ASSEMBLIES OF GOD
Creating Community Online and On Campus
Posted In Youth Resources
Creating community online is a powerful way to impact your friends, school, and world in this current pandemic. This can be an incredible launching point for you to develop a fresh way to be an influencer. Youth Alive wants to partner with you to accomplish and create this new community. Here’s a few steps to get you started!
Launch Your Online Community
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Identify potential members. Who do you know that you can invite to your community?
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Pick a platform. Choose a platform that works best for your audience. Here are some ideas:
a. Zoom: Zoom Video Tutorials
b. Discord: Getting Started
c. Twitch: Getting Started
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Launch your community. A successful launch involves several steps.
Step 1: Decide on a launch event.
Step 2: Invite people to join and be at your launch event.
Step 3: Remind everyone about the day and time of the event and HYPE it up!
Grow Your Online Community
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Keep Jesus at the forefront of your community. Building meaningful relationships online has its challenges, so keeping the focus on Jesus is very important. Be intentional about creating regular opportunities to open up spiritually (e.g., devotionals, prayer, sharing what God has done in your life, etc.).
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Make a plan and be consistent. Your community will need to feel a sense of purpose and stability to make their participation feel meaningful. Hype up your community and spread the word on your social media! Regular communication is crucial to making sure everyone stays involved and engaged.
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Get creative and share ideas with your youth leader and other influencers. Think outside the box and research new ways to strengthen your online community—including things to avoid. Share your ideas and experiences with your youth leader and other influencers, and work together to create an action plan.
As a leader, continue to be aware of what God is doing in your community, pray for your friends, and ask God for wisdom and creativity. Allow God’s Word to guide you and encourage you along the way.
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:22–25, emphasis added).