Honest Thoughts from a Pastor

When social media became the craze over 15 years ago, I reluctantly got onto MySpace. Most younger people don’t even know what that is. It became unpopular as quickly as it became popular. When Facebook came out, I was slow to join. It took me years to do anything with it, but it eventually became a part of daily life as I connected with friends from high school and college. Despite moments of being burned by hateful people, I stuck it out and discovered that God could use it as a powerful ministry platform. Through it, He allowed me to make some lasting friendships that were very unexpected.

Today, I met a Facebook connection for the first time in person. We connected on a blog post by a well-known ministry leader. From that post, a friendship began that has been maintained through phone calls and times of prayer for one another. This brother in Christ has often refreshed me, and today was no exception. After almost 6 years, we were able to meet in person and have lunch. He was ministering in the area this weekend and decided to linger as he is making a vacation out of this.

We tend to underestimate social media. It definitely has its evils, but I have been able to meet some of my greatest friends through it. I could go on and on about fellow bloggers and various other connections. My best prayer partners are men and women whom I may never meet this side of Heaven, but they will drop what they are doing and call me when God puts me on their heart.

If you are on social media, don’t waste the opportunity. If God can use unlikely people like me, He can do the same for you. You might as well use social media as a tool for God’s glory to further the gospel and encourage others. Only eternity will reveal the fruit.