social media for christian ministry:getting online and keeping out of court

by Kenneth A. Hall

The explosion of social media inour society is not only changing howwe communicate with each other inour personal lives, it is radicallytransforming the way Christianministries spread the gospel andcreate relationships within theircongregations and communities.However, as with print and broad-casting media in the last century, ourinstantaneous ability to communicatewith others electronically in the 21stcentury has magnified the potentialfor the good, the bad and the ugly. It miraculously allows families to

chat or Skype with each other fromacross the globe, is instrumental inorganizing social revolutions that cancause tyrants to fall and is capable ofbeing used as a tool to warn ofimpending natural disasters that canprevent large-scale death, injury andproperty damage. The ugly side of thistechnology can also provide a

convenient means for pedophiles toprey on minors online, give criminalsan opportunity to commit financialfraud on a scale previously not possibleand allow individuals to spread hatred,misinformation and gossip that canunfairly and permanently damage thereputation of others. It can also cause individuals,

businesses and organizations to endup in court at the wrong end of alawsuit when social media andelectronic communication aremisused. A journalism professor atHarvard University recently concludedin a lecture that in this new age ofsocial media, “neither privacy norpublicity is dead, but technology willcontinue to make a mess of both!”Balancing our moral, professional

and legal responsibilities to assure theprivacy and confidentiality of donors,clients, members, participants andvulnerable persons in faith-basedorganizations, including safeguardingthe children and youth in our care;with the tremendous potential inpromoting our message andministries online through electronictext and image; can present a bigchallenge for leaders in churches andother Christian agencies.Whether it’s an inappropriate text

sent by an adult volunteer to a youngteenager, a prayer request made bysomeone struggling with an illness orfamily situation given in confidence toa pastor or elder who in turn disclosesthe details online, or a youth pastorwhose blog contains unsubstantiatedmusings or ramblings about peopleand events as a means to increasetraffic and readership; it is cause forthose in leadership to cringe. We need to think carefully about how

we communicate electronically, fromblogging to email, Twitter, Google +,YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest or thenext new thing. Our understanding ofthe potential legal implications arisingfrom the widespread use of socialmedia is still in its infancy,technologyis constantly changing and we are allon a steep learning curve, includingthose of us in the insurance industry.

Balancing our moral,professional and legal

responsibilities to assure theprivacy and confidentiality

of donors, clients, members, participants

and vulnerable persons…can present a big challengefor leaders in churches andother Christian agencies.

Following are key areas of potential online liability risk forChristian charities that have been identified as a priority toaddress through practical prevention guidelines by institutingan electronic communications policy, with special attention to

social media, to assist board members, staff and volunteers involved inelectronic communication. Here are some ideas for consideration.

september 2012 | edition 1

Communicate Appropriatelywith MinorsYour policy should outline acceptable forms of

electronic media and content between your organization’sworkers and the children and youth in your programs. • Discourage communicating directly with minors bymeans of social networking media such as mobile textmessages, Facebook posts, tweets, etc.

• If an allowance is made for employees under yourauthority to use text messaging with minors, it shouldonly be with the formal written consent of parents/guardians and content should be limited to informationand announcements to promote upcoming events.

• Questions in the text message should be kept simple,requiring only a “yes” or “no” answer (e.g. aboutattending an event or requiring transportation).

• Pastoral care or counselling should never be donethrough text messaging.

• Volunteers should be strictly prohibited fromcommunicating directly with unrelated children orstudents via text messaging under any circumstances. These guidelines should be addressed in your policy and clearly

communicated to employees and volunteers so that they don’t getthemselves and your organization into trouble texting minors,especially in circumstances where such informal communicationmay be misconstrued, misinterpreted and/or considered ageinappropriate. As an alternative, some churches maintain a policythat they will only communicate electronically with children under16 years of age via their parent’s email address, leaving parentsresponsible to review messages and convey the information totheir kids verbally or electronically.

Monitor Website ContentIt is always best to restrict your website to using photographic

images in which the individual faces of members, guests andparticipants are unrecognizable. For example, use far-away shotsfor group activities. If a close-up shot is needed, use a stock imageof a generic program participant. Any photography of individualsused on your website should require their specific written consenton file. For example, consent can be integrated into yourorganization’s signed registration forms, parental permissionforms and membership agreements.The ease of capturing images, text, music or video clips from the

Internet doesn’t mean such content is necessarily in the publicdomain or appropriate to use on a website. For example, one churchthat used a poem as a theme for a fall sermon series – withoutpermission from the author – is now facing a lawsuit formisappropriation of copyrighted material. Leaders should review anyarticles from other websites your organization intends to reproduce orlink to. One slip and you can be responsible for material that is illegal,defamatory, immoral or injurious to your organization’s reputation.

The risk of lawsuits from third parties claiminglibel, slander, defamation and invasion of privacy(known as “personal injury” in the legal world) ismagnified when using email, online chat andother electronic communication. It has createdunprecedented access between various individuals,subcultures and communities, providing a platformfor more voices to engage in public debate, dis-course and sharing of ideas, beliefs and theology.Information can be transmitted by electronic mail, inchat rooms or by posting messages on bulletinboards, or by keeping web diaries or blogs. If your church, school, camping ministry or

agency hosts a message board chat or Facebookgroup to share online discussions, photos, videosand other content within your group, such contentshould be “moderated” rather than “open”. Thestandards of the host should be clearly commu-nicated to users, such as discouraging off-topicdiscussion and prohibiting bad language, obscenetexting, bullying and discrimination. Content shouldbe monitored and if necessary, removed, by aresponsible moderator on behalf of the organization. A recent article by the Canadian Council of

Christian Charities on the results of a social mediasurvey of its member organizations stressed theimportance of taking the time to create a socialmedia policy to prevent damage to an organization’sreputation and relationships because “sometimessocial media can be abused as a platform forhurtful remarks and negative feedback”.Both employers and employees can be subject

to discriminatory harassment, human rights andcivil liability proceedings if management orworkers post offensive comments about theperformance, behaviour or faith beliefs of fellowemployees. Organizations that encourage the use

EMAIL, BLOG AND

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Manage Streaming Media

Audio streaming, video streaming and podcasting worshipservices, sermons, education and other activities are increasinglypopular ways to reach a wider audience. However these often don’thave the safeguards of traditional media, such as being subject totape delays, editing or network censoring to eliminate content thatmay be unintentionally offensive or intrusive. The reality is thatunfiltered and unedited live streaming of sermons, teaching andother content has the potential to cause libel, slander, defamationand invasion of privacy. When using unregulated web-based forms of media, leaders and

organizers need to be extra cautious in managing live content.Care should be taken that speakers or guests are not likely to bemaking inflammatory statements that may cause undue harm toindividuals or identifiable groups in society. Avoid close-up imagesof individual congregation members and guests who have not givenconsent to the public use of their images at times that may be verypersonal, emotional and introspective as they participate in achurch service, worship, concert or other live event.

Secure Wireless Networks

Wireless internet connections are increasingly popular for theconvenience of smart phone, laptop and game console users inplaces of business and other public spaces, including churchpremises. But many of these wireless networks are unsecuredand therefore vulnerable to hackers, illegal use and access byminors to potentially inappropriate websites. Open internet accessshould not be made available to children or youth who areunsupervised. When wireless routers are installed in anypremises, including plug-and-play out of the box equipment, it isimportant to run the setup disc to make customizations and aproper security setup. The network should be available only bypassword and a password (including numbers and letters) shouldbe changed on a regular basis. There have now been cases where unregulated free WiFi has

resulted in inappropriate web surfing by minors and by illegalactivities online, where the host provider has been held liable forunlawful activity and been named as a defendant in a lawsuit.Passwords, terms of service agreements and supervision ofminors are important steps in managing the risk of being aninternet host, whether the service is paid or complimentary.

of social media by its employees to advanceministry should design a policy to reflect theorganization’s standards, expectations and state-ment of faith for use of social media tools, both atwork and outside the office. Improper use (thatcontravenes stated employer policy and harmsthe organization or others) can be grounds fordiscipline and termination. The famous adage about “not saying anything

online that you wouldn’t want plastered on abillboard with your face and name on it”, alsoapplies to Christian ministry as it adapts to theopportunities and pitfalls of spreading the gospeland building relationships through onlinecommunication and social media. From a legalliability perspective you should remind leadersand workers not to push the “send” button with-out thinking and not to communicate contentthrough emails or blogs that they might regretand that might be read back to you as a defendantin a court of law.I recently read a pastor’s blog where he was

chatting about his kids, their friends, where theyattended school and which Starbucks theystopped by on their way home from school. Suchcommunication may be a well-intentioned effortby ministry staff to be more approachable and tocreate a personal connection with readers.However, they are not always the kind of specificpersonal details that you would want to disclosefrom a privacy, personal security and safetyperspective, whether with your own children, withsomeone else’s children or with youth in yourprograms! Explicitly discourage staff and volun-teers from blogging in a style that may be toorevealing, casual, controversial, inflammatory orthat verges on gossip, libel or slander.

TWEET RESPONSIBLY

Risk Management and Christian MinistryDo Go Together! Not only are they compatible, they are essential to both the testimony andthe long-term effectiveness of any church or para-church organization.Managing social media risk responsibly is about building a more effectiveministry, one that can enable leaders, ministers and volunteers to takeadvantage of the opportunities afforded by electronic communication.Managing risk is not about saying “no” to the ministry opportunities offeredby social media; it’s about how to say “yes”, responsibly and wisely.

NOTE: For more information on Social Networking and Abuse Prevention for Christian Charities, please refer to theRobertson Hall Insurance Inc. publication entitled Abuse Prevention Newsletter (2011 ed.) including the articles “The TenCommandments of Youth Abuse Prevention” and “Can Social Networking Get Us Sued?”. www.robertsonhall.com

Winning Kids Inc. and the Plan To Protect abuse prevention plan is also a helpful resource for developing a safe socialmedia policy for any Christian ministry. www.winningkidsinc.ca

For those Christian organizations whoseprimary purpose is to advertise, broadcast,publish or telecast, to design or determineweb-site content, to provide internet searchservices, to access content or to act as aservice provider, it is important to rememberthat most Commercial General Liability (CGL)insurance policy wordings expressly excludecoverage for legal liability arising out of suchprofessional operations and activities. Thesolution is to supplement your General Liabilityand Directors & Officers Liability protection by speaking with yourinsurance provider about obtaining a separate Media Liability policy. For the vast majority of churches and Christian agencies, media operations

are only secondary to their primary ministries, operations and activities.However, it is still important to check with your insurance provider to ensurethat your coverage will address liability risk arising from both traditionalmedia activities, such as broadcasting, telecasting and publishing, and fromonline activities, including website content, blogs, discussion forums andinternet streaming. The current standard Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC)Commercial General Liability policy wording used by most insurancecompanies specifically excludes coverage for personal injury arising out ofchat rooms or bulletin boards that a business or organization hosts, owns orover which it exercises control. To ensure proper coverage, a special internetstreaming and web content endorsement should be added to the policy.

Check InsuranceCoverage

Church Protection Plus, availablethrough Robertson Hall Insurance,offers customized liability solutionsfor Christian Ministries and theirdirectors that modifies thestandard exclusionary wording andprovides full coverage for websitecontent, including the distribution,broadcast or streaming of printed,audio, video or electronic materialprepared and produced by ourclient organizations.