Believers f Our Virtual Ministry
The virtual ministry for spirituality consists of a “rule of life” that directs the participants’ prayers and studies; liturgical images with holy emblems; short homilies; music for contemplative prayer; forums and chat rooms for registered members who use their real names; and small groups led by approved leaders. This ministry offers a resting retreat to people living in the complex structure of contemporary society so that they may find themselves. The virtual church, with its well- established spirituality, can furnish its visitors with sources for self-enhancement. Within our virtual church you may find particularly interesting because it creates a more open environment. People can ask questions, share the gospel, debate an issue, meet to pray together or just listen to worship music and sermons without the confrontational aspects of some ministries.
The average Christian in our world today is only vaguely aware of the coming role of the internet in being and doing church, and many are stuck on the questions of whether a virtual church is even real, or possible, or just a glorified video game. Most people can think up disadvantages (whether accurate or not), but if they see some praising the virtual church … it may seem crazy to them!
First, the most obvious is the increased reach a virtual church can offer as a congregation of believers. When I say reach, I don’t mean it will help Universal Ministries have more tithers members around the world. I mean that it will allow our church to reach areas where a brick and mortar church has a harder time reaching. We in the U.S. forget that our particular culture makes brick and mortar churches much more accessible than almost any other world culture (for a variety of reasons). In fact, virtual churches will not just increase reach in communist countries, but also post-Christian societies, cultures torn by war, isolated regions of our world, or places inhabited by busy upper-middle class workaholics. Part of this reach, I hope, will be within our own Western world—where being a Christian may one day have more to do with regular virtual connections with our church co-laborers and a lot less to do with one day a week performances.
This leads to a second big advantage of the virtual church: Its ability to redefine and even reform what church means in many parts of the world. No matter how much I talk about being a follower of Jesus is more than this, actions do speak louder than words. Some folks would like to get rid of my kind of church to set up something communal but what the church needs (as always!) is some reformation, not destruction (as razing all our buildings to all meet in communes or homes would surely lead to). All this to say: The coming of the virtual church can retrain Christians in thought and practice to understand that church is not so much about a place or building but about the people who are connecting with the purpose of building up the Kingdom. (I see lots of people on blogs defend virtual churches by stating that church is the people … but this is inaccurate. The church is the people united by the presence of our Christ on mission for the Kingdom. Just a few Christians hanging out at Starbucks for coffee does not make a church, even if G-d may be there with them). So the virtual church can reform the church at large by reminding the church at large of the true nature of community (without demolishing the church at large, as some alt-church movements desire).
Third, and the thing that I am actually the most excited about, is the advantage the virtual church has to push margins. I need to say up front that I do not consider myself a margin-pusher, a radical, or anything close to that (far from it, actually). I’m just not wired that way. I really was struck by the testimonies of folks in virtual churches … and began to realize that many of these folks are marginalized-by-society people. And then I started to read a few Christian “trolls” (shouldn’t that be an oxymoron?) who would respond to blog posts about internet churches, implying that people who can’t or won’t go to a brick and mortar church are somehow lesser, weirder, weaker in their faith, or some other implicit negative descriptor. To be fair, many of these comments were not mean-spirited as in the political blogosphere, but there definitely was a strong undercurrent of ‘if you can’t go to a brick and mortar church, then there’s something wrong with you.’ To be honest, this torqued me quite a bit and got under my skin. Yes, a lot of testimonies from virtual churchgoers that I saw, read, heard, or heard about are in fact from people the world would write off—but why would the church do this? Just because a person feels uncomfortable in a Western-style brick and mortar church makes them unworthy of Christian community? If you met me in person, you’d know I’m not a bleeding-heart anything but to know that a real church with a real community could reach real people that our Christ died for./.. people who have been marginalized by both society and church culture... does something for me.
With any new movement, it is wise to ask questions and probe the underlying values, theology, and implications. Even church leaders who are not planning to start an internet church can benefit from these questions. For example, virtual churches force us to rethink long-held assumptions about what church is, the impact of technology on the soul, and what it really means to participate in a spiritual community. The advent of virtual churches may cause many traditional churches to reexamine their own ministry values.
Spiritual Mentoring: Our spiritual mentoring programs are designed to challenge you to grow in either a small group or one-on-one sessions.
Speaking Engagements: We strive to impact others lives with real stories from our lives and those of others along with the Biblical based principles that we should live by.
