Online Youth Ministry
I’m taking a workshop on online social networking and youth ministry for the New Beginnings Youth Ministry Intensive at Trinity College in Brisbane, next week. We’ll have 90 minutes to explore ways in which youth ministry can happen online.
We’ll identify some of the relational modes we’ve seen already:
1. Email - newsletters, conversations
2. Instant Messaging - conversations
3. Web sites - notice boards, forums
4. Blogs - chances to interact
And then we’ll take a look at the social networking side - Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Bebo, Friendster…
Rhett Smith, college director of The Quest, at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, has his outline for a workshop online, exploring our own online journey, the issue of online identities, the challenge of leading within an online structure where there is no official leadership, the ambiguity found in positive and negatives, and the call to be involved in transforming communities.
Here’s a few of my issues…
1. Development of identity.
Young people need to develop their own sense of who they are in relationship to their community. Online communities provide opportunities for experimentation.
2. Development of intimacy
I’ve seen socially awkward teenagers develop the capacity for in depth conversations once the tongue-tied blushing body had become irrelevant. There’s potential here but also the danger of imbalance. There’s a tension between knowing and being known by many and knowing and being known well. The more ‘friends’ we add to our profiles the more difficult it is to foster relationships of integrity.
Freedom and Addiction
The house church I belong to is currently working through a series of studies relating to Lent, focusing on ‘Letting Go For Life”. Youth leaders have the opportunity to reflect with young people about the cravings (some very healthy) that can end up as addictions. Winning at that game. Being affirmed by others and added to their lists of friends.
Proximity
I don’t expect youth leaders to spend all their time with young people. There’s a need for healthy boundaries. However it is important to be accessible. For that reason I’ve accepted teenagers from church youth groups etc as ‘friends’ in MySpace and Facebook but have not gone pursuing them.
2 Responses to “Online Youth Ministry”
By darren on Feb 8, 2008 | Reply
add to that a couple more off the top of my head.
devaluing relationships: im not sure how to title this one, there are major issues with applications like facebook and myspace where “friendship” becomes devalued so much that it becomes a link on a page. your profile is valued on how many friends you can have on your friends list, but friendships on these applications are not like friendships/relationships in real life, thee is no real need for us to put any energy into the relationships, having 500 friends on myspace doesnt really mean im popular, nor does it mean i am friends with 500 people. mark sayers calls it the pornographisation of relationships.
and
popularity verses credibility (see http://planettelex.bur.st/?p=455 for more information)
By Rhett Smith on Feb 9, 2008 | Reply
Duncan,
When you finish taking your class…I would love for you to post some thoughts. This is such an interesting topic and love to hear what others thing. I have a more full-blown chapter coming out on this topic this September in the book, The New Media Frontier http://www.thenewmediafrontier.com
I think by the time this comes out though, my thoughts will probably have changed in some new directions as well.
I love your issue of proximity. So, so important. I know way too many youth workers (and myself at one time before I got married, etc) where we spend too much time with you…not good boundaries. You should write more on that. I think most leaders don’t get that.
Rhett