Today's post was written by Giann Hoosier. Giann (pronounced with a soft "g") is currently a college student living in Birmingham, Alabama. Her passions include Jesus, people, and social media. She would love to one day work in the marketing department for a non-profit that fights against human trafficking. You can visit her blog at this site.

Last fall, I created and conducted a Social Media survey for the company I worked for.

The more I thought about the Social Media Survey and the results, the more I have thought about how we can use Social Media more effectively as individuals.

Social Media was created to build and strengthen relationships. It was not meant to become an addiction or a platform for self-promotion. It was created because people needed other ways to connect with people online.

Did you know Facebook was started solely for college students to connect with other college students around the world? It would be a couple more years before it would be open to everyone. Now, 10 years later, it has 1.15 billion users and counting.

I have enjoyed the way Social Media has allowed me to connect with my missionary friends in Africa, my friends that live from the East Coast to the West Coast, and people whom I have never met in real life but share common interests with. Through the use of Social Media, I have been introduced to a whole another world beyond my small town in the heart of Alabama.

More importantly, I have learned how to impact the nations for the gospel simply by using Social Media. I have no idea who reads my tweets, looks at my instagram pictures, reads the posts on my blog, etc. While that can be scary a thought, it has just fueled me to further preach the gospel.

Who knows? The person who “randomly” found me on Twitter, could be someone who is searching for Christ. Through a simple tweet, I could either turn them away from Christ or draw them in towards Him.

I have people that I’m friends with on Facebook who do not know Christ as their Savior, and because I took the time out of my day to post a verse, a quote, or simply shared my story, they could potentially be saved! Is that not encouraging, dear Christian?

I challenge you to think of ways that you can influence people for Christ through your use of Social Media.

Who knows what could happen?

To learn more about this topic, listen to Pastor David's Secret Church on The Gospel and Everyday Life. Session 4 of this Secret Church includes a section on "The Cross and Listening, Watching, Reading, Texting, Sending, Receiving, Posting, Tweeting, Instagramming, Blogging, Messaging, Tumbling, Liking, Poking, Following, Unfollowing, Emailing, Snapping, Chatting, Vining, Networking, and All Sorts of Othering."

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