I recently started a Facebook page for my congregation, Resurrection Evangelical Lutheran Church in Arlington, VA. It's a simple little page, and so far has 28 fans (a few of which are friends of mine not really attached to the congregation!). It is a modest endeavor, for sure, listing upcoming events, sermon texts, and basic information about the congregation.
So my question is this: what success – if any – have you had with a Facebook page for your congregation or community organization (any PTAs on Facebook?). Who manages the page? What kind of information do you put on the page? Does it have any devotional quality to it, or is it more of an announcement board?
Also, have you paid for advertising on Facebook? I've researched it, and it looks as if I could have ads appear on the screens of anybody in the Arlington area with the word "Christian" somewhere in their profile (I don't think that the ad keyword program discerns between someone who lists "Christian" as their religion or someone who lists "Christian Slater" as their favorite actor, however). I would pay approximately $.50 for each click, but I haven't gone ahead with it, yet.
Finally, is there a congregation or ministry that you think does a good job with a Facebook page?
Please share your thoughts and your links … Thanks!
The Lutheran Zephyr 
Temple Lutheran on fb! http://bit.ly/12Zz2h (shortened for everyone’s sanity, lol)
While it looks as though people have been updating, I’m not sure who’s got controls beyond Pastor Matt (I think I do, I know the Sunday School administrator does, not sure about who else). The problem with these pages is that I’m not sure how/if they come up in newsfeeds, which means that any update that comes up I need to be constantly checking for, they don’t come to me. Which basically means I forget it exists.
It could work really well, I think, if this problem were solved. I’m friends with a fair number of people from church on fb, but we tend to communicate through each other’s status messages as opposed to through the church page.
I made a page for our church, but I’m not sure what to do with it yet. I’ll let you know if I figure it out.
I’ve used it to let some people know about some special events in the church, that’s about all.
Our youth director has a facebook devotional that he updates a couple of times a week.
We are discussing this at council tonight, and I’m not optimistic. The majority of people on council are still vaguely afraid of the computer, and at least one is convinced that all forms of electronic communication and networking are a passing fad. I keep trying to make the argument that anything on the internet, from a web page to social networking sites to things like Twitter are not intended to replace human interaction but to supplement and enhance it. And I keep saying that my generation (smack in the middle of Gen X) and beyond are entirely comfortable with the web, and will probably turn to it first to get information and to interact. I haven’t been successful so far.
It’s tough when you are one of the youngest adults in the congregation…and you are pushing 40.