here’s a bit of my journey and what I learned along the way. (more…)

In July MySpace became the most visited website in the U.S.  Earlier this month, we at OurChurch.Com began surveying our 8,000+ webmasters about MySpace.  Preliminary results show almost half our webmasters don’t know what MySpace is.  So, I decided it was time for me to take the plunge, create a MySpace profile, and start writing about it.

I’m going to do a series of blog articles about MySpace as it relates to Christian communication.  I don’t have the whole series planned out yet, because a lot of it will depend on my experiences and interactions with other people, but some of the questions/topics I’m already tossing around in my mind include: (more…)

There has been quite a bit in the media recently about church communications. Here are a few excerpts from articles you may find interesting.

George Barna published a study last month that has rocked many Christian leaders’ worlds. “More than seven out of ten Americans (72%) claim they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today.� However… “Only 17% of adults said that ‘a person’s faith is meant to be developed mainly by involvement in a local church.’ In other words, while there appears to be an increase in spirituality, fewer people are finding the local church important to their spiritual development.

The L.A. Times published an article yesterday entitled “God’s Call Comes by Cellphone.” It cites examples of how Christian churches are using the latest technology to connect with people. “Nearly 60% of Protestant churches have websites now, up from 35% in 2000. More than half use e-mail blasts to communicate with their congregation — and 12% let the faithful tithe online, according to the Barna Group, which conducts research for Christian ministries. In the sanctuary itself, more than 60% of Protestant churches spice up their services with video clips shown on oversize screens.” There has also been an explosion in churches that podcast the audio of their sermons, utilize text messaging, and even do video broadcasting of their services online.

Even the Wall Street Journal got into the act with an article called “Churches Embrace the Web In Bid to Attract Members.” It describes an Episcopal priest who has used MySpace to draw people to his church as well as a youth ministry that is using MySpace to connect with teens. “‘MySpace is a great tool for creating buzz,’ he said, ‘The trick is, how do you create buzz without endorsing something that can be potentially harmful?’”

It leads me to two questions…

1. How does a church decide what technology to embrace?
2. By providing podcasts and video services, is the church actually contributing to the problem that only 17% of Americans believe a person’s faith is meant to be developed in the context of the local church?

By the way, if you haven’t already done so, please give us your feedback in our online survey.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com