Tag: worldventure

3 Reasons Why You Should Get Involved in Social Media

I shared with 50 women at Grace Baptist Church’s Women’s Luncheon on May 5:

  • Pastors of less than 100 congregants are usually bi-vocational.
  • When a pastor says he is part-time, he is being paid for part-time, but working full time.
  • Depending on where you get your data, there is 1 missionary for every 200,000 to 400,000 people. That is a lot of friend requests on Facebook. It is difficult to give that many people (if not impossible) quality interaction.
  • The church is still polarized regarding social media.
  • Average 300-people churches don’t have a large staff. Therefore, it is difficult for one pastor to do both discipleship and run a church by himself.
  • Shared about my new role with WorldVenture. It is not uncommon for non-profit organizations to have their social media person do multiple duties. This supported position is important as my duties focus solely on social media and technology, including mobilizing the church to serve online in missions alongside WorldVenture.
  • A generation gap is widening. In our post-Christian generation, we need our Senior Adults online more than ever.

Here are the main 3 reasons to get involved with social media and technology:

  1. Missions need all of us involved in discipleship. Every Bible-believing church. Every solid Christian.
  2. Lack of discernment and vision is destroying American Christianity. American Christianity is losing influence. With only 7-20% of Americans measurably active in their Christian faith and Bible illiteracy reining, using social media for teaching and discipling is a priority.
  3. People move from different countries. They have retired from missions. They know a second or third language. Family relationships are international. People in church like this are important for online discipleship and sharing of the Gospel.

**To ask me to speak to your church, please email me or leave a comment. You can send a comment through here: www.worldventure.com/nhahn. 

Saying Goodbye

Today, I began the process of ending a ministry I began in 2014 called, Cataclysm Missions Intl LLC. The bank account will be closing this week. I’ve closed all its social media. The website will be taken down. Incorp, my registered agent, is doing the paperwork to terminate the LLC with the State of Arizona. Like a pattern for a new outfit, I created it to show WorldVenture what digital discipleship could look like, and now it has accomplished that mission. I say goodbye to it with peace in my heart.

My new role with WorldVenture can be read here: www.worldventure.com/nhahn.

I will write more about it. Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures from Saturday’s speaking engagement at Grace Baptist Church in Chino Valley, Arizona.

 

Don’t Close Down Your Facebook

People are asking, “Should I get rid of Facebook?” 

More than once, I observe a Facebook group conversation that begins with a simple post like asking how it is living in a state or sharing an amazing photograph, and somehow it becomes a political argument; a fountain of negativity spewing forth and inspiring reactions.

The difference between reaction and response is defined. Reaction is instant with no time to think. A response comes more slowly as you weigh your words. I encourage myself and others to respond and respond in line with the topic of the conversation thread. If politics isn’t mentioned, why bring it up? In the spirit of friendship, stay on topic, be kind, and start a conversation.

And don’t close down your Facebook. 

Be the light in a dark culture. Have meaningful conversations and pursue those conversations. Don’t give up. Set boundaries with your time online. Because life is too short for the majority of your time to be spent in the virtual. Spend some of it outside.

Like we did today…building up our marriage, loving each other, and worshiping God…

Like Owning a Truck…

An old saying goes like this, “When you own a truck, you always have friends” (or something like that). Meaning, everyone knows the truck owners in the neighborhood. They are called when a need arises to transport furniture. Bumper stickers on trucks protest: “Yes, this is my truck; No, I won’t help you move.” As a technologist with WorldVenture, I often get asked for help with online marketing. The line between ministry and being helpful is often blurred.

Helping businesses with marketing is a great service, especially if that business is Christian-owned. But this calling is more than about helping a business succeed. With limited time on my hands, I have to make choices. As my schedule becomes tighter, I have less time open to meeting with Christian business owners seeking to learn only marketing, not ministry. With working a 40-hour a week day job and managing various projects and websites, I barely have time to take care of my marriage and myself.

I’m not complaining. I love that I can help another, but now I have to watch the time I use every week. If the business is open to partnering with their church in their church’s mission and vision in connecting with their local and global community, I am eager to help. I am eager to share that vision and help them reach their business and ministry goals.  But like the truck owners, someone has to pay for the gas. 

2018 is going to see some changes in that I must focus on my various projects and websites, helping missionaries, churches, and missionary organizations, and only those who are doing business as missions. For now, I must guard my time to ensure that I am doing what God has called me to do, continue to raise 100% support as I am accountable to WorldVenture, take care of my spiritual and physical self, and take care of my marriage. I can recommend a person who teaches social media for business owners. I have made arrangements to refer people I cannot help to this person.

Thank you for your overall support and understanding of this issue. I’m on Day 4 of 30 days of prayer on my Facebook page. Will you consider partnering with me on a monthly basis as a church, individual, or business? Go here to learn more: www.worldventure.com/nhahn. 

Decisions That Keep You Awake

Decisions That Keep You Awake…

“Don’t go in there,” my husband begged in text as I stood outside the pet shop. “Run!”

A couple of days later, we went home with a ball of fur because he couldn’t say no to his wife. His wife (me) couldn’t say no to amber eyes and a playful spirit. We lost our own cat several months prior and the house felt too empty. I knew our next resident would not be like our last cat. Just like our former dog wasn’t like our last dog. Each animal has their own strengths and weaknesses.

Even as I write this, I have taken two Excedrin as our cat kept us up most of the night. But other things kept my mind awake, too. When you take on new responsibility, you feel it.

  • Did I respond to that person right?
  • Should I have said no (or yes)?
  • What is God up to?
  • Slow down. Don’t share in haste. Don’t post in haste. Be thoughtful in everything.

And lastly, just plain old excitement for the future. Old fears battle fresh joy, and I find new courage each day to face daily challenges.  The weight of people that believe in what I do sits on my heart, but not in a way that is a burden; it is a reminder that God has entrusted me with more because I think I became trusted with little (Luke 16:10).

Breaking new ground is hard work, but I need my team around me. Their experience in places I have not seen will make this new ground fertile. I will make a lot more decisions and I am praying I make wise ones. Surrounded by true friends and a supportive husband, I can’t help but feel some confidence as I look toward the future. Just like I am confident that one day, our new resident will find her “normal” and settle into a predictable behavioral pattern (sigh).

Meanwhile, how could I say no to this girl?

P.S. WorldVenture published an important blog post. Go here to view it on their Facebook page. Be sure to share your thoughts afterwards on their Facebook page. This is an important conversation to have between organizations.

Beyond Marketing: A Phoenix Workshop Coming Soon!

Beyond Marketing: Developing Evangelistic Outreach Teams is a Phoenix Pastor’s workshop coming January 9, 2018. I (WorldVenture) am partnering with Southwest Church Connection at Desert Springs Community Church to help pastors use social media to develop evangelistic outreach teams.

I would encourage churches to consider, not just sending your pastor to this workshop, but someone tech-minded from your congregation, too. Registration will be open soon. We want to let you know that this is coming up. Put it on your calendars and stay tuned. You can register to receive this blog via email or you can register to receive my prayer emails here.

TRC Magazine Publishing! #Christian

After the pie, when all the dishes are cleaned, and life returns to normal portions, my mind returns to pressing needs like TRC Magazine’s next edition. It’s the last edition of 2017. It’s been a fruitful year.

December means our Intern is coordinating the social media for TRC Magazine in honor of Advent. We’ll see devotionals and maybe some interviews. Renee, our volunteer, will compliment our intern’s social media with her art.

TRC Magazine is not an ordinary ezine. We publish stories to influence and make a difference. We also teach our volunteers and intern to engage with our readers. Our readers are global. They come from a variety of backgrounds. Not all are believers. Our vision is not to chase the stories everyone else is chasing. It’s a creative way to empower the church to serve online.

Read last edition by clicking here. 

Interested in supporting this work and other works, give a monthly donation by clicking here. 

Why Rush The Journey?

Weeks like this week make me say, “Lord, will you please hurry this support process?!”

I work in two mentally stimulating jobs that challenge my comfort zone–a Day Job and my position with WorldVenture. Time management is an important tool in my belt.

This week, I came home drained from so much mental stimulation. Don’t tell God you are bored, because He will give you something to do. Ministry is exploding and I am swept away in it while facing the reality of a lack of time. The need for churches (individually and corporately) to learn the proper use of Social Media, to not be afraid of it, or to put aside their prejudices against it is huge. The demand on my time is hard and strangely joyful.

Yet, I am comforted by what the Lord is doing in my life, too. I don’t know what next year will bring, only that I have chosen to live this way with the expectation that God will deliver me. We will get to 100% support and it will be a story of His glory.

So, why cheat the process? Why ask God to hurry what He has deemed an important part of my journey? Every time I fall down, God picks me up again. Every time, I hear rejection, God remakes my heart so that I am stronger and better. God is even remaking our marriage. Every day, we are growing together in the same direction, applying what we are learning in the Bible and in life to our lives.

We are at 29% support. Would you consider a monthly support of $25, $35, or whatever God puts on your heart?

Click Here to Learn More

Creating a Place For Ideas

Ideas are like embers that spark in a fire and fling off into the cold night only to fade in the sand. I’ve known people who have great ideas, but manpower or leadership become a problem. Without a leader, an idea doesn’t have a chance to flame. Without the flame, volunteers aren’t attracted to it enough to commit to its long-term goals. In response to people who have great ideas, and understanding they need a place to share ideas, I created a site where people can use the teaching blog to share great ministry plans.

My goal is to gather all those creative people together to inspire the church body to serve online. We like to look at serving as only in the face-to-face world, but serving happens online, too. People are already online at church. They need only direction, urging, and patience to teach them how to use the social media they already have to reach their circle of unbelievers. Sometimes, it’s not the lack of knowledge of technology, but only the missing creative flair that comes from creative people.

This is all very time consuming though. It’s a joy to do this, but without the church helping to financially partner with me, my time available is restricted to Saturdays and Sundays because of the need to have a day job.

On Saturday, June 24 at 10 a.m. MST, I invite you to a Zoom meeting where I will walk you through what I do with WorldVenture. To get the Zoom address, please leave a comment and I will email you. 

 

© 2023 Nikole Hahn. Designed by Quema Labs.