BACK NEXT ARTICLE
Thousands of churches from all denominations have found their way to the Internet. Several denominations have their own domains on the Web with hyperlinks to hundreds of member churches. Yet, one needs to question the form and function of the many churches in «cyberspace.» Are they only colorful information «brochures» or «billboards,» or are they really «churches» aimed at serving spiritual needs for people surfing the Net?
Understanding the Concept of Virtual Churches
There are more than 12,000 Christian church-sites and home pages on the Internet. That number is constantly growing as new churches join the Net from all over the world. Most of the churches are really Christian congregations who want to present their activities and invite people to join their fellowships. As in the real world, some churches have an impressive Internet site with all kinds of technical features. Some of them are designed to give the visitor the feeling of being in a «real» church where one can visit different rooms by clicking the mouse, hear a sermon, interact with the pastor, and so on. Other virtual churches are plain, simple with just a short welcome and a brief introduction to their church services and activities.
Only a few of the more than 12,000 church-sites on the Internet are «virtual
churches.» A virtual church can be described as a «place»
on the Internet where people can experience a Christian ministry and interact
for prayer and counseling. The virtual ministry shares many common features
with a real church ministry. The gospel is presented in a number of ways--text,
audio, video, slides, animation, 3D graphics, and so on. Real «live
chat» offers text-based interaction among the participants. Prayer
requests and counseling may take place via e-mail, IRC, or ultimately on
Net telephone.
Drawing a distinct line between a virtual church and a real, physical church which also has a good Internet site is hard. Some real churches also present their Net ministry as a church. Other churches appear more commercial with little or no significant «ministry» at all, or they are merely a place where real congregations can find a place to have their Internet site. Besides Internet sites that call themselves a «church,» there are also several very good and high quality Internet ministry sites which offer very useful links to other Christian ministries, resources etc.
If we take a closer look at a number of "cyber churches" we can
draw several interesting conclusions:
Firstly, several of them have designed church-like buildings or rooms where people can read a sermon or other devotional literature, hear music, use search engines' to find out more about topics of interest, a kitchen with food recipes available and much more.
Secondly, Bible studies and devotions play an important
role in many virtual churches. They place a great emphasis on Bible teaching,
personal devotions and spirituality.
Thirdly, prayer and prayer requests are becoming
increasingly important in many virtual churches. Some of them have separate
«prayer rooms» where the visitor can read others' prayer requests
and join in a «cyberspace prayer chain.» Many topics can be
of rather private (and intimate) nature.
Fourthly, some of the virtual churches offer opportunities
for counseling and contact with a pastor, mostly via e-mail but a few also
via Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Generally, the virtual churches are promoting
an interactive attitude to establish some kind of community or fellowship
with their visitors.
Fifthly, almost all of the virtual churches desire a vision
to do evangelism and share the gospel with their visitors. Via text, graphics,
animation and sound they are displaying a lot of creativity in spreading
the gospel.
Sixthly, most of the virtual churches neither claim nor
want to be a «real» church or draw people away from regular
church fellowship «in real life.» A very articulate example
of this attitude can be found at TheCross.org:
"A Church 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all month, every day of the year.
What can you find here? Information, advise, counsel,
encouragement, fellowship and biblical instruction. An opportunity to serve.
An opportunity to experience Christ's Love.
Should you replace your local church with The Cross? Absolutely not! Your
local church is a vital element of your spiritual strength and growth. Because
while we can be a lot for you, we can not serve you as your local church
can serve you. Real human touch; a handshake, even a proper hug, are absolutely
necessary. As is the gentle glow of a caring smile, and a heart reaching
out to you, asking "How are you today.. really?" So don't leave
your local church to come to us. And don't give to us, in time or other
resources, what your local church deserves. But you can come to us in addition
to your local church. And you can certainly come here as you seek a local
church. "
In conclusion, the virtual churches display a real strong commitment and desire to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in «cyberspace» by actively sharing the gospel via many tools and medias, and urging visitors to their Web site to share struggles of daily life, prayer requests, and to stay in touch via e-mail or IRC. According to the results from the survey their very determined efforts in doing ministries on the Net have also been rewarded with many responses, prayer requests, and ultimately reports about people who have come to faith with the help from virtual churches on the Internet.
However, in the midst of all the good and very idealistic efforts to proclaim the gospel in a virtual reality there is also a need to ask for some caution and carefulness in the ministry. Especially when it comes to prayer requests posted publicly on the Net with rather personal and private information, there is a great need to be extremely cautious. Some of it may be false, maybe even done with a malicious purpose, to test how far one can go on the Net. Internet churches are also «editors» out in a public domain with everything they permit to be placed on their site, and there are still many unsolved legal issues to be addressed.