My Message of Change at the UCC Web University

1admin • 31st Aug 2009 • Posts • change, church, social media, web ministry

This past weekend, I was blessed to have the opportunity to share the keynote message at the UCC Web University in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This was the first in a series of regional web ministry trainings opportunities hosted by the United Church of Christ.

My presentation was titled “Web Ministry: Past, Present, and Future”. While I’ve been working in this field for more than 15 years now – it was a nice opportunity to share how things have changed from my perspective. The common thread that ran throughout the keynote was “change”. Specifically, how technology has changed the landscape of ministry, and how the Church must change to stay relevant.

The subject of “change” is often a risky subject to discuss in large groups – I was very pleased with the response. It was very exciting to participate in dialogue with a group open to new ideas. Blessings.

Below you will find both the slides from my presentation, as well as the transcript from live blogs that were posted to Twitter during the keynote.

Live Twitter Transcript

http://Youversion.com Free Bible phone application. | http://Open.LifeChurch.tv Free creative church resources. |5:40 PM Aug 28th from web

“Bleeding edge” examples: http://lifechurch.tv. Online church, 19 real-time worship opportunities every week. http://live.lifechurch.tv5:37 PM Aug 28th from web

Some congregations build attractive websites using WordPress blogging software (free) using free templates. #webu5:35 PM Aug 28th from web

Free social media: Wordpress, Blogger.com, Google Analytics, Drupal, YouTube, picnik, tokbox, twitter, Facebook … all FREE. #webu5:34 PM Aug 28th from web

Web ministry is inexpensive: low-cost web access, low-cost sites., free social media (Twitter, YouTube). Takes commitment, not $$$ #webu5:32 PM Aug 28th from web

Over 50-users fastest-growing group on Facebook and Twitter. #webu5:25 PM Aug 28th from web

Reasons no longer valid. Twitter and Facebook don’t require broad-band, for example. #webu5:24 PM Aug 28th from web

Excuses for not changing: our congregation is older, too small, not enough staff, ministry doesn’t happen online, we’re on dial-up. #webu5:24 PM Aug 28th from web

Online worship now a reality: not only webcasting worship but engaging in real-time interaction with visitors during worship. #webu4:52 PM Aug 28th from web

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) empowers everyone to be co-creators of information. Church has to adapt to this. #webu4:49 PM Aug 28th from web

Top-down and push method of communication doesn’t work. You create content, push it towards a passive audience. #webu4:49 PM Aug 28th from web

great video on the rate of change in world called Did You Know on YouTube http://bit.ly/d4f3G - Dave Schoen #webu4:43 PM Aug 28th from web

People are hungry for spirituality and are turning to social media for spiritual experiences: an opportunity for the church. #webu4:40 PM Aug 28th from web

Matt Carlisle web page http://www.ministry2.org/ #webu4:39 PM Aug 28th from web

The number of text messages sent every day exceeds the population of the planet. #webu4:36 PM Aug 28th from web

One out of 8 couples who married last year met online. #webu4:35 PM Aug 28th from web

Mistake #3: over-designed home page trapped in an endless loop with loud Star Wars-style music. #webu4:27 PM Aug 28th from web

Mistake #2: home page last updated 2006 (announcing kid’s event from that year). Lots of noisy animated gifs. #webu4:25 PM Aug 28th from web

Mistake #1: a site all about the congregation, centering on the pastor: so self-focused visitors can’t see themselves represented. #webu4:25 PM Aug 28th from web

Matt will show us some web design disasters, but (out of tact) none of them are UCC. #webu4:22 PM Aug 28th from web

Matt Carlisle is founder of Big Heart design at BigHeartDesign.com and Ministry 2.0 http://ministry2.org4:20 PM Aug 28th from web

Folks here from Hawai’i, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, S. and N. Carolina, Minnesota, other states. #webu4:17 PM Aug 28th from web

Web U has great start. Matt Carlisle to make 1st presentation. See online resources http://bit.ly/KGHij - Dave Schoen #webu4:07 PM Aug 28th from web

Looking forward to a great Web U this weekend. Travel blessings to those coming. See you there! Dave Schoen #webu11:17 AM Aug 26th from web