"Mormon Mingle" - The Cottage Meeting in the Digital Age

LDS missionaries have organized "cottage meetings" for many years -- gatherings in homes where church members and investigators could meet in a comfortable setting where religious topics could be discussed but less formally. It has been a tried and true method by which good relationships could be built among missionaries, members, and friends of the church. Many such investigators have joined the church in this way.

Recently at the MTC the Referral Center missionaries (who are full time online missionaries with whom people chat at Mormon.org) have begun to pilot what they are calling the "Mormon Mingle" -- a version of the cottage meeting updated for the digital age. Instead of meeting in someone's home, those invited either meet in a group chat room or through a telephone conference call. The Mormon Mingle format is still in its infancy, but early efforts have proven so positive that these online missionaries are very encouraged and are now expanding their efforts.

This is how it works.

Publishing Media as a Missionary

Online missionaries need to be smart about using media. Whether they are blogging, using online chat, or updating their Facebook status, Elders and Sisters will engage people more meaningfully by using various kinds of media. What kinds?

1. Images
   Yes! But whose? Where? How? How many?
2. Videos
   Great! But from where? Embedded or uploaded? Personal or church-created?
3. Audio
   Good! But what are we talking about: music? podcasts? recordings of church events?
4. Presentations
   Super! But what kind? Your own or by others?
5. Links
   Important! But how and where?

Important Doesn't Mean Serious

One of the problems missionaries can face in using New Media is being too serious or too formal. Don't get me wrong -- our messages about Christ or the Restoration are super serious! But the way people understand the importance of our message isn't always through stating that message like a sermon or a formal lesson. (Remember: A blog is not a pulpit.)

Let's say I want to tell the world about the importance of families. I could quote the Family Proclamation (which I believe in strongly). But I think I'd rather start with a clip from some family time at the Burton home:

Princess Bride performed by two year old on Yahoo! Video