by Christopher J. Troilo
For UM Connection, May 16
Just the way Google quickly became a household name (and now an officially recognizedverb), the search giant's newly acquired online video channel is one of the fastest growing website on the net, and even the United Methodist Church is taking part in YouTube mania.
YouTube.com was founded in February of 2005 by three former employees of PayPal, an online money-transfer system. The idea behind YouTube is that anyone on a global scale can upload video media content for the world to see. Those videos are tagged with specific words or phrases that make it easy for users to come to the site and find the content they are looking for, via a search engine.
According to a 2006 survey, 100 million clips are viewed daily by more than 20 millionvisitors a month. This is result of YouTube's easy to use format and the ability to stream their videos, meaning that most watchers can watch what they want to see almost instantly. The video content on the site is varied as the Internet itself. Users can find old music videos, commercials, movie previews, and clips from shows. But the real gem about YouTube is that anyone from anywhere in the world can post their own homemade short movies for all to see. It's basically a free online educational, event sharing and marketing tool, and one the United Methodist Church can take complete advantage of.
Most churches these days have some events they are especially proud of. Whether theyare concerts, special services, or even weekly socials, Methodists are renowned for knowing how to have a good time. Now, thanks to YouTube these happenings can now be shared with the entire church community, as long as someone has a digital video camera and an internet connection. It's a fantastic way to share memories from any type of gathering, especially for church members weren't able to attend or those living abroad.
Education is another fantastic way YouTube can be utilized. If from the main site, a user types "History of Methodism", the first result is a 7 and half minute video of Reverend Steve Petty hosting a brief narrative of the History of the United Methodist Church, from the founding Wesleys to modern day. With churches having such rich and colorful histories, this might be a fun model to emulate, perhaps as an orientation video for new members, or old members who want to know more about their churches' past.
Finally, for churches wishing to grow or raise funds for a specific event, YouTube provides a fantastic way to get the word out. For example, in Georgetown, Dumbarton United Methodist Church is currently running a Capital Campaign for Renewal in order to raise money to help fix their parsonage and sanctuary. It is one thing to hear about the repairs needed, but it's another when you can actually see the areas needwork, the message really hits home, and this is exactly what Dumbarton has done. By searching for "Dumbarton United Methodist Church" on YouTube, their online video is the first result. Watching it, users will be taken on a virtual tour of the Dumbarton campus, highlighting specific areas that are in dire needof restoration. This is proving to be a wonderful way to raise awareness about the growing needs for funds in order to sustain the church. Other churches could follow this example in order to raise awareness for all types of issues,events and happenings within their community.
YouTube, simply put, is a wonderful piece of technology. It truly can bring together media and communities at the click of a button, especially church communities. If you haven't been, go take a look, especially at some of the creative ways other Methodist churches have chosen to broadcast themselves. Maybe you'll get some ideas of your own and unlock the filmmaker within!
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