So many people have a hard time connecting with people in the real world these days why not engage them spiritually online? Is that giving into the fact that we are a virtual world much like in the movie "Wall-E"? perhaps.. but it's worth engaging people and helping them in their relationships with Christ or helping them begin one..

I've been challenged by my pastor of our new church to head up social media and the idea of a virtual church sounds very intriguing and right up our alley.. good thoughts here guys..

scott

I don't think I could accept the converse argument. After all, the church managed for 2,000 years before the Internet. I think it'd be hard to make the case that the early church, especially as recorded in Acts 2, lacked "the fullness of what's possible in their relationship with God and fellow believers."

But I agree that a offline-online hybrid solution is best in the spread-out, busy culture we live in that makes it extremely difficult for people to gather together physically on a daily basis.

Otherwise, what you're inherently saying is that offline churches are in every way superior to online ones. It's ok if you believe that, but obviously my own experiences with online churches tell me otherwise.

Further, what you're saying also rests on the assumption that every offline church allows all of its members the opportunity to experience "the fullness of what's possible in their relationship with God and fellow believers."

My experiences with offline churches tell me otherwise with this as well–and I would point out that in our culture, while increasing numbers of people do not consider themselves believers, the percentage of those who have had *no* experience with a church of any sort is actually relatively small (read Barna on that one). Most people I've talked to in online churches who do not participate in a physical church do so precisely *because* they could not find the same "fullness of what is possible in their relationship with God and fellow believers"–and yet they will argue that's exactly what they've found online.

Paul, I really think that at the end of the day, it's a matter of perspective. You seem very much enamoured with your experiences at your offline church, and because of this, it seems to you that these things are indispensable. But I hope it's ok with you that some people feel just as convicted in the opposite direction.

As for myself, I'm a hybrid. I like my physical church, and it provides experiences and opportunities that my online church can't — but I also like my online church, and it provides experiences and opportunities that my physical church can't. To me, both are indispensable. And I certainly can't imagine how people in physical churches can manage and grow in their relationship with God and one another *without* an online community.

Maybe we should approach physical churches with the caveat that they are *only* legitimate if they are actively trying to connect their members to some sort of online community…

it's not that different from a church that might tell it's members it's not important for them to read the Bible on their own, or be a part of a small group, or serve the poor. I believe their members would also miss out on the fullness of what is possible in their relationship with God and fellow believers.