|
Homes, Coffee Shops, Laundrymats, And More!
by Captain Vinal Lee
We are navigating the greatest
communication shift since the invention of the printing press.
The reality of this communication shift and the excitement of
this change became evident to the entirety of the church in
March 2020, when the Church had to learn the rhythms of this
new neighborhood called social media. In a moment, the Church
had to go entirely online and for the first time in 500 years
unlocked the potential for the rapid advancement of the gospel
in new and exciting ways. This leads me to ask the question,
‘how will the salvation war look different next year?’
The first step will be the large and
overwhelming acceptance of social media and websites as a
strategic and intentional option to preach the gospel, rather
than an acceptable substitute for when we can’t meet in
person. This season has shown us how wide we can spread the
gospel with the same intentionality, but at a fraction of the
cost of previously deployed methods. I believe in this new
year that we will see exciting expressions of church online,
which aim to plant new expressions of faith all around the
world by leveraging the power of the internet and our local
communities. This may look like a church whose primary worship
service takes place entirely online but uses a system of small
groups meeting around the community in homes, coffee shops,
laundrymats, and more to foster a deeply connected community
of worship. I
believe the Church will lean into church online as a vibrant
expression of faith connecting with people all over the world
and around the neighborhood. We will see church online become
a primary means or worship and church growth for many
worshiping communities.
We can no longer ignore online or
consider it a secondary option, but we must embrace the new
play book that Covid-19 has given us and deploy church online
strategies to reach the next and current generations with the
gospel. Mark 2:22 in the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
says, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does,
the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the
bottles destroyed; but new wine is to be put in new (fresh)
wineskins.” I believe that the church in this new year will
not return to old wine in new wine skins but will use the
season God has given us to grow His kingdom like never before.
|
