What is the saddleback online community?
Great question, we're not really sure. We're hoping you can help us discover the answer.
We built all of this because there are lots of people who are looking to connect with God and other believers, but they can't make it one of our saddleback campuses. So... the saddleback online community (which I affectionately refer to as SOC) is anyone who wants to use saddleback's online tools to grow closer to God and other believers. That's a WIDE OPEN definition, mostly because we don't know what's going to happen. That's up to you!
More than just provide a video feed.
We wanted to create a place where people could engage our weekend services, connect with relevant and inspiring content during the week, and join a conversation with other people in the saddleback online community. To make this happen, we created three destinations:
The Internet Campus is the place to come every weekend. Our goal was to create an engaging experience, so we created a live chat, notes you could fill in and email to anyone, and an online Bible that has a gazillion translations (thanks www.youversion.com!). Our goal was to make it easy to connect with us, so anyone can send us a prayer request or get on our mailing list. In all of this, we wanted the people to be able to remain anonymous and get involved as much or as little as they want.
The SOC blog is the place to come during the week. We have a team of 10 or so folks who will be posting their thoughts and opinions every day. Make it a regular stop as you tour the web, or subscribe anonymously via feedburner.
The SOC forum is the place to come when you want to hear what others are saying...and you can even speak up if you want. In fact, we are counting on you to contribute, because if you don't say it, nobody else will. Go on over and check it out; make a comment or start a new topic and see what others have to say.
Getting Connected
We wanted to make it simple and painless for people to get connected, so we chose three of the best tools out there: twitter, facebook, and feedburner. (you've probably never heard of feedburner, but if you've subscribed to a blog, then you probably used it!)
Let us know what you think!
We're in the beginning stages of this and we needs all kinds of help and feedback. Let us know what you think! mattm@saddleback.com