Facebook killing the church - don't think so

I read another blog where the blogger was blaming Facebook for the demise of the church. His theory was that Generation X would have left the church because it was tired of the "judgment" of the church, but the social aspect has kept them there. Generation Y is leaving because they can get the social aspect through Facebook, Twitter, Text messaging, so why bother going. This assumption made me think...

If people are going to church only for the social interaction, then they are going for the wrong reason. The purpose of the church is to celebrate and worship God as a local community and family of people. But is it not also a way to provide accountability and support for each other in love just as Christ told the sinners "go and sin no more"? If the church becomes concerned about people leaving because they feel "judged", do we run the risk of the church falling victim to political correctness?

So if the next generation is hanging out in social media, then let's be like Paul and be all things to all people. The church should be there, interacting, meeting them where they are, building a relationship with them, and use this medium to minister to them. Let the church use it to discuss Bible verses, to pray for people, and to be relational with people. Let's also use social media to schedule, announce, and remind them of events that are happening at the church. Because of the relationship we have on social media, we can skip the surfacey conversation when we see each other and be well on our way to building more authentic relationships.