Preparations Underway for Launch of OURCOG.COM
A new social media platform called ourcog.com is being tweaked and tested prior to a projected unveiling on January 3, 2013.
Faith News reported in October of the Church of God’s development of a new social media strategy which will strengthen the popular social media sites connected with the denomination, such as Facebook and Twitter, plus add a new conversation platform under the name ourcog.com.
The new social platform will be centered upon conversations in the Church of God movement. It is being built around three primary emphases: Explore, Learn and Discuss. The primary emphasis will be upon the Discuss option where visitors can log on and engage in on-going conversations or begin discussions of their own.
In the weeks leading up to the launch a “beta test” team has been in place to experiment and begin conversations, so when the launch takes place there will be a plethora of discussion in which to engage. The Beta Team has also been tasked to work out the “bugs” and offer suggestions to the developers for the most enjoyable and informative experience.
Church of God Second Assistant General Overseer J. David Stephens heads the committee tasked with developing the new social media platform.
“One of the strong points that has always bound the Church of God together is our connectivity,” Stephens said in an earlier statement. “We are constantly communicating with one another in a familial bond of conversation, whether it be about our families, our churches, or the Harvest. This new OURCOG platform is designed to strengthen those bonds and keep the conversation going to uplift each other and the Kingdom.”
Church of God General Overseer Mark Williams has been an enthusiastic supporter of the development of ourcog.com.
“To my knowledge, no other Christian denomination has built anything quite like this,” Williams stated. “We are excited about the possibilities of what this new initiative holds and invite everyone who enjoys social media and conversation to be part of the discussion.” Williams noted that this platform will give voices to whoever wants their story to be heard, from a rural church that is celebrating a particular milestone, to world-wide events that concern the denomination. It is hoped that the site can become a vehicle for discipleship and evangelism, through refreshing and engaging dialogue about spiritual matters.
A social media presence of the Church of God has been in place since the medium has been part of mainstream society. Currently, the Facebook page of the denomination has over 54,000 “likes,” and the conversation on Twitter at the handle @COGHQ has been on-going. The concept being unveiled in the next few weeks takes the “conversation” to a new level.
In anticipation of the January 3, 2013 launch of the platform, a splash page has been posted at www.ourcog.com where interested persons can sign up to be informed via email when the site goes live.
