Most churches want them turned off, but one North Carolina church encouraged its members to use their cell phones, BlackBerrys and other devices to help spread the word during Easter services.
Next Level church in Union County was alive with Twitter during the Easter Sunday service, The Charlotte Observer reported Monday. The electronic service sends short messages to other phones and online accounts.
"I hope many of you are tweeting this morning about your experience with God," Pastor Todd Hahn said before his sermon. A tweet is a message sent through Twitter.
Hahn said a committee of young members came up with the idea as a special way to observe Easter. The pastor said Twitter is a social network and can remind people they aren't worshipping alone.
During Hahn's sermon about St. Paul and the resurrection story of Jesus, Scarlett Hollingsworth bowed her head to her Blackberry.
"I'm listening to the teachings of Paul & wondering how many people need to hear that we can face hardship in life without fear," Hollingsworth wrote.
Hollingsworth, 44, said it sometimes was difficult to tweet and pay attention to the sermon, but she embraced the idea that the church needs change.
"If you don't jump on the new technology, you're going to lose opportunities," she said. "We use it for work and for life. Why not church?"
Churches aren't far behind the latest technology, starting with the printing press and moving along to radio, television and the Internet.
But some people in the pews still were amazed.
"So excited for the nextlevel Easter service!!" wrote one person, identified as GamecockCB. "Tweet from church?! Are you kidding?!"
The 40-year-old Hahn said churches are competing for young members and his church tries to stand out by using Web sites, blogs and Twitter. He said Twitter is partly a marketing tool, but that it can build a sense of community that enhances a member's religious experience.
"Twitter is a social network that can remind us we are worshipping with other people. We're not in a bubble," he said. "And when people read some of the (tweets) they may have an a-ha moment, and say, 'A lot of others look at things like I do.'"
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