Many of you know Darren Rowse as the uber-blogger who operates ProBlogger.net. In fact 60+ of us are currently going through his book 31 Days to Build a Better Blog as a group.
What you might not know is that Darren is a Christian and has even been involved in planting a church in his native Australia.
Darren recently spoke via remote video feed at a Transform Network event about the opportunities the church has to use the Web to achieve its goals. That video was made available online, and so now we all have the opportunity to hear his perspective on this important topic. Have a look…
Surprise Guest Message for TransFORM from Transform Network on Vimeo.
On the video, he speaks about 2 broad opportunities.
1) Genuine Christian community. “Community” has become a much abused term these days. But Darren was a part of an online community where many of the members spent a significant amount of time together every day, one couple got married, and they held an online funeral for a member who died. This points to the opportunity churches have to create online spaces for their members to connect, interact and grow closer to each other and God.
2) Outreach. Darren says, “We need to move beyond a ‘build it, and they will come’ mentality.” What’s really freaky is I wrote exactly the same thing in a blog post this morning. His point is that we can’t simply set up websites, blogs, and social networking communities and expect those who are seeking God to find us. We need to get off our Christian sites and go into the spaces where those who aren’t Christians hang out. And we have to abandon the “broadcast mentality” where we blast people with our message, and put the priority on listening to others.
Where are you and your church when it comes to these 2 opportunities?
- Are you providing online spaces for the people involved in your church to connect and grow in community online?
- Are you going out and listening to those who don’t yet follow Christ? Or are you still waiting in your Christian spaces and broadcasting your message to the world?
Kudos to Steve Fogg for spotting this video and blogging about it first.
Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com
Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.
An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.
Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication.
4 Comments
brilliant; go out to all the world and make disciples – the online is an opportunity to reach out more than ever before. It's time we take it more seriously and 'go out'.
Great to see someone as influential as Darren in the online and social media space who is a Christian.His reach is to Christians and non Christians alike; God is using him.
🙂
This is helpful! I facebooked to all my pastor friends..
I think most churches like the idea of the internet and like the idea of "reaching everyone".. But the reality is most churches are only concerned about who is coming through their doors..
Which isn't necessarily bad, but I think most miss out on the global opportunity that they have.
I think most churches like the idea of the internet and like the idea of "reaching everyone".. But the reality is most churches are only concerned about who is coming through their doors..
Which isn't necessarily bad, but I think most miss out on the global opportunity that they have.