Growing up, I used to go fishing with Jeff and his family down in Port Arthur. At the age of eight, I knew next to nothing about fishing other than you needed a fishing pole, some bait, and a place to fish. So this trip surprised me. First, we piled into a boat and headed down the bayou. We had no fishing poles. We stopped at what I later understood was a trot line marker. We pulled up the line attached to the trot line marker and began putting bait on what seemed like miles of hooks. We left that marker and did the same thing three more times. We went back to the house, ate lunch, and piled back into the boat. This time, when we pulled up the line, we started taking fish off the line, one at a time, until we had around 25 fish. Amazing
So, what’s the point? Doing church without technology is like fishing with one pole. Technology, used in the right way, can be that trot line with multiple hooks in the water. The fact is, people are becoming more and more connected. Sure, it is entirely possible to fish with one pole and assume that you will catch something sooner or later. Or, you can do a cursory look at technology as a whole and figure out which trot lines work for you.
There are so many it is impossible to name them all. But here are a few new and not so new ideas:
- A web site that looks fresh and up to date
- Facebook or Myspace or (fill in the blank)
- Twitter that automatically updates Facebook and Myspace and (fill in the blank)
- Bulk text messaging (www.smscaster.com/ an example)
- Blogging with an automatic Twitter updater
- Live video feeds (www.mogulus.com or www.ustream.tv )
Here is the overall idea. The people you will connect with in a social network are connected with people you never met before. And if you are trying to reach people with the message of the Gospel, your best bet is multiple hooks. You could go hang around all your friends’ friends. Time consuming. Or, you can meet lots of people quickly with multiple applications. One last note, just because you put your hooks in the water, doesn’t make you a fisherman. You actually have to talk with people and engage them. You have to find out about who they are and what they like and engage them genuinely. And as you get out there and be available, you will meet more people than you ever dreamed possible. And you will then be a modern day technological fisher of men!
pic by Podnox
April 29th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Thanks Tony for that great analogy of the multiple hooks to fish with. To piggy back on that, you can also expand that (maybe) by adding this; You can now fish (simultaneously) in many different ponds. Now you are literally ministering to thousands. Your church, where you minister, will eventually catch up with the number of people you are ministering to online if you have a net to bring them into the boat. The net is the video streaming piece that allows people to get to know the pastor and his ministering/preaching style, and his voice. People get connected to a church because they sense and feel a connection to the pastor. The pastor then needs to be ministering on blogs with multiple subject manner. The ability for people to ask questions and to have those answered and taught on by the pastor is a definite connection point. By getting to know the pastor they are connecting to a person and not a building or a street address. They are putting a face to the
ministry. And even though we want to point everyone to Christ, God uses men and women
to lead and do the work of the ministry. God used men and women to pen the canon of scripture. God used men and women to initiate the first church in the book of ACTS. And God
uses men and women today to lead people to Him today. So video streaming brings the persona of the pastor to be used as a connection point with families in their home. They are instructed to email the message/sermon to their extended family/friends and to those that need an encouraging word that will bring them to Christ. (Another Pond) Reaching into these layers of people takes careful instruction and a dedication in making the website work for you and your church. The direction then needs to head towards an entry point on your site just for visitors. People that are outside your community; Military, Members that have moved away, Sister Churches, and Missionaries, all will develop a connection point to your church. (Another Pond). The clarity and direction given online will bring desired results of people getting connected. Many ponds to fish in; Thousands of people reached. Normal, healthy growth comes in waves. (Acts Chapters 1,2, 3, 4 and 5) Your attrition is normally at a trickle and, if your growth is at a trickle rate; You do the math. Lets go ahead and fish in many ponds simultaneously and have good healthy growth that has an impact in reaching the world. I like to call it Ocean Evangelism. There's a big pond for ya'.