Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a church located in the middle of America that streamed video of its weekend worship services.
Then something unexpected happened.
People viewing the church’s webcast began responding to the pastor’s invitation to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Somehow the viewers had found the church’s email address and were writing in to share their stories.
For church leaders it was God doing “exceeding abundantly more than they asked or imagined.”
The online salvations were an indication to them that God was on the move.
So they began to dream about what could happen if more layers of technology were added to the webcast. What if they created an online service “on purpose?” Was it possible to create an “experience” where people anywhere in the world, who might never step foot inside a church building, would feel comfortable?
The gospel would go out. There would be worship music. But there would also be group chat, live prayer, and live help. Technology was available that would allow the church to offer real-time, two-way conversation facilitated by trained volunteers. This would make response immediate, intentional, and personal for online viewers, especially those wanting to know Christ.
And so it was five years ago, by God’s grace and power, that Church Online was born at LifeChurch.tv.
The church and many observers continue to be blown away by the way God is using Church Online to bring people to Himself.
Each week more than 100,000 people from more than 100 countries attend Church Online. Many of these people are in parts of the world where they might otherwise never hear the gospel.
Irrational generosity
And now, the “faith-filled, big-thinking, bet-the-farm, risk taking” passion of LifeChurch is going forward once again.
Because of the way God has worked through Church Online, many churches and ministries are spending a lot of money to recreate the platform.
The leaders dreamed.
Was it possible to help the church at large, to create and deliver a world-class platform and service? With the support of a dozen churches and the Digital Missions ministry at LifeChurch, a rigorous beta test of that idea was initiated.
The results came back. It could be done.
The Lord Jesus himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35
Beginning January 9, 2012, the Church Online Platform will launch for churches everywhere in the world to use. And like all LifeChurch resources, from video messages to the YouVersion Bible app, the Church Online platform will be available absolutely free.
Any church in the world will be able to put their church service on the Church Online Platform. Everything about Church Online will be available except the video stream. Churches and ministries will be able to put their own branding, logo, skin, look and appearance on the platform and do their own implementation.
To learn more, interested organizations should contact the Church Online Platform Team.
LifeChurch pastor Craig Groeschel says the Church Online Platform “will go down in history as one of the most aggressive evangelistic tools ever.”
Moving in step
As I ponder this landscape changing event for Christian media, another question comes to mind.
What could happen if leaders throughout the Christian media world saw the Church Online Platform as an opportunity to find new ways of working together with the hundreds and thousands of churches that will soon be doing ministry and outreach online?
How many new local and international ministry outreaches could be developed if many organizations were to lower barriers, combine resources, and move in step together?
Linking arms with the Church Online community could be one of the fastest ways to get the gospel to the billions of people still unreached in America and globally.
The rest of the story is how the local Church Online becomes a part of God’s grand story line to reach the world.