{"id":649,"date":"2011-07-23T15:54:08","date_gmt":"2011-07-23T19:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/goodnews\/?p=649"},"modified":"2011-07-26T12:28:59","modified_gmt":"2011-07-26T16:28:59","slug":"is-facebook-turning-into-faithbook-jesus-bible-beat-harry-potter-justin-bieber-lady-gaga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/goodnews\/2011\/07\/is-facebook-turning-into-faithbook-jesus-bible-beat-harry-potter-justin-bieber-lady-gaga.html","title":{"rendered":"Is Facebook turning into Faithbook? “Jesus” beats Harry Potter, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ash Greyson<\/strong>
\nBeliefnet Managing Editor\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Move over Lady Gaga! Sorry, Justin Bieber! Nice try, Harry Potter! According to Allfacebook.com, a website that tracks Facebook traffic and interactions, seven of the top 20 most engaging Facebook pages are related to faith.<\/p>\n

The new Harry Potter film just set the all-time record for weekend ticket sales, but in the week of its release, the film was still outpaced on Facebook by the pages \u201cJesus Daily\u201d and \u201cThe Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n

How could that be? Dr. Aaron Tabor, who posts Facebook\u2019s Jesus Daily says, \u201cPeople turn to God when they have problems in life, not Harry Potter’s fictional wand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pastor Mark Brown from Australia \u2013 who started posting daily Scripture readings on Facebook, calling his site simply \u201cThe Bible,\u201d says, \u201cFaith is personal, so it is a good fit with Facebook, plus with the state of the economy people I believe are reaching out to God for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

A surprise presence on Facebook is the prominent Evangelical leader Joyce Meyer \u2013 whose page just recently made it into the top 20. She says the explanation is simple:<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people are looking for answers and encouragement, and really just want to hear from God. Faith-based social media, like Facebook, give them a way to connect with people who are looking for the same thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this non-threatening, interactive environment, they are encouraged and grow in their relationship with God. It\u2019s amazing how powerful a Scripture or brief, positive word can be in the middle of a busy day or during a hard time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another faith page with surprising popularity on Facebook is the Spanish-language \u201cDios Es Beuno!\u201d which means simply \u201cGod Is Good!\u201d Owner Hermes Carvajal explains its appeal simply:<\/p>\n

\u201cHuman beings like to build tabernacles of comfort around them.\u201d He says he started the Facebook page as an outreach — with no idea of how popular it would become.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just Christian-oriented pages that are doing well. Islam claims two of the top six spots. \u201cI\u2019m a Muslim & I\u2019m Proud\u201d has seen explosive growth of late and is on pace to overtake \u201cIloveAllaah,\u201d the other Islamic page on the list.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for \u201cIm a Muslim & Im Proud,\u201d explains, \u201cReligion plays an important role in everyone\u2019s life. Facebook pages are good to spread religious views.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Facebook has been known to arbitrarily take down pages that receive complaints, the owner of “Im a Muslim & Im Proud” says \u201cso far the content\/material we posted was never censored by Facebook.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest part,\u201d he said, \u201cis to manage the comment sections. Sometime non-Muslims give a lot of anti-Islamic comments and abuse Muslims religious views.\u201d<\/p>\n

Censorship has been an issue for Australian Pastor Brown of \u201cThe Bible.\u201d He also hosts the page \u201cJesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is the most seasoned of the bunch, but even he has been shocked by the response.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recall when the page was a couple of thousand members posting something like, ‘I have a bold vision to see this page with 1 million fans. What a statement that would make to the world! I invite you to share this page with your friends.\u2019\u201d recalls Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hopeful, but I remember thinking it was a wild vision! I worked the page very hard for a long time. For me, it was like caring for a baby. It needed constant attention. So although its size, how active it is and the speed at which it is growing blows me away, it was no accident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked hard at it — and most importantly, God is good!<\/p>\n

Asked why he thinks six of the top 20 Facebook pages are faith-based, Brown observes:<\/p>\n

\u201cFacebook is a social network and the key word is ‘social’. It works best when people are personally involved, have a personal stake in the page or the theme\/brand of the page. Faith is personal, so it is a good fit with Facebook, which we see it the success of the faith-based pages.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlus with the state of the economy, people — I believe — are reaching out to God for help. And God will provide!\u201d<\/p>\n

What about the censorship issues he\u2019s had with Facebook? Have there been many?<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, lots over the years,\u201d he responds. \u201cI have started many pages and with some I have had my publishing rights removed. There is never a specific reason offered outside of a general ‘breach of terms and conditions’ statement. And contacting Facebook to rectify this is very difficult. I also got banned once, that was fun!\u201d<\/p>\n

What’s the hardest part of managing a page that has grown such a large fans base?<\/p>\n

\u201cWith each of the 11 pages I have started,\u201d he says, \u201cthe key is to raise up a team who can manage the page effectively. At the moment, I have 34 volunteers helping out, and am about to appoint someone to manage the volunteers day-to-day.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I view running Facebook pages like leading an organization. It requires an expressed vision, care of staff and creating operational policy and procedures.<\/p>\n

What does the future hold?<\/p>\n

\u201cI continue to look at new emerging technology,\u201d says Brown, who says he\u2019s \u201cready to engage with the next Facebook — for the glory of God!<\/p>\n

Has Carvajal, who founded \u201cDios Es Bueno\u201d had censorship issues?<\/p>\n

No, he says.<\/p>\n

Did he foresee how big his page would become? Or did it just happen?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started our page with a very clear goal, a purpose, a mission,\u201d he responds. \u201cPeople feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He notes that it \u201cstill takes lots praying, planning, training, learning, keeping up with technology, learning about Facebook, how it works, going deeper, watching videos of experts in social media, communications, etc.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have years of experience as an amateur writer, but Facebook was new to me when we started the page. The page is larger than we expected, I guess mostly because our content is 100 percent original.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy encouragement quotes that I post were written during very hard times, so people feel sincerity. I think people have been blessed by that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also spent money — our own money — on applications, graphic design, testing different landing pages, suggestions from social media experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love watching Mark Zuckerberg videos, interviews, speeches,\u201d says Carvajal. \u201cBelieve it or not, there is a universe of “prophetic” knowledge in that man. We thought we were going to reach 1 million in our first year. We reached 4 million. Our prayers, efforts, sleepless nights paid off. Yes, we take it very seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why are 6 of the top 20 pages faith-based? What does this say about the world and about Facebook?<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople need God,\u201d responds Carvajal. \u201cThey are looking for God. People want to know more about God and it happens that Facebook has become the most advanced medium to communicate and learn from other people.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople pray, advice, teach, counsel and joke on the phone. They now also do it on Facebook.<\/p>\n

Has he had censorship issues?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo not at all. Never. The Facebook team has been helpful, patient, They have definitely help us with copyright issues when other people copy our content, clone our page, etc, which has happened a few times.<\/p>\n

\u201cFacebook acted immediately and that was a relief. I am thankful to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

What’s the hardest part of managing a page with such a large readership?<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the beginning when it started to grow, around the second month — we just started a year ago — it was hard to keep up with our fans and our personal life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then again, we had to go to the experts, learn, take a little course here and there, and now we have in place systems to streamline everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunications on Facebook are light-speed fast. Our response to challenges has to be lightning-fast as well — or else we will lose our edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fans are actually very, very connected to us. Today managing the page is not hard at all. Besides, we have many volunteers around the world who also work very, very hard, with no pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does the future hold?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the question I ask myself every morning,\u201d responds Carvajal. \u201cWhat\u2019s new? Any new upgrade to the Facebook platform brings endless opportunities to connect. It\u2019s incredible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take my page very seriously. We wait on God, but at the same time prepare ourselves by learning more, reading every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says his crew is constantly \u201cwatching for new technology that can dramatically affect how we connect with people. Human beings like to build tabernacles of comfort around them — remember Peter in the Transfiguration?<\/p>\n

\u201cThey see something new or awesome and they believe it will be there forever. They build their lives around it. But, the reality is we are in continuous, daily change, and we must keep up with the change.<\/p>\n

\u201cFacebook is awesome, but is not eternal. It may not be here tomorrow, so we must be ready for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about Dr. Aaron Tabor of \u201cJesus Daily\u201d? His page engages more than any of the others.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus Daily,\u201d he marvels, \u201chas connected the Body of Believers in a way never before seen. Women in the Philippines are asking for breast-cancer prayers and believers in Nigeria are responding to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cFacebook has been very good to work with Jesus Daily. We’ve had several images removed of Christ on the cross (or carrying a cross) because of implied violence. I understand their position on this. Their biggest challenge going forward will be to keep the pornographers in check. If they allow the integrity of the Facebook experience to deteriorate, they will be the second MySpace.com.\u201d<\/p>\n

What’s the hardest part of managing \u201cJesus Daily\u201d?<\/p>\n

\u201cControlling the integrity of the site with so many anti-God people posting pornography and anti-Christian or racial slurs,\u201d answers Dr. Tabor. \u201cI pray that Jesus Daily will become the world’s leading evangelistic website — using all the latest technology to bring seekers into the Jesus Daily family, including mobile apps, iPad and smart tablet apps, social gaming, music, videos, church services, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why does he think six of the top 20 Facebook pages faith-based?<\/p>\n

\u201cI doubt that Facebook ever envisioned their platform being used so effectively by believers,\u201d says Tabor. \u201cAlthough the non-religious pages have more \u2018Fans,\u2019 the religious pages are the most active. Most pages suffer from the \u2018Click and Forget\u2019 syndrome.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that people would be interested in the powerful words of Christ, but it was impossible to imagine the page would morph into the most active page on Facebook. The comments, prayer requests, and other dialogue from believers around the world continue to amaze me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ash Greyson Beliefnet Managing Editor\u00a0 Move over Lady Gaga! Sorry, Justin Bieber! Nice try, Harry Potter! According to Allfacebook.com, a website that tracks Facebook traffic and interactions, seven of the top 20 most engaging Facebook pages are related to faith. The new Harry Potter film just set the all-time record for weekend ticket sales,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[185,129,188,184,186,187],"class_list":["post-649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-viral-heroes","tag-dr-aaron-tabor","tag-facebook","tag-faithbook","tag-jesus-daily","tag-joyce-meyer","tag-social-media"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Facebook turning into Faithbook? 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