Vicky Beeching hosting social media conference

Worship leader and blogger Vicky Beeching will be hosting this year's Christian New Media Conference.

One of the topics up for discussion at the one-day conference in London this October will be the impact of social media on prayer.

Earlier this year, footballer Fabrice Muamba's mid-game cardiac arrest ignited a wave of prayer via Twitter when the hashtag #Pray4Muamba went viral, being tweeted over 685,000 times.

The conference is being run by Premier Christian Media's New Media Centre of Excellence in partnership with the CODEC research initiative based at St John's College in Durham.

Experts will be on hand to give their advice on tweeting, pinning and posting to help Christians communicate effectively with others online.

Speakers include Dr Bex Lewis, Blended Learning Coordinator at CODEC, Sr Catherine Wybourne aka the Digital Nun, and James Poulter, YouVersion UK representative.

The conference, taking place at King's College London, features one-on-one consultations and seminar streams offering insight on a range of social media issues, such as how God is depicted online, story-based evangelism, and social media beyond Facebook.

Kevin Bennett, Premier Director of New Media, said: “The Christian New Media Awards and Conference was set up back in 2007 to encourage more Christians to be salt and light in the digital arena, and spotlight those who were already giving the ‘digital world' a Christian flavour.

"We want to keep Christians up to date and to improve digital communication skills.”

He continues, “This year’s theme for the main conference sessions focus on how the digital revolution has transformed the art of story-telling.

"Whatever story we’re telling; our own or that of our church or organisation, ultimately as Christians, we are telling God’s story.”

The conference is taking place the day after Premier's annual Christian New Media Awards.

The awards, now in their sixth year, are taking place at Skinners' Hall, in central London.

They will recognise the best websites and blogs by Christian individuals, churches, charities and businesses.

On the web: www.newmediacentreofexcellence.org.uk/cnmac/conference