Social Media is Not About Me

I think we live in the most exciting time period ever. We have incredible opportunities right in front of us and if that in itself wernt enough, we also have more available time than any other generation before us. What used to take days to complete now takes hours because of modern conveniences like microwaves, washer and dryers, cars, email etc. So we have this great dove tail of available time and opportunities. For instance, we have lots of facebook friends yet more time to communicate with them than we would have had in 1923.

Jesus told us to go and make disciples. Go means to take the initiative. Many years ago the only way to take the initiative to reach people for Christ to the ends of the earth was to hop on a boat and sail over to another country to tell people about Jesus. Years later came planes, and now there is the internet and with it the far reaching effects of social media where we can reach people for Christ in other countries while living across the globe from each other. 

Here's three stories that will give you glimpse of what God can do through social media:

Story One
I met Tanya through facebook and she ended up getting involved with our ministry. She built friendships with other students and would go to bible studies but wasn't ready to trust Jesus with her life. We would chat on facebook every now and then and I would write little bits of encouragement on her wall and invite her and her son over for lunch when I could. I got to share the gospel with her and I know of 2 other people who did as well. She just wasn't ready. We kept praying.

Finally, while chatting on facebook I asked her if she was ready to submit her life to Christ. She typed "yes". So right there, typed out on facebook chat, Tanya received Jesus' forgiveness and surrendered her life to Him. God used facebook to transfer Tanya from the kindgom of death to the kingdom of life. How beautiful!

Story Two
Austin took a few guys to a closed middle eastern country last summer to help fulfill the Great Commission. While they were there, they set up a quick website that had a picture of him and the guys with a little bit about them and their contact info. Then they made a facebook ad telling people to click to talk about who Jesus is. They targeted the city they were in and 18-25 year olds since they were spending their time on campus. In just a couple hours of running the ad (they ran out of money because of all the clicks), they had 771 students click on the link and a handful email them asking questions about who Jesus was. Pretty cool huh.

Story Three
Not too long ago on twitter there was a girl who was commenting on how she didn't know her purpose and was awful at everything, convinced she was a giant failure. I got to encourage her in 140 characters ;) and send her a link to The Story, a great website that talks about how much we need Jesus. 

And did you know you can also use facebook to share the Gospel with an unreached people group! How crazy is that!? You can actually tell someone who has never heard the name Jesus, ever and you can tell them in their language without having to spend a couple thousand dollars to fly there and a few years to learn the language. Is your mind blown? 

Well, there is dare I say a movement of people doing this after a post I wrote but made popular by Joshua Project a couple years ago. I get a message like this one every so often.

My husband leads a men's fellowship group. Last year I gave him your article on Facebook and reaching the lost. He got the men on board and for the last year they've been doing ads on Facebook for Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Close to 1,000 people have clicked through the ads proclaiming the Gospel. And their project is ongoing. Thank you for the article and your ministry. The ripple effect is going on probably in ways you'll never know until we are in Heaven. Be blessed.

We truly have been given an incredible gift of opportunity to reach people with the Gospel and help people grow in their faith. 

My sweet friend Angi Pratt and I wrote a book about this that gives you a ton more ideas of how you can live as though social media was less about you and more about making much of Jesus. Check it out.

About Laura

Laura, the creator and host of Missional Women is married and has four kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 11 years serving with Master Plan Ministries. Laura is the Women's Development Coordinator and has discipled over 150 girls, led over 30 Bible studies and speaks to college and women's groups. Laura has authored 5 books, including an award winning 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, and A Devotional Journey through Judges, a devotional to accompany the free online Bible study at TheBookofJudges.com. You can find her on facebook,twitter, pinterest, youtube, instagram and her author site.

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