Thoughts on life, leadership and the movement called the church by Brian C. Hughes, Senior Pastor

by Brian C. Hughes, Senior Pastor

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Five Reasons I Use Facebook

Facebook has its critics. But I believe it's one of the most powerful tools the church has ever had. Sure, I know people who waste an unhealthy amount of time on FB and are frankly addicted to it. I’m not advocating anything like that. Still, it has become an important resource. Here are five reasons I use it:
  1. Email is old-school. There is an entire generation now who don’t do email. Hard to believe, I know. Instead, they use FB to communicate by sending and receiving messages and writing on walls. Truth be told, there are plenty of not-so-young people (like me) who are increasingly using FB as an alternative to overflowing email inboxes.
  2. Efficient, Real-Time Communication. Using group member lists and status updates, FB allows for exponentially fast, viral transmission of information.
  3. Effective Group and Team Discussion. More and more, I'm using FB to have group community conversations on discussion boards about a variety of topics. I'm not talking about shooting the breeze over meaningless issues. I'm talking about real debate over things that matter. This means good, well considered decisions happen with fewer face to face meeting, saving people time and money. They can participate in the discussion on their time at their convenience.
  4. Excellent Care. FB allows us to check in with our friends and respond with care when they need us. A quick run down of the latest status updates alerts us to friends who are hurting or need a word of encouragement or need someone to pray for them.
  5. Eliminates the Pictorial Directory. You may remember the days when folks came to church with their family at the appointed time and a few weeks later everyone received a copy of the photo album. When someone asks me now, “Why don’t we have a church directory?” I say, “We do…it’s called Facebook
Hope you will consider FB if you're not there already. It's safe, secure, and a potent tool for connecting with the existing church and reaching new people. Plus, it's relevant. PCC is a Facebook church. Hope to see you there!