P.S.  This pairs quite nicely with the KidzMatter iPhone wallpaper.  You can find that here.

Here’s how to get it: Visit thewayweseeitblog.com from your iPhone.  Find this post on the home page, then tap on the image above.  It should open in a window by itself.  Once it’s done that, simply tap and hold on the image.  A slider will pop up and ask you to save the image.

Once you have saved the image, press your home button.  Tap Photos, then Camera Roll.  There you will find the image you just saved.  Tap on it, then in the bottom left corner, tap on the postage stamp with an arrow on it.  Then choose Set Wallpaper.  That’s it!  You can now enjoy a little piece of KidzMatter everytime you unlock your phone.  Enjoy!

We’re interested in seeing who among you uses these services.  So let’s take a little poll (if you use more than one, let us know in the comments):

Many within the church today have chosen to totally shun social networking all together because it is “unsafe”.  While that is a real possiblity (see this recent story), the truth is that culture is adopting these sites and bringing a new level of openness to the world.  And while we as the church are sitting back, the world is moving on and the kids in our ministries don’t know how to use these sites safely.

First and foremost, we need to teach our kids how to use these sites safely.  This page has some wise words from MySpace on safety that you can use.  Second, we need to teach parents what they can do to monitor their child’s activity without making their children feel like watched criminals.

Third, it would be a great idea to adopt these sites as part of your ministry.  You can form relationships with other children’s ministers, as well as connecting with kids in your ministry.  You can keep up with your kids throughout the week simply by adding them to your “friends list” and communicating with them.  Now obviously, probably 90% of parents want some adult communicating with their children via MySpace or the like, so make sure and tell the parents first.  Let them know that you’d like to add their child as a friend as part of ministry to keep up with them throughout the week.  Keep the parents in the know as to what communications you are sending to their children, just so they know what you’re doing.

These sites are not inherently bad.  In fact, I am a happy Facebook user. Yes, there may be some bad content, and yes, there may be some bad people out there, but you can’t shield yourself or the kids in your ministry from it entirely.  It’s part of life today.  Christianity can’t simply operate inside this little tiny bubble and say, “We’re happy here, now you stay out and just let us do what we want.”  We need to be in culture, influencing it for good.  So what do you think?  Let me know in the comments below!