Gospel Online

 Does this ever happen to you? You spend some time thinking through something, you come to a solid conclusion, then you get on with it. Then ages later, you turn around and second-guess yourself; "why am I doing this again?"  

We're going through a process right now of changing the digital framework for our church, you know, website and sermon hosting type stuff. And during this process I heard someone mention that he thought it was unwise to share church sermons online. A little while later I heard a similar remark from someone else in a completely different setting.

 This got me thinking - why is it that I think we should keep putting our gospel "content" online? Is it a bad idea? So having thought about it again, let me take a moment to explain why I think we should broadcast our Gospel content far and wide.  

Gospel in the Public Square

The world is opposed to God's truth. Either they can't hear it, or they are offended by it. But, "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Ro 10:17). The Good News needs to be proclaimed to people who would naturally reject God's Word, so that they can come to faith as the Spirit works in them. Jesus charged his church to go out and make disciples of the nations, and part of that means we need to get the gospel to where the people are (Ma 28:18–20).

Right now the internet is something of a global public square where people from almost every nation can access untold amounts of information. There is soooooo much junk out there, including from well-meaning but deceived Christians. Our humble efforts to share our gospel content in the public square may be like drops in the ocean of content; drip and disappear. Yet it is my sincere hope that it is more like gems buried in the earth - maybe someone will stumble across a great treasure they didn't even know was there.

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Mt 13:44–46).

The day may come where it is quite unsafe for us to proclaim the truth online, especially in a way that could be connected back to a specific church or person. It may paint a target on our backs. Yet this has been the case at various times down through history, and is the case in many parts of the world today; if you pop you head up to declare "Christ is Lord" you're likely to get it taken off. Yet while the opportunity is still open to us, the careful dissemination of Gospel truth seems like a good and faithful use of the tools we have available to us.

If this public proclamation is not ungodly, and it helps save an eternal soul, isn't that a good thing? Even if we suffer for it?

Sermons and articles and interviews and whatnot will never be a replacement for boots-on-the-ground evangelism and discipleship. But sound online content is a tool that God does, and has, used to save sinners.

The more truth in the public square, the better!

Reaching our Community

Even in the area in which we live, people are much more likely to check something out online first, rather than come in person. Think about it, many of us won't even check out a new restaurant/take-away unless we have read the reviews first. How much more with spiritual matters are people going to scope us out?  

Our online content acts for many as a gateway to the local church community. They can know what they're getting into, know what to expect, and be more likely to face the awkward emotional investment of trying to engage with the church.  

It also means that non-Christian people who hear about us by word-of-mouth or advertising can get online and hear Gospel even if they never darken our door.  

Reaching the Disconnected

Another reason to post church content online is that there are Christians who stand to benefit. This includes:

• Christians who are disconnected from Church by geography. There is simply no church in their region, and yet they have a satellite connection to the internet. It's not a replacement for church, but it could be all they can get on a regular basis. These Christians can be blessed by brothers and sisters that live far away from them, simply by sharing.
• Christians who have been "de-churched." Let me be clear - cutting yourself off from Jesus Church is not a viable option for Christian faithfulness, but there are those who have been driven away due to spiritual abuse, bad churches or their own bad choices. Good Gospel content could be an interim encouragement and the catalyst for their return to a true church.
• Searching Christians, who are looking for Bible teaching amidst a sea of false teachers are more likely to find it if we're sharing it! Some Christians feel isolated, like they are the only Christians who believe the Bible, or the only ones who want to live faithfully. When they find others, they are encouraged to persevere and find a Christ-centred church to call home.
• Moving Christians - Finding a new church when you move can be a tough gig. Sometimes you end up floating through several churches over the course of a few months, trying to find a semi-decent church to land at. This can be especially difficult for defence personnel or other professionals who get moved around every few years. It feels like a perpetual process. A clear online presence communicates what our local church believes and teaches, smoothing the way.    

Multiplying Work

If you have a shovel, are you glorifying God by using your hands to move a pile of dirt? If you have a wheelbarrow, are you being a blessing by leaving it in the shed and making many trips?  

In God's providence he has given us tools (a.k.a technologies) that enable us to multiply our work. From shovel, to wheelbarrow, to excavator, we are able to achieve exponentially more with the tools that we have.  

When the printing press arrived, we were able to proclaim exponentially more Gospel truth because it could be written down and copied thousands and thousands of times. Finally regular people could have a copy of God's word in their own home, and read it! What a novelty! The reformation truth spread like wildfire because of this amazing technology!  

Gospel content costs - it costs time and effort to study and write. Materials, books and equipment cost money. Where employed pastors are concerned, there are stipends and other costs. It makes sense to me to try and make every cent and minute count, and because of modern tech, one piece of work can have the benefit multiplied. It means that the relatively high cost of one piece of ministry work is reduced because it can be used again and again. That could mean a Sunday sermon can be a blessing to God's people on Sunday, then a recording is heard online by others, and the transcript is read by a preacher in training.  An article can be written to bless the local church, be shared online to a wider audience, then alter on adapted as a chapter of a book.  

Online Gospel content is a way of leveraging the work done in local churches to spread truth to a wider audience. A lot will fall on deaf ears, but some seed will land in good soil (Ma 13:1–23).  For now, I have no qualms about sharing as much of our gospel content as possible, through as many media as possible.

We beleive that God works through the proclaimed word by His Spirit, whether it be in person, or in writing on in a recording.  

God's word will not return void (Is 55:11), so we should have no fear of sending it out into the world by all means possible so that we may save some (cf. 1Co 9:22)!