An Internet Campus Pastor Speaks Out

Posted on March 25, 2010
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(6) comments

Many churches are starting purely internet campuses these days. And of course, many people are skeptics. Well, Brian Vasil is speaking out about his experience as an internet campus pastor. Brian serves as the internet campus pastor at Flamingo Road Church in Miami. Turns out that, according to Brian, it's about much, much more than technology...

In a guest post at GregAtkinson.com, Brian shares:

I tell any church that is even remotely interested in starting an Internet Campus…if you are going to put your messages out there, chat about them, and allow prayer requests, you have to have a dedicated Pastor available to help shepherd the digital flock. Sometimes my inbox resembles the online prayer scene in Bruce Almighty…but I consider it a privilege to pray and care for people around the globe. Many churches don’t start Internet Campuses because they don’t have the right “technology” person to lead it. The tech will take care of itself. Find a person whose Pastoral heart beats for people he may never meet physically but loves just the same.

Is it possible that if people are doing all their shopping, banking, investing, social networking, and dating online, that they might be able to grow spiritually through an on-line church campus? I think the answer has to be yes.

What do you think?

Todd

Comments

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adam mclane on Thu, March 25, 2010

I do social media and online marketing for a living. I have to be honest, I can’t wait for the online campus fade to go away. Unless you are a shut in… I don’t really think people are all that interested in it. I think what we are seeing is a lot of local pastors watching “big time” church to get fed. It’s like a free conference or about the same as watching TV church.

Let’s be real. Church isn’t about watching the sermon or listening to the choir. Church is something we should do IRL.

Guys taking jobs as online campus pastors… they better use that as a way to network, because this fad will fade pretty quickly.

I asked my blog readers about this in a poll recently, interesting responses:
http://adammclane.com/2010/01/03/online-church-campus-poll/
JOB on Thu, March 25, 2010

I am sure you can grow spiritually online, I have. But that is not the issue. The issue is, does it constitute a church? A good study is to notice how Paul makes the distinction between “disciples” and “churches” in the book of Galatians.
Sauder Worship on Mon, March 29, 2010

I think a community is a community, be it online or otherwise. Easily people can communicate and come together online, sometimes even more so than in person. This is not to discount the physical church, of course! But we must be aware of the changing landscapes, especially as we reach out to the youth.
adam mclane on Mon, March 29, 2010

@sauder- I beg to differ about “especially as we reach out to the youth.” While I text/Facebook my students a ton, I’d hardly see the internet as a way to reach out.
Sauder Worship on Mon, March 29, 2010

The internet is a great way to reach out. As you said earlier, it should be used to network. The internet shouldn’t be used as a substitute or alternative, but certainly as a support, as young people largely constitute the demographic of social media users. Like we are doing here, it brings to light issues and allows people to discuss them.
Elias Bustos on Tue, March 30, 2010

@adam - You make a great point. Church is intended for the edification of the saints (Christ’s command to Peter was to feed and Shepherd His sheep). While this can be done to some extent digitally, it is most effectively done in real life.

Just curious, does anyone know how are baptism and the Lord’s Supper handled with campus churches?