ONLINE Church # 01

 

Back in 1980 I had my first experience in pioneering church. Vineyard Church was my second. Today I am pressing on to pioneer yet another, but this will be an ONLINE Church. This pandemic is changing the landscape of this current centuries-old-western-church model. Personally, I think it is a good and welcoming change. With this in mind, in the next couple of write ups, I want to share my thoughts on what I envision as an ONLINE Church. Let me begin with a bit of background.

My journey began some ten years ago. Vineyard Church had grown to be one of the mid-sized church in the AOG circle. At one time, we breached the two hundred and fifty markers in attendance, yet there was this growing dissatisfaction within me. I had always had the impression that something was amiss about the way church is being done today. I am aware there are diversities of workings and of method in ministries, but in this current church model, I felt we were not hitting the spot. A couple of years before this pandemic, I started ACTS 29. I wanted to be able to do church anywhere, anytime, not confined to a fixed location and fixed time services. But there was yet another reason for wanting to “decentralize” church. What IF for some reason, the freedom to worship at fixed locations is taken from us? Rather than being caught unaware, I needed a contingency plan and thus ACTS 29 was introduced to the Vineyard. We know the book of Acts ended at chapter 28. ACTS 29 is to be a replica of the church the way it was back in the days of Acts. From Acts, I came to an understanding of what the church really was and how it ought to be, but the current church model did not give me the freedom to do that which I had wanted to. While I deliberated on this, I passed the leading of the church to one of my pastoral team while I freed myself from church work to further explore ACTS 29. That was 2019. Then came Covid, 2020 and I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Instead of feeling frustrated by the disruptions and interruptions of life due to this pandemic, I got curious. Just short months into it, I saw church evolving. What was supposed to have happened maybe five years or more in the future is been escalated to today. Churches were caught unprepared and went into survival mode. Pastors were trying to figure out ways to reach its congregations. Online services became the obvious solution. The more creative ones took to social media. Change was inevitable and unstoppable. The tide had changed and a new season had unfolded. Churches have to rise to the occasion or miss out on the greatest opportunity of a lifetime We need to evolve. We need to see beyond this pandemic. Our analog world had evolved into a digital world and the church must flow with the tide. Gen X, Y and Z were born into a digital world. With this reality in mind, I want to take us on a journey in rediscovering church. The way I see it, the church in Acts is making a comeback, but in a digital format. So let's walk the road that was once traveled upon. This road may be faintly recognizable but the impressions along the way will still lead us there. We need to rethink church in today’s digital world.

 

ACTS: CHURCH WITHOUT LOCATION OR FIXED TIMES.

Acts 2:46-47

With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Back in Acts, churches were active every single day as suggested by the expression “daily”. The early Christians were not into church buildings nor fixed time services. They congregated at homes, anywhere, anytime. In contrast, believers today attend church on weekends and perhaps occasionally on weekdays. This has been the practice and culture ever since the first half of the second century. The church had evolved from a movement into a religious institution with hierarchy, fixed locations and fixed time services. In my following articles, I will endeavor to paint a picture of what I perceive an online church to be. You will note the similarities with the church in Acts. I am hoping to replicate the early church in context of our digital world today. What we are seeing currently is not what I perceive an online church to be. Live streaming of on-site services is just an extension of on-site church. Video On Demand is just a resource. An online church is a movement. It has no fixed locations nor fixed time services. There are no geographical boundaries. It is driven by different "engines". Online church is church anywhere, anytime as long as we are digitally connected.

To begin our journey, let me be clear up front.

1) I am not saying the way we do church today is wrong.

There are diversities of ministries and of methods. (1 Cor 12:4-7). In one way or another, the gospel is being preached and souls are being saved. That’s the core.

2) I am not reinventing the wheel. Wheels are round no matter. Church is church, whether it’s OFFLINE or ONLINE. So why am I looking into pioneering an ONLINE church? The short answer: "the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few".

OFFLINE church is never going away just as ONLINE service is never going to fade away. ONLINE church is the new kid on the block. It is here to stay. We are no longer just living in an analog world. Today’s kids are born into a digital world which is fast evolving. To remain relevant, on-site church must not just replicate Sunday services online. It has to go hybrid. I have been trying to achieve this hybrid model since ACTS 29. I couldn’t find our sweet spot back then but today, because of this pandemic, I have a better perspective. As I unfold my thoughts in my following articles, keep an open mind. For now, understand this: When church began in Acts, it was never about buildings and fixed time services. It was a movement, not an institution. It has no hierarchy. Movement spreads, institution grows. With the internet, church can once again be a movement. Online church is literally a church without walls. It grows beyond the capacity of buildings. It will reach far and wide across nations and peoples. I suspect this will be the vehicle in which the gospel can and will be made known throughout the whole world. 

We are living in exciting times indeed. Walk with me in this journey in rediscovering church. Just as the letter or the law differs vastly from the spirit of the law, you will be pleasantly surprised when you discern the "spirit" of the church from the institution of the church today. God bless.