Elder Mark August

Director of Communication, Technology & Interactive Ministries

 

The mission of the Technology Ministries Department is to use current and emerging technologies to assist the church in spreading the gospel in an effective manner in the 21st century. In first 1 Corinthians 12:27-29 (New International Version) every church member is called to serve God:Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

- Christ calls every member of the church into ministry. The church is “a kingdom of priests” (I Peter 2:9).

-  Each Christian believer is called to ministry, gifted by the Holy Spirit, and in baptism ordained for ministry. The ministry of the laity is to the world and one another, and the ministry of pastors is to equip and enable the laity in ministry (Eph. 4:11-12).  
 
At the close of His earthly ministry, Jesus commanded the disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15 The disciples carried out his command by traveling from city to city preaching the Word on street corners, hill sides and any place.

Centuries later the mission is the same, however technology has changed the methods: Christians used radio and television to reach millions with the gospel. Then, the Internet became an evangelistic tool. Today Christians are meeting online to pray, worship, study the Bible, and evangelize. Thus, the command today is “Go Ye Therefore into the world wide web and email, post, chat and stream the gospel to every creature.”

A recent survey conducted by the Barna Institute on the “CyberChurch”  found that 25 million Americans use the Internet to satisfy their spiritual needs. The study also found that there were more than 14,000 religious related websites.

Still, some fear that the postmodern worldview of today’s generation will erode the foundation of the church. Indeed, many feel that the “cyberchurch” will replace the physical church. Our view is Technology will  make us better and that Jesus was a technologist: Of course, He did not use a laptop to write the sermon on the mount; Check His PDA for his next public appearance; and He never checked his pager for the next emergency miracle, but He used innovation to make the gospel more accessible to people. 

Throughout the history of the church, technology has played a critical role in spreading the gospel. Rome's mechanical technology developed machines that created roads which made it possible for Christians to travel from city to city spreading the gospel. Print technology of the 19th century gave us the printing press which made it possible for the mass production of the Bible in virtually every language.  Audio and video technology of the 20th century gave us the satellites, radios and televisions that brought the gospel to the mainstream.  Today the Internet, the latest product of information technology, has taken the ministry to the next level.   
  
                             Meet the members of our Technology Ministry