Among the many buzzwords in 21st-century church leadership, “community” is near the top of the list. Thanks to this focus on community and the popularity of online social networks such as MySpace and Facebook among church members, many churches have begun to explore the possibility of facilitating their own online social networks. A dedicated social network for a church or ministry goes beyond a Facebook group and is instead a sort of private channel through which participants can share information and communicate with one another. Think about it this way: A church creating a group on a mainstream social network is like a church setting up a booth at the county fair. Meanwhile a church creating a dedicated social network is like a church that hosts its own fair, and although the church monitors who comes in the front gate, folks can enjoy the company of the crowd once they’re inside.
From the church leader’s perspective, these networks hold the potential for enhanced communication between leadership and congregation and between individual congregants and one another. The hope is that as a result of the network, network members (not necessarily church members) feel more connected to the organization as a whole and the individuals that comprise it.
For churches interested in establishing this kind of online community network, there are several options worthy of consideration. Among them are:
• Ning (www.ning.com)—A free platform (expandable via premium paid services) on which users can create and join niche social networks.
• GroupSite (www.groupsite.com)—A platform similar to Ning, with free and paid options.
• Unifyer (www.unifyer.com)—A commu¬nication and networking tool designed with ministries, universities, and other non-profit groups in mind.
• The City (www.onthecity.org)—Built by Mars Hill Church in Seattle for the use of its community, Zondervan acquired The City in November 2008.
• MyChurch (www.mychurch.org)—A networking tool for churches that includes a free and a paid option.
• MemberHub (www.memberhub.com)—A tool designed for churches and non-profits that organizes members and communication via managed hubs.
Of course, there are more options, but these are a good place to begin your search. Each of the options above represent different pricing models, feature sets, user interfaces, and customizability, so it’s best that prospective users compare several options while assessing the needs of their communities. We also recommend connecting with experienced users of the networking tools you’re considering, so you can gain more insight into how each platform might work for you.
Ning
To find out more about Ning, I spoke with Josh Webb, a creative director at an interactive firm and a worship leader at NorthStar Church in Kennesaw, Georgia. Webb launched his network for innovative ministry leaders, iDEA NATION (www.goideanation.org), on the Ning platform in 2008. Webb is impressed by the value Ning offers—a rich feature set that would cost thousands to recreate and a mere $4.95 a month to have your domain name point to your Ning network (for example, yourdomain.com as opposed to yourdomain.ning.com). On the other hand, Webb points out that it’s easy to feel restricted as the administrator of a Ning network. “After using free tools like WordPress, designers have become used to rich applications that they can completely customize and control,” he says. “With Ning, the company controls the features, and in some respects, the design [of your site]. When you get your site working the way you want it, they might change the way a feature works, the design of the icons, or even a piece of code that messes with your layout.”
Despite that lack of control, Webb still recommends Ning for non-profits because of the low resource investment required to launch a network. That said, he also recommends looking into BuddyPress (www.buddypress.org), which describes itself as a “suite of WordPress plug-ins and themes” that “will add a social networking layer to a new or existing installation of WordPress.” Given the proliferation of WordPress as a blogging platform and a content management system, something like BuddyPress might be an ideal solution for a church or ministry seeking a dedicated online social network.
What I found most interesting from Webb’s input on the value of Ning was his reasoning behind using Ning for iDEA NATION. I wondered why he didn’t simply create a Facebook group in which to host conversations and invite collaboration. “I needed something to keep the users focused,” he says. “Facebook is great for casual promotions or interaction, but there is too much to distract you.” In addition, Webb points out, “there is no real way to brand Facebook groups except with a logo. Ning is a great tool for that purpose—they recognize the need for branded social apps.”
The City
Last year, I began to hear good things about the way Mars Hill Church was using The City, its dedicated social network. When it was announced in November that Zondervan had acquired The City, I was intrigued by the clear implication that Zondervan recognized the value and potential of a tool like The City to enhance, or even revolutionize, the way a local church body communicates between Sundays.
Zack Hubert was the Pastor of Technology at Mars Hill Church while The City was developed and implemented, and now he works at Zondervan as Architect of The City and Vice President of Church Community Networks. Hubert believes Facebook is an important channel for churches to explore, but he sees the function and value of The City as being different from that of Facebook. “Facebook has 200 million people on that platform, so I think that’s a fantastic front door for a lot of people to find out about your church,” he tells me. “I would recommend that any church looking to technology to be part of their communications platform definitely consider using Facebook. 200 million people—that’d be a big front door to close.”
He continues: “But The City and Facebook are different in that The City is where you can then have all of these groups that are actually physically involved in your church or non-profit mirrored in The City. It reinforces those existing relationships that you’ve already got inside the church and resources them throughout the week. So the message is the church’s message rather than 500 messages including clothing advertisements and [notifications about] the bridge club that a person might be in. Facebook has hundreds of messages; The City is all about the message of the church.”
The clarity of purpose, voice, and message that Hubert describes is a significant aspect of the appeal of The City and other private network solutions for churches. Rather than trying to facilitate communication and fellowship in what equates to a noisy, crowded shopping mall (Facebook), a dedicated network enables more focused and intentional interaction for church leaders and members who buy into the effort to foster community online.
Unifyer
Matt Frazier is the founder and CEO of Unifyer’s parent company, Pursuant. He describes Unifyer as “a social intranet” of which the primary purpose is “to enable decentralized communication within the church and to spur organic ministry.” And although Frazier is an obvious proponent of dedicated social networks, he cautions against launching a network for its own sake. “If you don’t have a critical need—if you don’t solve a critical problem with your social network, it dies,” he insists. “Because there’s no real reason for people to be in it.”
According to Frazier, Unifyer addresses a fundamental communication problem that exists in a lot of churches. He believes members want to stay informed about the ministries they’re interested in or involved with, as well as the church as a whole. Unfortunately, maintaining communication with churchgoers typically forces church staff and lay leaders to manage mailing list spreadsheets and haggle with the technical challenges of email sends and updating websites with new information and media.
“Unifyer gives church members a way to select what updates they want to receive,” Frazier says. “If you’re not quite in the drama ministry but you’re interested in it, you could go into Unifyer and drag the drama widget onto your homepage and start getting updates.” Instead of sticking ministry leaders with list management, Unifyer puts each member in charge of the communication lists they’re on. At the same time, Unifyer’s built-in tools make it easy for leaders to communicate with their group members, who can also communicate to one another and upload their own media to the network. Recently, Willow Arts (part of the Willow Creek Association), launched a Unifyer powered network called Cultivate (www.cultivateonline.org)—a global worship and arts leaders’ network—through which Willow Arts can host its ongoing conversation.
Whether or not a dedicated social network is right for your church, I don’t know. Obviously, there are a number of factors to consider, from network options to the willingness of your congregation to participate. Ultimately, it feels as though dedicated networking is the direction in which church communication is headed. If that’s the case, a timely and well-planned transition will likely be the key to launching a successful network for your organization. Consider the options mentioned in this article, as well as any other options you can find, and try to determine which one will most benefit your community. As other 21st-century church leadership buzzwords arise, hopefully your social network will address those, too.