Access Online?

I'm contemplating something. Those who know me might see that as a problem. I have the habit of getting all excited about projects, and many of them don't see the light of day. Books I've wanted to write, bands I've wanted to start, a church I've wanted to plant... the list goes on. I'm a dreamer, and I dream of influencing people for Jesus. For the Gospel. To see lives changed for the glory of God through the Gospel of Jesus. That's my dream, my vision, my mission. And now that vision has a new possible outworking.

I've been critical of the 'online church' like LifeChurch.tv. I believe that church isn't simply something that people 'go to' or 'watch', but rather communities of redeemed people on mission together. And I couldn't see how that can happen in an online venue, but my mind is changing. A few months ago I met with a friend of mine, someone who used to be a part of a youth group where I was the pastor. He had been saved through the ministry at that church, but had since drifted away from the community and the Gospel. I was able to encourage him in the Gospel. A few weeks later I reconnected with another 'kid', from another previous youth ministry, who also needed a reminder of the Gospel. For the past year I've also engaged with a number of friends on Facebook and twitter, Christians, non-Christians, skeptics, atheists, and everyone in between. I realized that there are a number of people in my life who I do minister the Gospel to, but sporadically, infrequently, and because of that, probably ineffectively.

When we were dreaming of Access Church, we thought it might be effective to further the Gospel message by posting our sermons online through iTunes podcasts and vodcasts and YouTube. I have personally been built up in the Gospel through pastors* on iTunes and I wanted to give freely as I had freely received. When it became clear that Access Church wasn't going to be a go, I started thinking of developing my sermon series, 'Losing My Religion' specifically for YouTube to see if I could effectively minister the Gospel to people in that venue. That thought has been at the back of my mind for about three months.

Then this week I received an invitation from churchleader.com to download a free ebook on "The Art of Online Ministry". It was an easy read, particularly because it was articulation what I've wanted to do in so many ways. And now, I'd like to explore the idea of launching an online church.

Great! Another project.

Well if there's one thing I've learned in all my starts and stops, it's that I can't accomplish much on my own. The ebook also confirmed this fact. It says that it needs to be a team that does something like this. A team to own it and develop it. The investment, both financial and time, is much smaller than, say, church planting. But people have to own it together. Particularly, the team needs to include:

- A Captain
- A Network Catalyst
- At least 2 Prayer Room Volunteers
- Chat Room Hosts
- An Administrator
- Video Production
- Worship leaders/team
- Others

The beauty of online church (say, Access Online) is that it's manageable by a small group of committed people. The people don't have to physically meet together, or be in the same geographical region. It has low overhead. And it's effective. It can continue the mission of seeing lives changed for the glory of God through the Gospel of Jesus. It can spark conversions, communities (both virtual and actual) and maybe even physical churches. I can participate in it while providing for my family full-time, and while I'm also involved in my family's own church community.

As for the potential pitfalls of launching an online church, such as those I've already identified in this post along with others, I'll be addressing those in upcoming entries. But I've come to understand two things: 1. That virtual community IS a legitimate form of community (I'll be unpacking this further in later posts) and 2. That church ministry online doesn't have to stay online, but when appropriate can extend to physical meetups, mission, care, etc. Also, my mind has expanded from picturing online church as simply posted sermons to realizing the power of online chat, chat prayer rooms, polls, etc that contribute to building community online. Web2.0 (or 3.0?) might make online community a legitimate form of church.

My next step is to continue dreaming. I'll be developing two sermon series: 'Losing My Religion' (which I was planning to preach for the launch of Access Church in Aldergrove), and 'What Jesus'. Each series will be 4-5 weeks in length. I'll develop and record it in raw footage.

I want to know if anybody else is with me on this. I won't go unless there's a team. I want to hear from you. Have you experienced online church? Do you have skills I've listed above and are you willing to use them in this mission? Would you like to hear more about my vision, goals, plans, experiences, and life? Are you intrigued to know more about the Gospel, which compels me to keep trying, even though I may not succeed?

Drop a line in the comments below. Repost this on your twitter, Facebook, and blog. Let's see if we can get some momentum on this, by the grace of God!