Facebook in Ministry?

I got to work a little early that day. I knew it was going to be a busy day and I wanted to get an early start. I turned on my laptop computer and the radio in my office. I often listen to our radio station throughout the day, but today, listening would be especially important. We were giving away free tickets to a popular Christian concert. We had been giving away tickets all week, but today the tickets would go exclusively to fans of our HCJB La Voz de Los Andes Facebook fan page. If they were not already a fan, they could become one, but they had to write a certain phrase on our "wall" in order to enter the drawing. My job was to keep track of the people who entered the contest and write them a quick reply, confirming receipt of their entry. By the time we selected the winners, 76 people had written the proper phrase on our wall.

This is an example of how we are trying to use the new digital media technologies to touch our audience in new ways. The world is becoming more social in the way it uses technology and we hope to capitalize on that trend. Facebook is an internet based social network in which "fans" can communicate with us interactively. They can now ask questions of our radio hosts, live on the air. They can inquire as to what song we just played on the air. They can send us testimonies of how God has used one of our producers to say just the right thing at just the right time for them. We can also use the network to share news and information about other HCJB Global ministries in Latin America. For instance, we were able to share pictures from our medical team as they ministered in Haiti recently. We can also share videos, have open discussion forums, share links to useful web pages, and many more things.

We now have 5 Facebook pages in Latin America, each one with a specific audience in mind. Three of those have been launched since our return to Ecuador in late January. I am responsible for updating only two of those pages, but I spend a lot of time helping other HCJB Global staff learn about Facebook and think through ways that they might use it to better communicate with their target audience. We are certainly not experts on social media, but we are learning as we explore new ways to reach out to our audience.

You can follow our English regional fan page by clicking on the HCJB Voz Global fan button in the right hand column of this blog. Thanks for praying for us as we seek new ways of reaching out to people in Latin America with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Doug