WHILE CHURCHES LIKE OASIS ARE SENDING OUT TWEETS TO MEMBERS THROUGH THE WEBSITE, OTHER CHURCHES ARE TAKING TWITTERING TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
Trinity Church - New York
This New York church recently gained national news attention when they decided to Tweet a version of the play "The Passion of the Christ" for it's followers to read. For three hours on Good Friday, Trinity's Twitter followers got constant updates, telling the story of Christ's death.
The church was quoted on their website saying it would be "a unique passion play that marries the timeless Christian Tradition with the latest in social networking trends." While they took down the play's Twitter page after the original day, you can still check out their Twitter: TrinityWallSt.
Westwinds Church - Michigan
This church has actually held what they call "Twitter Sundays." This is where the church uses it's large video screens at the front of the auditorium to show a live streaming of Twitter messages. They encourage members to bring their phones, and whatever they Tweet shows up on the screens.
They say the live interaction helps to engage people even more deeply in the services. You can read more about Westwind's Twitter Sunday experience on one of their Blogs or their Website.
Oasis at The Next Level
Some did however express concern that live Tweets could become a distraction. They are worried about people Tweeting things that may not be appropriate for a church setting, or trying to be funny when it wasn't really appropriate. While the idea of live Twitter in church would be more likely to work because most of the attendees tend to be young, it also makes the risk greater.
Westwinds Church - Michigan
This church has actually held what they call "Twitter Sundays." This is where the church uses it's large video screens at the front of the auditorium to show a live streaming of Twitter messages. They encourage members to bring their phones, and whatever they Tweet shows up on the screens.
They say the live interaction helps to engage people even more deeply in the services. You can read more about Westwind's Twitter Sunday experience on one of their Blogs or their Website.
Oasis at The Next Level
Oasis church is also considering taking their Tweeting to another level. Some at the church say they would really like to see them use their large video screens to do live Tweeting during services. They said it would be a plus if people could Tweet in questions and the pastors could answer them during the same service.
Concerns
Some did however express concern that live Tweets could become a distraction. They are worried about people Tweeting things that may not be appropriate for a church setting, or trying to be funny when it wasn't really appropriate. While the idea of live Twitter in church would be more likely to work because most of the attendees tend to be young, it also makes the risk greater.
Positives
However other's from the church believe that staying relevant with the times is the churches biggest asset, and so taking their use of Twitter further can only be a good thing for the church.
Regardless, of how they use Twitter in the future Oasis is still on the cutting edge of churches using technology.
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