New Media, New Evangelization – Spreading the Faith in a Digital Age: Unpacking #MACongress

Today I continue sharing my reflections on the recent Mid-Atlantic Congress in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Find all of my #MACongress posts online here.

The afternoon of Friday, March 8th found me splitting my time between two sessions by two of my favorite speakers — both of whom I’m blessed to called “friend”. Tomorrow, I will share about Jeff Cavins’ session, but for now I want to share about New Media, New Evangelization – Spreading the Faith in a Digital Age by Brandon Vogt. Here’s the overview of this presentation, which was kindly sponsored by Our Sunday Visitor:

What is the New Evangelization? What is the new media? And how do the two fit together? In this talk, Catholic new media-expert Brandon Vogt gives an overview of both subjects and reveals ten practical keys to evangelizing the digital world.

I have probably been lucky enough to hear my friend and Catholic New Media colleague Brandon Vogt speak a dozen times. Our friendship dates back to attending the Vatican Bloggers Meeting together. I was blessed to play a small part in one of Brandon’s major works by writing a chapter for his book The Church and New Media. I also consider myself quite fortunate to have him on “speed dial” via email and seem to be running into him on a regular basis these days. And yet, when I see him listed as a presenter at a conference, there is no doubt that I will be signing up for his session.

Why? Because he’s awesome. He’s among the most dynamic and talented Catholic speakers I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear. His presentation at Mid-Atlantic Congress was a great example of this — Brandon is able to fully engage his audience a topic that is at once critical for our Church, and challenging to so many who lead her. At Mid-Atlantic Congress, Brandon opened his remarks with a fascinating history of communications and a look at the ways our Church has consistently served as a leader in using cutting edge strategies to deliver a timeless message of truth: the Good News of the gospel.

Brandon’s presentation featured “10 Keys to Evangelize with New Media“. Each of these points was well-illustrated, but also filled with practical advice that would enable participants to leave the session with a toolkit for meaningful communications advancement in their parish or organization.

Brandon Vogt continually challenges me to not only embrace every possible means of evangelizing, but also to be a better, more holy, and more service-oriented person while doing it. And guess what, he’s fun. And nice. And soooo talented. If you ever have the chance to hear him speak, don’t even consider missing the opportunity. In the mean time, check out The Church and New Media and receive regular doses of wisdom, inspiration and fun through his blog at BrandonVogt.com.