Faith Freaks

Grace Sight #14 is Faith Freaks.

I just found out today (from Twitter of all places) about a social media system that is designed to be a Christian oriented safe place for youth and young adults. Even though I am neither of these I registered to try it out.  Apparently they are willing to accept old folks like me into the community.  I do wish they had this type of social media when I was a youth.  The site is called Faith Freaks and you access it at www.faithfreaks.com.

The Faith Freaks website lists this as the goal of their unique social media.

Faith Freaks is a safe on-line environment dedicated to helping young people by providing help, hope & encouraging them to grow in their faith.  Our trained volunteers help young people find resources to overcome the many challenges that they may be facing. Including, but not limited to, suicide prevention, depression, peer pressure, drug or alcohol abuse & other challenging or life threatening situations. We help by providing many types of resources both online & in their own communities. Additionally we try to encourage healthy decision making.  Moreover we strive to glorify God by providing an alternative social network that is safe, clean, friendly, and Christ-centered.

It works like Facebook or MySpace but has some moderation and Christian features built into it that make it a safe place where Christian teens can meet new people and grow in their faith.  It has a mission to be the premier Christian social media alternative.  Below is a collage of some of the features offered on Faith Freaks.

One of the first things I noticed when I registered is that there are prayer rooms that flow smoothly in the system.  Also, when I uploaded my profile picture (one of the first things one does in a social media account, right) it didn't appear immediately but said "Waiting Approval".  Amazing. Someone screens photos before they go live to make sure they meet a Christian standard. In fact, when you go to upload photos you are informed that pictures will be removed if they contain any of the following features:

• Guys without shirts or girls in bikinis ... unless they were taken at the beach or pool.
• Visible undergarments.
• Excessive cleavage.
• Seductive poses.
• Open-mouth kissing.
• Obscene hand gestures.
• Bad words, whether on your clothing or elsewhere in the photo.
• Alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs.
• Satanic symbols, pentagrams, etc.
• Gory or violent images.

There are dozens of testimonies of individuals who have been helped through FaithFreaks.com.  A list is at http://www.faithfreaks.com/testimonies.php.  Faith Freaks is being used by church youth groups as a safe setting for online ministry and community building.  I believe this can be a great place for ministry to take place. Consider signing up if you are young or young in heart.