It has been said that the Internet can take a person anywhere. However, for someone like Anesia Burns, an engineering major, the Internet offers a direct link to heaven.
Burns is a member of an online church, Christ Fellowship, which began offering its sermons online in 2008.
Burns attended the church when she lived at home in Palm Beach, and its online sermons allow her to still be a member.
“When I left for college, the church had like 100 members, but now there are like 5,000 members,” Burns said.
The online service allows members who are out of town to stay connected with their church, and for Burns, it also offers a more personal relationship.
“When I was there, I never had a personal conversation with the pastor, but now I do. It’s much easier to be open and tell them your problems over a Web interface than telling them your problems face to face,” Burns said.
Viewers of the church’s online sermons log onto a group that allows them to chat with the pastor and ask questions.
Online ministry has become so popular that other churches are beginning to follow the trend by posting their sermons online as well.
“When new technology appears and, especially, becomes accessible to multitudes of people, it seems irresponsible to not take advantage of such technology for the Gospel,” said Michael Robertson, the technical director of Gainesville’s First Assembly of God.
Taking advantage of the changing times has benefited students like English major Anita John, who had little time to attend church over the summer.
According to Robertson, the response to online sermons has been met with very few complaints.
“I hear stories and [am] told specifically about people literally around the world that have and are keeping up with our online media. I have not heard any bad feedback, unless [the post] gets up late or it’s a Sunday where we don’t put it up, which is very rare,” Robertson said.
While online sermons offer a sense of convenience and intimacy, online church media have yet to offer a feature that allows the online members to connect with all the members in the church, an advantage that can still be found exclusively within the walls of a church.
“We want everyone to come to a service. It is a chance to rub shoulders with the Body of Christ and to be encouraged and spurned to live for Jesus,” Robertson said. “This is hard to do just through a screen.”
It still boils down to fellowship for proud online members like Burns.
“There is nothing like being able to go to church and fellowship with the members and have someone hold your hand when they pray with you,” she said.
