Reaching a digital audience with the Gospel

 Back in the late 1970s I had a personal experience that helped bring me to the Lord. As I was struggling with some issues in my life at the time I frequently worked overtime, sometimes 6-7 days a week. One of the things I remember from that time was that on Sunday mornings as I would drive to the factory I would listen to a program on the radio called the Mull Singing Convention hosted by the Rev. J. Bazzel Mull and Mrs. Mull. Southern Gospel groups were regularly featured on their program. Even now I remember hearing The Old Ship of Zion sung by the Kingsmen with tears running down my face as I drove to work. The songs and the messages shared on that program helped me understand how badly I needed Christ in my life.

Years later I was working in the same factory on third shift. I was now a Christian and a bivocational pastor of a small, country church. I kept a radio near my work station where I was able to listen to another broadcast called Unshackled by the Pacific Garden Mission. These stories told how struggling people found hope in Jesus Christ, usually through a ministry of a Mission. These stories inspired and blessed me every night.

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of serving our digital congregations and the challenges churches will face in doing this. My radio experiences occurred long before social media was available, but I think they demonstrate the importance of reaching out to people where they are rather than insisting they walk into our buildings to be introduced to Christ. That old radio program was just one of the ways God was reaching out to me during that difficult time in my life, but it was an important part. Unshackled was one of the tools God used to disciple a young Christian and minister. Our digital ministries will also impact the lives of other young people who are dealing with difficult times in their lives. Who knows how many lives were impacted through these radio programs, and who knows how many lives can be transformed today through the social media tools we now possess.

The Mulls began on radio but began broadcasting on television in 1959. In the earliest years the music groups had to perform live in the station, but later the Mulls began using black and white film and later switched to color video tape. I share this history to remind us that we cannot be satisfied with doing what we had to do quickly when the pandemic closed our churches. Yes, we can celebrate that early success on social media, but we have to keep improving what we are doing if we want to effectively impact people's lives. What was good enough when we first started won't continue to be good enough later. 

God is giving the church some new tools to use in evangelism and discipleship, but it is up to us to maximize their effectiveness. Many of our churches rose to the challenge to be able to offer their services online. Now we are being challenged to raise the bar even higher and offer the best possible ministries online that we can.