In this digital age, some churches are finding a who new meaning to fulfilling the Great Commission
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20
Just before He died, Jesus gave his disciples a command that we call the “Great Commission.” I know, there are times when we might feel a twinge of guilt as we hear that in a message or a teaching, because we are just staying in the booth. We're not going anywhere. But you need to know, that your efforts may be going farther than you know.
Does your church record the service audio and put the file online? Then you have no idea the impact that you might be having. If your church is considering starting a podcast, I would tell you that there is no better time. First, it has never been easier to do. Second, people are more connected than ever. Missionaries report that even the Bedouin people located in a remote section of the Middle East have smart phones. You have no idea how and where God can take this information to reach people.
For example, a few years back I spoke with the social media director for one of America's largest churches and was encouraged by an unexpected connection that they had. It seems that a group in Hong Kong would meet together each week and listen to their podcast. The group got larger and larger and they had to move to a second meeting place. The group contacted the US church and now this megachurch has a Hong Kong church plant with a pastor that they trained.
However, it's not only the biggest churches that are reaching people digitally. A pastor I know named Paul Gotthardt from Life Baptist Church in Las Vegas, NV (lifebaptistchurch.org) was surprised when he was contacted by a group in another state that was doing exactly the same thing as that Hong Kong Church. They would gather and listen to his recordings as part of their bible studies. They didn't have a pastor and needed someone who was skilled at “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded.” Pastor Paul's gifting and skill became a blessing to them and a fulfillment of the Great Commission. Life Baptist Church has just a few hundred members, but they're having a greater impact than they could of imagined.
I recently contacted Pastor Gotthardt and this outreach continues to grow. Life has added a video feed and has been contacted by people in at least 10 states including Minnesota, Georgia, California, Virginia, and Texas. He's also been contacted by people in about 15-20 foreign countries from Africa, Asia and Central America. It was a surprise in the beginning, but now is viewed as part of the church's mission.
It may seem like such a routine thing, at times, to record and upload that message. We may even question whether or not it's really impacting anyone. I would challenge you to look at your web stats some time and see where the recordings are going. You may be surprised too.
I had a podcast that suddenly jumped to over 100 downloads in a week. This was five times greater than even the best week. I still have no idea why the spike. Whatever was said must have impacted someone and they needed to share it. It is amazing how God works. He can use our humble efforts and multiply them.
It's just like Jesus' words about the seed that was scattered in Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:1-8) He tells us that the seed is the Word of God. This is our recorded message. It gets tossed out like a podcast sown into the electronic field. Some seed just bounced off the hard ground but:
“Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty….” - Matthew 13:8
Let me encourage your today to begin to think differently about that little task of recording the message and uploading it. Or if your church is considering a podcast, don't wait. You can be a fulfillment of the Great Commission without ever leaving your sound booth.
