“Passion” tour heading to Oklahoma
Oklahoma fans of the popular “Passion” worship conferences should plan on visiting Stillwater next month for a treat.
LIfeChurch.tv’s Stillwater campus at 1917 N Country Club Road will be the site of the Passion University Tour stop at 8 p.m. Oct. 4. 
The event will feature worship leaders Charlie Hall (pictured) and Kristian Stanfill, plus a video message by “Passion” founder Louie Giglio (pictured below).
The university tour is part of a 12-campus tour prepping for “Passion 2012″ set for the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga., on Jan. 2-5. The 2012 event in Atlanta is expected to draw more than 35,000 university-aged adults.
The event is Stillwater aims to bring together students at Oklahoma State University, including those involved with several campus ministries. 
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Facing Facebook head-on
I met Chris Forbes a few years ago and he has always been a good source of information when it comes to some of the ways churches are using technology for their outreach efforts.
Over the years, I’ve learned that he shares a similar philosophy as Bobby Gruenewald, innovation pastor at LifeChurch.tv, Gruenewald says that instead of shying away from technology like the Internet, churches can “redeem” technology by using it to advance the kingdom of God.
Along those lines, Forbes created a free e-book called “Facebook for Pastors” earlier this year.
He said it is designed to help pastors use the social network to connect with their congregations and others in the community, particularly young people.
“Facebook is a great ministry opportunity,” Forbes said.
“A lot of people say they want closer relationships with their pastors and a lot of pastors say they’d like to connect to a younger crowd.”
Forbes said many churches now have nice Web sites. Facebook advances a church’s (or in this case, a pastor’s) Internet presence to another level, he said.
“People are expecting a level of interaction and young people are connected with each other almost constantly. They are on each other’s Facebook or they are texting each other,” he said.
Forbes said pastors who have used his e-book have reported that they have established closer ties with members of their congregations, especially younger people.
In addition to these positives, the Facebook for Pastors e-book also gives leaders a chance to make a donation to Hearts and Hands International, an Edmond-based charity close to Forbes’ heart. Although the e-book can be downloaded for free, Forbes presents information about the charity so that leaders can choose to donate to a worthy cause.
Check out the e-book and Forbes’ ministrymarketingcoach.com by clicking here: Facebook for Pastors.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
P.S. Two things: First, in an Aug. 12 posting, I asked readers to guess what is the single most significant roadblock for today’s savvy church communicators. One faithful reader e-mailed me with her answer, political correctness.
I think that guess was really close. According to one local expert, Terrell Sanders with Edmond-basedMinistryCom.org, the single most significant roadblock for today’s savvy church communicators is tradition or, in my own words the ”doing things the way we’ve always done them syndrome.”
Second: We’ll attend the MinistryCom conference coming up in September. Look for future stories, video and audio interviews.
