The Internet
New faith frontier or vehicle for watered-down worship?

Without a doubt, churches are going online more than ever to evangelize. But for all its supporters, the Web ministry movement is met with many criticisms, too. Arguments can be made for and against just about any tactic taken in the direction of online. For example:

If you Podcast your services, will people: (a) spread the Word by getting their friends to sign up for it, or (b) Decide to “worship” instead to at the nearest Starbucks?

If you set up a 3-D, virtual church in SecondLife – as LifeChurch.tv and xxxChurch.com have done – are you (a) reaching a brand-new pool of people you might not otherwise get to talk to you, let alone convince to check out your worship service, or (b) building a false set of members who’ll never step foot in your real sanctuary, preferring the anonymity of the virtual world?

If you encourage your teens to keep in touch on MyChurch.org, the Christian answer to MySpace, will they (a) build stronger bonds to be reinforced through church events, or (b) eventually talk only online instead of meeting for real at your youth center?

In most cases, the answer is (c) all of the above.

As pastors, you know fall-out is inevitable whenever you try something new. This is especially true of Web ministry initiatives; some long-time members – and maybe even your fellow church leaders – will question if online outreach is real ministry.

If you ascribe to the potential of Web ministry, the concept of “doing church” necessarily becomes a much different process than in past decades. That’s no small matter. Deciding to pursue the technology-fueled outreach, therefore, requires much prayerful consideration.

While it’s up to you and God to decide how to proceed, it’s always beneficial to know what other churches are doing around you. Are their efforts working? And do their definitions of “working” match yours anyway?

For some church leaders, the Web will always be just a tool to break through initially to people they might not otherwise reach.

Then, once these seekers attend a worship service, the real ministry can begin as they’re shown all the life-changing small groups at their fingertips.

For others, a Web church is very much a real church. For these leaders, a virtual worshipper in SecondLife has the potential to be every bit as touched by the Word as someone in their real pews every weekend.

Wherever you stand on the spectrum, there’s no denying Web ministry is a hot topic right now. As we bring you these types of articles, our goal is to present new outreach ideas. By the time you’re done reading each issue of Church Solutions, we hope you’ll have the knowledge you need to come to your own conclusions and, if you choose, move forward with the ideas you feel called to implement.

Godspeed!

RaeAnn Slaybaugh 
Editor 
rslaybaugh@vpico.com