“Lions, tigers and bears – oh my!”

That used to be the line when starting along the wilderness path toward the unknown. For many, using social media is that same murky and dark forest. And it seems I have entered the woods in recent months!

As a Christian educator who prides herself on being able to communicate and share ideas and discoveries with others, the use of webinars, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, You Tube and Stumble Upon has opened a whole new world. But what does that have to do with Christian formation, teaching and spreading the Gospel?

Technology and digital media are transforming the ways we live. We are a global society. While there is still nothing like face-to-face community and relationships, utilizing web-based technologies and digital media to provide faith formation in virtual spaces (online) and being able to extend and deepen faith formation that takes place in physical places is a growing field. By providing online content (print, audio, video), interactive experiences, and connecting individuals with people from around the world (and in your backyard) learning and sharing God’s Word can be transformative in a whole new way.

I continue to believe that Christian formation is still about forming relationships at its core. It’s meeting face-to-face and sharing one’s faith questions, hopes & dreams, and encounters with the Holy One. But using social media can help spread the Word, the resources, the ideas and the learnings to so many more. The forest (or world wide web) doesn’t have to be that scary place that one enters with her lion, tin man or scarecrow anymore!