Otherwise do I support virtual churches, the answer is mostly yes, because I use virtual components in my ministry (mainly a blog that I write).

As a pastor I always try to stay open minded to new methods of presenting the gospel because I know that we are living in times where the important thing is reaching people with the message of Christ.

For the last 20 years I have been in full-time ministry as a pastor and missionary oversees and I have learned that methods are not nearly as important as message to most unless their is a cultural bias for or aganist a certain method.

Having said that, when it comes to salvation, I firmly believe that methods don’t matter. Some who gets saved online or saved in a service is still saved according to God’s word because of their faith in the work of Christ on the cross for them.

In the matter of discipleship, methods do matter. It seems like many of the people on this site fail to see that the purpose of the church is to accomplish God’s work in the earth instead of satisfying their need for social interaction.
While the social interaction is good, churches who are built around this idea alone are merely country clubs and cliques. Christians who go to church for this alone don’t reach out, never use their ministry gifts and aren’t interested in developing them so they jockey over things like tithing and other scriptures that seek to tear down the whole idea of an organized church.

I agree that the church needs to be overhauled, especially in America but there’s something about having to interact with another person that challenges our pride and arrogance, that forces us to love those who may offend us at times and provokes us to serve one another that makes us more like Christ and less like ourselves. There’s something about doing outreach to our community and abroad that reminds us that we have a calling to do something with this salvation we have other than sit at home or in a church and get our spiritual fix.

The local church is meant to equip the saints for the work of the ministry according to Ephesians. While I know that many churches are performing services for Christians rather than equipping Christians for service, this is not a reason to condemn them as useless. The web can be a blessing and a curse.

There are great sites with great teaching but there’s a lot of false teaching on the web also.

Many people are afraid to get close to people and the it provides a nice buffer where you never have to overcome – fears, prejudices, insecurities or offenses. Sorry saints, you have called to be overcomers in this world.

I’m not saying they both can’t be used but we can’t ignore the power to become disciples when we are put in situations where we sharpen each other, or to sing or pray one on one or even mentor or be mentored in a class.

Many people are in the virtual church because they are hiding and have been hurt by literal people so they feels safer with the virtual community. You can avoid people but avoidance doesn’t bring healing. We have to be careful that we don’t put following the culture above follwing Christ. Jesus touched people with a physical, emotional and a spiritual touch.

The bottom line I’m making is that we need each other to become more like Christ and although the web can be a great substitute at times, it can never be a replacement for looking into someone’s eyes or tasting their pie or holding their hands – touching people is what Jesus did and that’s what we are called to do.

Description for the baby name Zelotes, the origins of the name and its meaning…