Social networking sites have inundated the Web world. MySpace, Facebook, and the latest Twitter have become the rage to people of all ages, race, and religious affiliations. The extension of faith-specific networking sites has canvassed the social market platform, giving birth to sites such as Everyone’s Apostolic, Apostolic Fellowship Hall, and MyWorld, just to name a few.
Now an Apostolic church in Orange, NJ, has created its own social networking site, not exclusive to church members but open to all who are socially minded. The Web site committee for First United Tabernacle Church (FUTC) says the idea stemmed from wanting a social network to bring youths from all over.
Bishop Lloyd Faulknor of FUTC also presides over churches in Antigua and Grand Cayman and he desired all of his young people to establish a connection. The site administrator, Chastity Thompson, says “we wanted our own platform where we can blog, chat, and join groups, even though we are geographically apart.”
The youth department at FUTC birthed youthroc.com, known as The R.O.C, using Ning. Bernard Grey, youth minister and site committee member, says “this is a Christ-minded social network, which is why we named it Youth Radically Obsessed 4 Christ (Youth R.O.C.).”
It is a tool to network the message of Jesus Christ, encourage one another, and connect internationally with young people. The R.O.C. is for anyone who wants to join, including Non-Apostolics. The R.O.C is tailored for appropriate blogs, photo albums, videos, and groups. Since MySpace’s reputation has come under fire during the past couple of years, Grey says, “This is a way to lure them away from that and join this network so parents can be at ease.”
However, as the site administrator, Thompson will ensure that it maintains its premier purpose, to be a Christian networking site. If there are any inappropriate videos or pictures posted, the person will receive a warning. “If the member persists, I have the power to ban them from the network.”
The R.O.C. committee is making sure they won’t become a carbon copy of Facebook and MySpace. “A great feature we have that Facebook doesn’t have is the blogging feature, says Grey. Members can personalize their page using CSS code. The R.O.C. allows members to decorate, change font size, color, and add music to their pages. “This is a great exercise for those aspiring Web site designers.”
The site is still in its early stages, though. The current layout is just temporary, but The R.O.C. team has hired an experienced designer who has designed other network sites on Ning. They hope to give it an eye-popping transformation. “The sights, sounds, and colors are critical keys to drawing people to the site,” Grey says.
Once youthroc.com is official, the committee plans to advertise it on Facebook and by word-of-mouth. “We want this to be big!”
Do you know a church that has a public social networking site? Leave a comment.
-Kaleena Thompson, TAR Editor
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