What is the Bethlehem Table?  

It is an online Bethlehem-specific social network application aimed at strengthening faith-sustaining relationships among our people. Watch Pastor John Piper's invitation:

John Piper's Invitation to the Bethlehem Table.

What can I do on the Bethlehem Table?

• Browse a directory of people and groups at Bethlehem with photos, maps, and searchable tags
• Share your prayer requests with the church and respond to the prayer requests of others
• Serve others at Bethlehem with your skills, time, and items you are willing to donate or share
• Much more—see the video tour below for an online demonstration 

I’m already on Facebook—why would I want to use this?  

Read this thoughtful article from the team at Tableproject, explaining why a church-specific social network is compelling, whether or not you are already a Facebook user. 

How do I join the Bethlehem Table?  

We will be sending an invitation via email to our adult members and regular attenders May 22 with instructions how to join.

Who is allowed to join the Bethlehem Table?

Only Bethlehem members and regular attenders who are currently attending one of our three campuses will be invited to join our Table. Teens will also be able to join us on the Table with their parents' permission shortly after the launch. If you have not yet received an invitation and you are currently attending Bethlehem as your home church, email us at table@hopeingod.org and we will contact you for further information. 

Is the Bethlehem Table safe?

The Table allows us to extend our existing physical community at Bethlehem into an online presence; the people you see on the Bethlehem Table are the same people who are physically present with us here during our worship services and other church activities. Therefore, all the same common sense rules about relating to others face to face at Bethlehem apply on the Table as well. Everyone on the Table has the ability to flag any content that is in some way inappropriate, and when this happens the content immediately is taken down until it can be reviewed. Teens on the Bethlehem Table can interact with other Bethlehem teens and adults who have been screened and given specific permission to do so by the Bethlehem Family Discipleship Department.

Can I keep my personal information private?

Yes. By default, your address and phone numbers are hidden from the rest of the church except for administrators. People you mark as your friends can see your phone number but not your address. If you want, you can configure your profile to reveal more to friends or other church members. And even if you keep your address or contact information hidden, you are still able to communicate and fully participate at the Bethlehem Table.

Who built this, and why?  

The Bethlehem Table was designed and built specifically for churches by Tableproject, a nonprofit Christian ministry located here in the Twin Cities. Their lead developer is a member at Bethlehem's North Campus. We think they're great, and we are very excited about the vision they have for serving the church with the Table, which they are making available to churches completely free of charge. One of their tag lines calls the Table "a free gift to slay anonymity, champion prayer, and squash apathy." We love that kind of heart.

What are social networks, and why are they important? 

A social network is a group of people who are connected by relationships, beliefs, or interests. Popular websites and web-based applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and LinkedIn are examples of online social networks and social media tools. Social networking sites have become incredibly popular. Facebook now has over 600 million users, and provides more page views and gets more clicks than Google. Twitter has over 190 million users. Social media has displaced pornography as the #1 activity on the Internet. Closer to Bethlehem, Pastor John currently has 160,000 followers on his Twitter feed, updated 5-8 times a day. Each one of his posted messages there results in an avalanche of responses, re-tweets, and discussions. Over 102,000 people have "Liked" Desiring God's Facebook page, which means they are in one way or another sharing its content with their own friends.

The importance of social media does not merely consist in its popularity, but in its power to disseminate information and tools at incredible speed among people worldwide, and to influence the attitudes and actions of those who consume it. When people want to learn about something, they now ask for others’ opinions via social network tools like blogs and book/product reviews. People give a significantly greater amount of trust in the opinions of those in their own social networks over those of traditional publications or authorities. They are also increasingly finding out about news in their social networks rather than on traditional news outlets. Personal decisions are, more and more, influenced by the content people find in the social media networks they are using at an increasing rate. At the time of this writing, social networks are a key factor in political revolutions in the Middle East and are having greater and greater political impact here in the United States. Yet even with the explosion of social media as a revolution in communications, it is still in its very early stages.