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access to that or didn’t see it.
And it might help.”
Vo breaks from her Twitter work
to scan through the 400-odd comments on Osteen’s most recent
Facebook post, systematically “liking” some and answering questions about the Night of Hope. That
personal attention, says Vo, helps
endear Joel to people by assuring
them he’s hearing their prayers and
praise — even if it’s from the “JOM
Team,” not Osteen himself.
“Joel is there. He’s touchable,
he’s interactive. You don’t feel like
he’s just a TV,” she says. “The followers know he’s there, he’s listening, he’s a pastor and he’s watching,
so they get the interaction.”
‘I NEED A PRAYER’
About 20 minutes before the Night
of Hope is scheduled to begin, Vo
resettles herself in front of her
computer. In addition to updating Facebook and Twitter, she’s
been assigned the role of “greeter,”
meaning she will welcome people to
the Night of Hope chat room. Socalled “URL pushers” will answer
queries with pre-written blocks of
text that direct people to everything
from Osteen’s Twitter account to
local churches. Two others from
the group will screen each incom-
HUFFINGTON
06.09.13
ing comment before publishing it
to the public forum, and someone else will run giveaways (the
prizes: free copies of Osteen’s
books). In the Night of Hope chat
room, people waiting for Osteen to
take the stage banter about where
they’re from and where they’re
watching the stream: Israel, Canada, Hawaii, North Carolina. Shortly
after 7 p.m., Osteen’s big, pearly
grin flashes onto the screen.
Prayer requests begin to flow
into the chat room. Elsewhere on
the Internet, people tend to present
themselves in the best light. Here,
people bare all, sharing stories
about depression, abuse, seizures,
strokes, infertility and lost children.
“Hey everyone I need prayer,”
writes a woman, who identifies herself in the chat as “Lisa Elliott.” “I
am dealing with Brain Cancer and
dealing with abuse in my life and
asking for some prayers in this I feel
like I can’t keep going with the way
my life is going.”
Vo writes back to Elliott assuring her Osteen ministries “would
love to stand with you in prayer.”
She advises her to share her prayer
request online, or by phoning into a
1-800 line, where volunteer prayer
partners will join callers in prayer
and offer them scripture.