Last week I shared how powerful social media can be for sharing the gospel with unbelievers and gave a couple ideas for how to do so. (Check out Part 1: Using Facebook Photos to Share the Gospel).
This week let’s go that same direction, but talk about using online video instead.
Similarly to how we used photos to share Christ, we can do the same thing with videos. Post a video online and see what kind of responses you get. If enough of your Christian friends comment and engage with it, hopefully it rises to the top of the home feed for your unsaved friends, as well. You could even tag an unsaved friend or two and ask them to respond to a question you ask with the video, providing your relationship with them will permit you to do so.
Here’s a few video ideas you could use:
- Smart
- Lighthouse everything skit
- Just Stop and Think (Francis Chan)
- “Savin’ Me,” by Nickelback
- Is there a God? The big question of life…
- Would you die for a lie?
- Gansta Graffiti – Bridge to Life
- Propaganda – G.O.S.P.E.L.
But just like everything else we do, we should never ask teenagers to do something we’re not first doing ourselves.
So let me challenge you with this today: select one of these videos or a different one and post it to Facebook. If you have a solid relationship with an unsaved friend and feel you could get away with tagging them in it and asking a question, do it. Not only will it give you an opportunity to share Christ, but the teenagers in your youth group may see what you’re doing on Facebook, too. It could lead to some great discussions with them later.
Alternatively, if posting something publicly would be perceived as being too tacky, pick a video and send it privately to a friend. Maybe say something like, “Hey Mike, I came across the video today and I thought of you. I’d love to hear what you think about this guy’s thoughts on ______.”
However you do it, using video to spark spiritual conversations with friends can be a powerful introduction to the gospel. Sometimes it’s intimidating to bring God up in conversations with friends when we’re face-to-face, but often we feel comfortable saying things from behind a computer screen that would freak us out to say in person. While that’s often perceived as a negative thing, use it to your advantage both for yourself and when encouraging your teenagers to do the same. Just be sure to emphasize with your teenagers that those conversations are not to stay solely online, but to be used as a starting place where the conversations transfer to the cafeteria, the athletic field, and band practice. Break the ice online and then follow-up in person.
Check out Part 3/3: Using Facebook Notes and Updates to Share Christ Online
What other online video clips would you recommend for using to spark spiritual conversations with our unsaved friends? If you’ve seen any of your students do something like this, we’d love to hear that story, too!
