A recent study, reported in the media here, says:
The social media replaced the church as the place many Christchurch people went to for support after the region’s earthquakes, a University of Canterbury lecturer says.
Ekant Veer, a senior lecturer in marketing, said Christchurch residents turned to the social media for help and information after all of Canterbury’s major quakes.
I think there are several points worth reflecting on in this study. The recognition, in one of the most secular nations in the world, of the church: church is a place where many people naturally go (went) for support. Social media as a replacement for such support.
This leads to a realisation of the “church-likeness” of much social media. It leads to the realisation of the connection, the similarities, between church and social media. It is both encouragement and challenge: if you are in Canterbury (or another crisis area), how did you and your church use social media to further mission and ministry? How are you and your church using social media now?…
Why or why not does mission and ministry go viral?…
The study is being widely reported: the Herald; Otago Daily Times; NewstalkZB…
