It just came across my feed reader, so I had to quickly post something (I know it’s Sunday)…

Time Magazine just released an article that presents some interesting information about the popular social networking site, Facebook.  Who do you think uses Facebook more? Teenagers or Adults?

You might be surprised (especially if you have teenage volunteers who update their status every 20 seconds), adults over 25 make up more than 50% of the Facebook online community.  The article raised an important question that I think those in children’s ministry are facing.  What does the proliferation of online resources do to “real” relationships?

Here’s my take…
I’ve heard from many voices in the field of children’s ministry.  Some are on the opposite side of technology, thinking it erodes “real” relationships and provides kids with a mere shadow of community.  Others (like Johnny Rogers or Aaron Reynolds) want ministries to engage, posing that media enhances “real” relationships.  Here’s the problem.  For the digital kid who sits in your church, media does not enhance relationships.  It is relationships.  The friends they have on Facebook are just as good if not better friends than those a child meets with face to face.  Social networking did not enhance or replace the real thing, it just became part of the real thing.  I think this is a key issue that the field of children’s and family ministry needs to address and fast, otherwise we will have a difficult time engaging the kids on any relational level.