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Today we talk with a Daniel Johnson Jr who shares some of his insights into using Facebook and Twitter with your church.

What the Heck is Twitter?

People answer this by saying “a micro blogging platform.” If we were to say this in English, you can use it as your own press release system, and you can only release very short items (144 characters).  The people who will receive your releases (called “tweets”) have to choose to “follow” you.  With this in mind it is a way for people of the congregation to update each other on what is going on in their life and stay in touch with each other. Here are some examples:

“Worship service starts in an hour”

“Megan had her child, it’s a boy, Ethan Bradley, mother and baby are fine.”

“This weeks sermon is “the most important thing for kids” ”

You can sign up for twitter at www.twitter.com

FaceBook

Facebook is a free website that allows you to make friends and when people update their status, their friends can see what is going on. You can share pictures, and much more. You can sign up at facebook at www.facebook.com

Time Shifting is the Key

One of the keys to both Face Book and Twitter is the ability to “time shift” your content. Think of this like an answering machine. When you leave a message for someone the person checks the message whenever they can get to it.  So I can leave a “tweet” on twitter, or post an update on Face Book and people can catch those items whenever they want to.

The best thing about twitter and face book is they are both free.

Reaching a Younger Audience

If you are trying to reach that younger audience, using twitter and facebook may make your church look “cool” and may entice people to stop in and see what’s going on.

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Wii Bowling League For Your Church

Today we get some email from a listener with some tips on a Wii Bowling League for your church.  These include:

1. Don’t bother personalizing the Wii characters.

2. You need at least two systems to have a league.

3. It takes around 4 hours with two lanes

4. Room for flexibility depending on how many games you bowl.

5. If needed you can charge to participate.

Personalize Your Thank You Notes

Technology is a great thing, and yes we can print directly on envelopes to send the through mail. This is fine in soe cases, but if you are sending a thank you note to a visitor you should hand write the enveloope (and if you have the handwriting the note as well). By taking the time (and effort) to hand write a note it shows its personalized, it’s not a form letter, and you took the time and effort to say thank you. We want to create a personalized experience for our guests so they can start a personalized experience with Christ.

T-shirt Of the Week is “Jesus – It’s just that Easy” from Kerusso. Show your faith to everyone around you.