In years past missionaries would have ministry which took place in a face to face environment. For the most part this is still true today. Most ministers are people oriented, they love to meet with people, to serve them, and to pray for them. If you have been in ministry for a long time you know that people are important. It is often said that we are in the "people" business.

In the past few years people have been extremely interested in virtual ministry among groups of people that have limited access to the gospel. Many Virtual missionaries can log on and share the gospel in a different context. This is a great way for believers in the church to take advantage of new technologies to share the message more effectively in closed countries. 

However, most of these individuals crave something more. They have a desire to be, excuse the buzz word term, "missional" with their lives. In my opinion this is where virtual and physical ministry intersect and if done properly can become... Ministry. As believers take what they are doing on the street and continue that same ministry in the online social environment the virtual and physical become one ministry. This intersection has so much potential to reach more people through authentic relationships it is really exciting to see where the future will take us. I personally looking forward seeing this played out in each of your ministries. 

Tags: Social Media, Missions, Strategic

Last year during the summer researchers saw the amount of Tweets in the Middle East exponentially increase over the course of two months and then it went back down to normal. This caused some to wonder what happened and how they could adapt for the next year.

When the findings came out it was one of those... Oh ya moments. Last summer the Islamic month of Ramadan was in the middle of two different months. The Online Project, a marketing firm in the Middle East published a report that not only details the peak times for twitter activity across the region but also a run down of country in the region.

So as a mission strategist in social media what am I to do? That's right start getting ready for next year. If there are peak times when Muslims are on Twitter sending messages back and forth to one another, then that is the exact time that we need people actively trying to share the gospel with them. Because we know in advance the suggested times we can create a mini social media strategy and gain partnerships from people in the states to be actively listening and engaging Muslims with the gospel during this specific 30 day time.

A strategy of this nature has three main parts. First, mission strategists need to actively listen to what Muslims are saying during this upcoming Ramadan. Missionaries already have a good idea of the conversation topics that revolve around the Muslim holy month, yet, actively listening implies the constant monitoring of activity and keywords in order to interact with potential seekers during Ramadan. Second, mission personnel need to be ready to interact with these individuals that flood the scene with tweets about how thankful they are for God and all he has done for them this year. This gives missionaries and prepared believers the opportunity to share why they are thankful for God. I have always said, "It is much easier to get into a spiritual conversation with a Muslim, than someone from the West." Third, a group of people need to stand at the ready in the churches all across the world following and praying for this team and the Muslims they interact with on Twitter. Its a simple strategy but like the student mobilizers I have worked with in the past say about the Christian life… "Its Simple, Not Easy".

Please join us in praying for next years Ramadan starting in the last few days of June. If you would like more information, send me an email or message

Tags: Strategic, Missions, Twitter