[August 08, 2011] Religion finds social media Tweet Aug 06, 2011 (The Brunswick News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The roots of Christianity that reach back 2,000 years are now taking hold in the social media of 2011. With the births of Twitter and Facebook, communication to large groups of people takes only a few clicks of a computer, and many churches are finding that it is an effective way to extend their ministries. According to LifeWay Research, a group affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, 81 percent of congregations with average worship attendance of 500 or more use Facebook. Small churches are also getting involved, with more churches joining every day. Facebook isn't the only mode of online networking. Twitter has proved useful for quick updates. Even Pope Benedict XVI can Tweet inspiration in 140 characters or less. Closer to home, some churches are finding social media sites to be very effective. Fred McKinnon, worship pastor at St. Simons Community Church who is also in charge of the church's Facebook and Twitter sites, says social media help members connect. "A lot of people who wouldn't come to our website are on Facebook. But, for us, our web page links to our Facebook page. So we can post a sermon or song on our web page and it links to our Facebook page. Then people can 'like it' or make a comment, and that shows up on your page and other people can see it. It's not just static information we're putting out -- it's interactive," McKinnon said. With 752 "likes" on its page, St. Simons Community Church is certainly getting its message out. And with so many paying attention, McKinnon says, it is particularly helpful with the church's youth. "It definitely helps engage the younger members. We have private Facebook groups that have been set up. We have the youth group, the praise team and the music team, all of those groups have Facebook pages," he said. "I've found that teenagers seldom check their e-mail, but they're on Facebook all the time. I can send a new song out to the members of the youth praise team on Facebook and I know they'll see it." The church also uses Twitter, just not as often, McKinnon said. "It's not as active as our Facebook page. But one of the cool things that we did with it was to post updates from our short-term mission trips. We would have someone on that trip take their international phone and the church could follow the trip on Twitter," he said. The missionaries could keep the congregation in the loop by providing information and photos of baptisms and services from far away places, such as Africa. McKinnon says it made everyone feel like they were along for the ride. "The congregation and their family members could follow along. And it was much easier for them to send a Tweet rather than picking up the phone and making an expensive international call," he said. "That was the biggest way we've used Twitter." St. Simons Community Church isn't the only one that has found social media to be beneficial. Lord of Life Lutheran Church, on St. Simons Island, has its members logging-in, as well. Brelynn DuMortier takes care of the church's Facebook account. She says it is an easy way to communicate with members. "We started a Facebook page a few months ago, mainly because I heard that many people didn't read our regular newsletter," she said. "So I try to post updates on there (on Facebook). It notifies people of what's going on in the church and they can RSVP to events and post their own stuff. It's more interactive than just a newsletter." Individual groups can also use the site to post their own meeting information, DuMortier added. "We have a mom's group, and we can post the time and date of its meetings. We also have groups that have fundraisers, special services or Sunday school kick offs," she said. More people are made aware of those events because many members spend time on their own, personal Facebook sites. That, DuMortier says, makes it easy for them to check-in. "People are on Facebook for their daily use, and they can just look and see what's going on at church while they are doing it," she said. Of course, not all churches have embraced social media. Some argue that the increase of online communication fosters a disconnect between the church and its members, and that it works against personal interactions. But the Rev. Wright Culpepper disagrees. Since the executive director of Faith Works, an inter-denominational social services ministry in Brunswick, began using Facebook, he's discovered that social media can open doors. "For me, as a pastor, social media has helped keep communication open. For so long in our society, we didn't know what was going on in people's lives. Before, someone may have been struggling and no one would know about it," he said. Culpepper has seen people post their celebrations or tribulations online. This helps to start a dialogue. "I might see someone at the hospital or at the mall and I can say, 'how is your mom doing' or 'how is your child doing?' I know about what's going on in their life because they posted it on Facebook," he said. It also lets him bring a personal touch to those who need it. "I'm able to give them some assurance or at least let them know that I'm praying for them. There are some who are opposed to the fact that we all have been so involved with technology. They say that we have the high tech but not the high touch," he said. "But I think that the high tech can help us have the high touch without being intrusive. If someone puts it out there, it is out there, and if they don't put it out there, then it wasn't meant for anyone else. But as a pastor, this helps open the door for a more meaningful conversation." 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