The social networking web site, Facebook, claims to have more than 140 million active users. Teenagers and college students use Facebook to communicate with friends, share photographs, and express themselves. One of the ways students do relationships these days is on social networking sites like Facebook. Do you have a Facebook page? Perhaps you should.

Personally, I shunned social networking sites for years. I surfed around on some of the sites and was disgusted by so much of what I saw. Besides, I saw social networking as something that would take too much time that I didn’t have. Then, after a mission trip to Ukraine, a student from Kiev sent me a friend request for Facebook. I decided to begin a Facebook page for the sole purpose of keeping up with my Ukrainian friends.

Several American friends asked me if I was on Facebook. I told them I was, but I only had Ukrainian friends. They usually found that humorous. A year later, I started realizing how many of the students at church were on Facebook. I decided to expand my list of friends. When I invited the kids to be my Facebook “friends,” I was surprised at how excited they were to connect with me on the site.

Some youth leaders have found social networking sites to be a useful way to keep up with their students.

• Facebook allows youth leaders an easy way to communicate with their students. After I failed to get a response from one of my teenagers to an email, his mom told me, “Send him a message on Facebook; he’s on it every day.” I posted a message to his “wall” and got a response that night.
• Facebook gives you an easy way to send your students birthday greetings, congratulations, and encouragement. After attending football games or other school activities, I post a note of affirmation on the page of students who participated.
• Facebook gives your students an easy way to ask you questions and keep in touch with you. Recently, one of my students was looking for a verse to share with a friend at school. I don’t think he would have called to ask me if I had a suggestion, but while he was on Facebook, he shot me the question in a Facebook message.
• Facebook allows you to keep up with students who are active in your group . . . and those who attend infrequently. I have several Facebook “friends” who are friends of students from the church that have come to a few activities.

Social networking sites have some inherent concerns. On many sites, you are two clicks away from pornography. Social networking sites have been used by predators to attempt to gain access to minors. Some students have used the forum of social networking sites to post inappropriate and unchristian information, things they would never say in a face-to-face discussion.

Personally, I think Facebook is a much safer and healthier format than other social networking sites I’ve clicked through. Still, dangers exist when students put personal information on the Internet. Facebook will only allow you to see the page of people who accept you as friends. So youth leaders can only interact with students who agree to be their “friends.” For most students, Facebook is a way to keep in touch with people they know rather than building relationships with people they don’t know.

So, should all youth leaders have a Facebook page? I’m not sure. But, if your students are on Facebook, perhaps you should consider being there, too.