In the Great Commission Jesus tells the disciples (and us) that we are to make disciples of all the nations. Like the obedient Christians they were, they stayed right in Jerusalem. It wasn't until great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem did they begin to leave the city and scatter "throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria" (Acts 8: 1). It took a persecution to force them to leave Jerusalem and begin to take the Christian faith to the rest of the world.
As I thought about how the pandemic has impacted the church I began to see parallels between the first century church and the church today. For a long time we have been very comfortable attending church services, enjoying the company of our fellow believers and dealing with church issues. Even though our mission is the same as that given to the disciples, we have been satisfied to stay in the confines of our own little Jerusalem and ignore those outside the faith.
But, when the pandemic hit and we were forced to stay away from our churches we had to become creative. Many of our churches began offering their services for the first time online through social media or their web sites. Many of those churches noticed something they didn't expect. There were actually more people viewing their services online than ever attended the live worship service. When churches were forced to leave their buildings they found a larger audience for the gospel message.
My prayer is that we never return to that inward focus that has had such a negative impact on the church and the work of the Kingdom. By that I don't mean that I do not want to see churches return to in-person services. What I do want to see happen is that we maintain our outward focus and seek even more creative ways to serve those outside the church family.
Perhaps in the near future we will find that a growing percentage of our church family will be digital only. I think of the many people who work every Sunday morning. Even if they want to attend church services their current job prevents them from doing so. In some communities no churches offer a worship service other than on Sunday. But, if the worship service is available through the church's website, people can watch it anytime it fits into their schedule. There is nothing high and holy about 11:00 Sunday morning. A person can connect to God and to a church the same on a Thursday afternoon as they can on Sunday morning.
Of course, this presents new challenges to the church. How do we help that digital individual grow as a disciple? How do we provide quality congregational care? Is it possible that we can involve the individual in some other event at the church at a time when he or she isn't working? Could this be a great opportunity for the church to offer a side-door ministry that would involve those who are only connected to the church through the digital services? There's a lot to think about, and it's still early in the game, but these are things church leaders need to be addressing.
It took persecution to force the first century church out of Jerusalem. It took a pandemic to force many churches today to take a new look at how to do ministry outside its four walls. In the first century, the Kingdom of God advanced because of the persecution. I believe we will see the Kingdom advance today because of the pandemic...if the church remains focused on those outside the building.
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