Media Outreach

People are communicating differently than they were just 10 years ago. Millions of Americans have embraced the Internet and the conveniences that go with it. Communicating with one another is a convenience that has emerged since the Internet has become a part of our public conscience. People communicate with email, blogs, podcasts, and social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Technology creates an entirely new way of gathering and searching for information.

More churches than ever are embracing technology and using it to communicate with their members. The Barna Group gathered the following statistics about online church communication.

One out of four protestant churches has a presence on social networking sites like MySpace.

Larger churches were more than twice as likely to have a social networking presence.

Another example of technology invading the church world is blogging.

13% of protestant churches now have blog sites or pages that people can interact with church leaders.

The number of church websites in 2008 has almost doubled since 2000.

Based on recent numbers 62% of protestant churches have a church website.

The key is using technology in a way that is consistent with your calling and purpose. According to respected researcher George Barna of The Barna Group, “The Internet has become one of the pivotal communications and community-building tools of our lifetime. Churches are well-advised to have an intelligent and foresighted Internet strategy in order to facilitate meaningful ministry.”