Bishop Alfred Owens gosp e l today | Aug 10 , 2 0 0 9
New Presiding Prelate!
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Bishop Alfred Owens will assume leadership of the Mt. Calvary Holy Churches at the 80th International Holy Convocation
For 80 years, the Mt. Calvary Holy Church of America, Inc, has provided spiritual enlightenment. This year, the new Presiding Prelate of the organization will be Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr. A week of events will mark the elevation of Bishop Owens. Beginning Tuesday, August 18 Evening Worship with Bishop T. D. Jakes; Wed. Aug. 19 - 10a.m. Morning Glory with Bishop Rudolph
McKissick, Jr. and Evening Worship with Bishop Kenneth Ulmer; Thurs. Aug. 20 - Evening Consecration Service; and Friday, Aug 21 Inaugural Ball at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. All Services will be held at the Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church in Washington, DC. For more information: kowens@gmchc.org. gt
“The church must make its mark in pioneering strategy to teach their youth how to use social networks for professional and ministry purposes.”
The Social Edge
gosp e l today |
Aug 10 , 2 0 0 9
By Brian Citizen
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Joshua Porter was surprised to see that Guy Kawasaki responded to him so quickly, actually at all. After sifting through various social media platforms, scanning for contact opportunities, the 21-year-old college student and Mission Support Specialist for an agency within the Department of Homeland Security decided to try his hand at connecting with Mr. Kawasaki. Relying on his newly developed social media networking skills, Joshua turned to Twitter to see what he could find. He found Mr. Kawasaki, former Chief Evangelist of Apple Computer and Venture Capitalist, on Twitter and sent him a message (or Tweet). Mr. Kawasaki responded, and that simple message turned into an ongoing dialogue concerning helpful business resources and advice for Joshua’s professional blog OBJourney.com, where he is now Chief Relationship Strategist. Joshua has a number of similar stories and says that "Social media has become the birthplace of many job interviews, internships, and overall life benefiting relationships." Social Media platforms include the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn etc. With so many opportunities available within Social Media, are there social networking skills that can and should be taught to youth in churches for professional advancement and ministry outreach? College Minister Rev. Reggie King, from Calvary Revival Church, (Norfolk, VA) answers with an emphatic "Yes", and says that the church must make its mark in pioneering strategy to teach their youth how to use social networks for professional and ministry purposes. He recognizes the importance of the medium and how it can positively or negatively affect everyday life. Rev King believes that it is important to challenge the youth with simple initiatives when it comes to ministry. He suggests starting by challenging youth to invite their friends to Bible study via a status update (Facebook/Twitter), and bring the results to the next Bible study so that they can talk about how it worked and what can be done next. Something practical like a status
update can help a young person become more comfortable with sharing their faith. His unique understanding on the professional side of things stems from the fact that Rev. King rents out part of his house to college students, but before he decides who will live with him, he scans their social network profile, specifically Facebook. Profile information, pictures, and status updates give Rev. King all the information he needs to know before entertaining an interview with a student. Rev. King scans their profiles in the manner employers would scan resumes. He believes that "The social network profile will become the new resume." Rev. King knows he is not alone in this thought, as companies are already using social media outlets to know as much as they can about current and potential employees. Facebook in particular has had 513.7% growth in the 55 and older age bracket as opposed to 4.8% growth for ages 18-24, according to IStrategyLabs. This means that there are more people of influence to connect with, but they will also be able to see a young person’s activity online as well. Churches can keep up with how companies are evaluating their youth by rethinking and retooling their practical training seminars, workshops, and career fairs to include social media etiquette, online personal branding, and platform specific training. Websites like personalbrandingblog.com and brazencareerist.com will give someone with limited knowledge of Social Media the resources to teach. However, Rev. King warns against dampening the creativity or authenticity of a young person’s social media presence. "Authenticity is the currency of social networking", says King. "In that authenticity they have to show that they are a good citizen and worker", and that is where the church comes in. Anthony Coppedge, technology evangelist and author of The Reason Your Church Must Twitter and, says "Who you know can be greatly advanced with social media", which can help level the playing field and bring inclusitivity to the old axiom of "Its not what you know, but who you know." This is important in a time where college graduates are competing in a poor job market. Although Coppedge won't say that a church absolutely has to engage in social media or teach their congregants how to do so, Cont. on p. 8
PULPIT VACANCY Full Time Pastor NEEDED Springfield Missionary Baptist Church P O BOX 91110 Washington, DC 20090 202.234.0648 www.sbconline.org Order your subscription TODAY! gospeltoday.com
The Springfield Missionary Baptist Church, Washington, D.C. is currently accepting applications for the position of Pastor. Interested persons should submit all info contained in this announcement by mail postmarked no later than August 31, 2009.
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This Week
Rev. Ike Tribute August 15 at the PALACE The Celebration of the life of Bishop Xavier Frederick Eikerenkoetter III (Rev. Ike) will be held Saturday, Auguts 15, 2009, at 11:00AM, at The Historic Palace Cathedral, (175th Street and Broadway) New York City. In lieu of flowers, Rev. Ike would ask that tributes and/or Offerings be sent to: Rev. Ike Ministries P.O. Box 55000 Boston, MA 02205 Check the website (www.REVIKE.org) or call 1-800-353-2217 to RSVP
gos p e l today | Aug 10 , 2 0 0 9
Featured participants will include Bishop E. Bernard Jordan, Reverend Al Sharpton, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Kim Burrell, Sarah Dash, Yolanda Wyns, Pastor Sal Sabino, Alipio Cocco Cabrera. gt
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J. Moss & CeCe Tour Midwest August 16 McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration 2009 Cincinnati, OH CeCe Winans and fellow Detroit-native, J Moss will be in Cincinnati, OH at the Midwest Regional Black Family Reunion Celebration. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com. gt
poor job market. Although Coppedge won't say that a church absolutely has to engage in social media or teach their congregants how to do so, he does note that there is "the opportunity to meet a need." He also tells the story of a church member who sent out a tweet to all of his followers after a tragedy occurred. Within minutes, people responded that had similar experiences and said that they wanted to help. This can be a powerful tool to teach the youth how to support one another and stay connected. A church can create a Twitter page for youth ministries and have one of the youth leaders in charge of the account. It will give a young person a chance to show leadership in a familiar area, and he/she can be in charge of disseminating information to the youth group for upcoming events and also share prayer requests. “In addition, there are many ways to make your MySpace or FaceBook page into a non-preachy but question-posing environment, where you can also add links to appropriate outreach sites, blogs or video-clips� according to InternetEvangelismday.com. With Social media the church has an opportunity to help young believers connect with people that can help with their practical professional goals and also help them minister to their friends in a way that is non-threatening. King says that if the church doesn't do this "then we will miss the potential avenue of social networking to reconcile this generation to him."
Gospel Today Magazine Congratulates Bishop Liston Page Sr. and Dr. Hazel R. Page
gos p e l today | Aug 10 , 2 0 0 9
as they reaffirm their wedding vows and celebrate 50 years of marriage
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Saturday, August 22, 2009 1:00 p.m. Greater Highway Deliverance Temple 132 East 111th St. New York NY
Rev. King's Social Media Ministry Tips: 1. Training to Introduce - A classroom environment that introduces to students how social media can be relevant and useful 2. Model the Way - Experienced social media users should model the way by engaging students online, allowing the student to observe how they use social media positively. 3. Challenge to Change - Challenge students in a specific way to utilize social media in a positive and intentional way i.e. share their faith by inviting people to a bible study through a status update or to find employer on a social media site and contact them concerning a job. 4. Feedback for Growth - Publicly celebrate positive uses, while privately correcting negative uses by students. Joshua's (Now Chief Relationship Strategist at OBJourney.com) Youth Professional Tips1) Identify who you want to contact. From a magazine, television, internet, business, the president, etc. Remember through social media, no one is unreachable. 2) Request them as a friend on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or both:-) 3) Observe their interests from their Facebook page, Tweets, or both:-) 4) Discover common ground and/or pose a question regarding their interest (hobby, profession, etc.) 5) Take the risk and contact them, based on the interest or question 6) GENUINELY interact in order to build relationships, you must be genuine in your approach! 7) Maintain the relationship. As it progresses find out what you can do to help them, if it is genuine...they will do the same Resources for Youth: -www.twitterjobsearch.com (up to date job openings and real-time job locator) -www.personalbrandingblog.com (Author of Me 2.0 Dan Schawbel teaches people how to create and maintain their online brand) -http://www.internetevangelismday.com/socialnetworking.php (How to evangelize using Facebook ) Resources for Churches: -www.twitterforchurches.com (The reason your church must twitter) -http://churchsmo.com/ (Blog pertaining to church and social media) -www.churchcrunch.com
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