In these days of COVID19, we find ourselves planted more in our home environment, yet craving the interaction of family, friends and neighbors. We have had to interface with others in new ways, and we are perhaps on the edge of being “zoomed out.” Yet, we have significant tools right in our hands to bring hope and encouragement to our “inner circle”, and to the world “at-large” as well. Here is the first in a series as we contemplate being DIGITAL MISSIONERS…..
and we take a look at Instagram.
Visual Faith Coach Jennifer Barbe is our Canadian coach and Admin for Visual Faith Community - Canada on Facebook. Did you know we have a group in Canada? By sharing here on Instagram, @sweetpeabarbe breaks into the flow of an Instagram feed to share images and text with GOOD NEWS.
One of the things that our Visual Faith Coaches do is to USE the FREE RESOURCES in the VFM website store (like you see here) and SHOW how they use them for personal spiritual formation practices and to bless others.
So what is Social Media Gospel? It is a phrase coined by Meredith Gould in her book The Social Media Gospel back in 2013. The Church and Christians alike were seeking best practices to engage in the emerging culture of online ministry. Here Visual Faith Coach Candice Schwark - @cbschwark - shares the extra step. She snaps a photo and SHARES to bless others with an image and words of truth and hope.
One of the things about online sharing is that it is a way to show others what an “integrated life” LOOKS LIKE. Here Visual Faith Coach Angelica Young - @fashionedhearts - shares a page from her Bible right along with the feed of her travels, food or flowers. Sharing her faith journey is as much a part of her shared life online as the things she does and the places she visits.
Visual Faith Coach Michele Bowden - @visualfaithjourney - shows that online sharing can be simple - without a big production. What does your testament of faith LOOK LIKE? How might you BLESS OTHERS?
Maybe you actually have a small business that surrounds your faith journey. Here Visual Faith Coach Sara McCormick - @fullylovedbible - shares snippets of the Bibles she adorns and sells.
Right now we need more ways to pray for our broken world. Visual Faith Coach Bev Wicher - @bevwicher - designed and shared this prayer starter and then came back and showed what it looks like after using it. That last step is what sets apart a Digital Missioner. They share what the journey looks like along the way. (You can find her calendar in the FILES in the main Visual Faith Ministry FB group)
Mixed media can serve as a baseline medium for creating the vehicle that bridges into the social media world. Here Visual Faith Coach and mixed media artist Diane Marra @visualfaithartist creates one of a kind images to share in her Instagram account.
Maybe a Bible Class or study that you are participating in leads to discovering nuggets of truth. Visual Faith Coach Lisa Brass - @aworthylif - is always “speaking hope” to the online community.
So how can you join in and participate? Simply tag #visualfaithministry when you post your faith-filled images. We would LOVE for you to join the journey. Social Media Gospel is enriched with the tangible and visible hope we have in Jesus- when we engage in this way of reaching the world TOGETHER.
We invite you to give a Follow and words of encouragement to the Visual Faith Coach accounts shared here - links are provided in the text below each photo.
Will you consider becoming a DIGITAL MISSIONER?