MySpace may be on its way to being "yesterday" in the minds of teens (at least according to some in the media), but it's still pretty hot.
NewYork-based hitwise.com rated MySpace the No. 1 site for the week ending Nov. 11, accounting for about 5 percent of all U.S. Internet traffic. Alexa.com, another ratings site, put it in the No. 3 spot among U.S. websites. Either way, MySpace has more than 100 million accounts with a demographic that is dominated by teens and people in their 20s.
Opinions about MySpace vary, with some youth pastors seeing it as a helpful ministry tool and others loudly condemning it as the work of the devil.
Certainly, MySpace does have the potential to get kids in trouble...but they're not the only ones. I recently did some consulting with a church in the southeast that has dismissed its youth minister over some postings (about the church and its leadership, among other things) on his personal MySpace page.
Today's Minneapolis Star-Tribune carries a story about how some youth pastors view the popular web site. As for me, I don't have a MySpace page...I'll just stick to blogging about youth ministry. Seems safer.
Dear cool youth pastor guy,
My name is Talia. I came across your blog and I just wanted to thank you for the work that you do with youth. I know that my youth pastor has been a huge part in my walk with Christ. So many times I take him for granted and don’t tell them how much they have influenced my life. I would imagine many of your students feel the same way…thanks for investing in their lives! Your really making a difference
Posted by: Talia | February 11, 2009 at 07:55 PM