Looking to attract more young people to his church, the Rev. Patrick Gray turned to an unlikely marketing tool: MySpace, a social-networking Web site that draws millions of teens and young adults every day.
Father Gray, a 35-year-old Episcopal priest at Boston's Church of the Advent, was sold on MySpace by a congregant whose rock band had used the site to attract listeners. While most MySpace users create pages to promote themselves or a band, he posted a profile for his parish. It includes reminders for Sunday services, audio files of its choir and announcements for "Theology on Tap" gatherings at a local bar.
"It's a way for us to say, 'Hey, come and see,'" said Father Gray, who created the MySpace profile in January. "It gets our name out there. It puts us on the mental map, the emotional map." (The church also has a more traditional Web site.)
In a bid to attract new members and shed their persistently Luddite image, churches across the country are embracing technology and Web sites like MySpace. Blogs and podcasts have become part of religious leaders' communications with congregants, and photo-sharing sites like Flickr are increasingly used to depict a fun-loving, casually-dressed community of churchgoers.
Churches with an evangelical bent often lead the way when it comes to harnessing technology, though some traditional congregations are also experimenting -- even the Vatican has podcasts. Still, some Christians are concerned about using unmoderated social-networking sites that may contain adult language and racy photos.
"There's always going to be some dangers," Father Gray said of sites like MySpace and Flickr. But that doesn't mean churches should avoid them, he said. His church is considering establishing a presence on another social-networking site, Facebook, that is limited largely to college students.
Attracting young people, as well as staying relevant, are two of the most common reasons churches are trying these sites, said Brad Abare, who posts tips and interviews on the blog Church Marketing Sucks. The tough-love name reflects the blunt discussion he thinks many religious organizations need to have, he said. "We have the greatest story ever told, and nobody's listening," he said.
