Communicating the Gospel to all kinds of People
The limitations of the Gospel communication in our day and age are virtually gone. Do you want to evangelize the whole world? It is easier than every. Worldwide on the internet is one way. Yes, it takes money and/or special attention getting content to garner much attention. Going "viral" content may happen or not to have a great deal of attention to a message, but imagine this God calls churches to evangelize. If churches chose to utilize and maximize their resources including money there could be spiritual awakening and reformation like there has not been in the world before. Think, if the apostle Paul had internet, radio, television as available resources what would he be doing with such resources. He planted churches all over the area of land in which the country of Turkey is now without such resources at hand. He did not even have the printing press. The reformers at least had that to work with. If it was not for the printing press the reformation may not had happen like it did. Martin Luther read a printed copy of the Greek New Testament to come to his theological conclusions.
Now, the printing press was invented around twenty years or so before Luther's 95 theses. We are now twenty five years or so from the invention of the internet. It has advanced and evolved since then in many ways. Radio, although, has been around as we generally understand it for seventy five years or so. It has become a great place to communicate extremely important ideas including religious convictions. Television which is harder to define now. Anything with video and/or motion picture and audio transmission to a electronic device with a viewable screen and speakers is television loosely defined. The company Youtube has shown this idea without a doubt. Radio even if there is an over the air signal usually has programming on the internet. There also "radio" on the internet with audio only programming on websites.
Although, there is some use of these outlets among those who are reformed. The means of communications are vastly under utilized for God's glory and our enjoyment of him. We are accountable to our neighbors to explain the gospel and invite them to come worship God in spirit and in truth. However, we must find places that they are actually paying attention to our Gospel communication. They are staring at their smart phones all day. That is where they are paying attention to something in our day. We need to go were they are paying attention. Who should we present messaging of the Gospel to? Local churches should focus their energies on the entire population of their assigned territories. In the Presbyterian system of government a set of churches have what is called a Presbytery. That is a set of churches that send their elders to cover a particular territory. The presbytery has oversight of churches in that given territory. It has authority to start new churches in that territory.
What if a presbytery decided to authorize a radio ministry that is promoted on websites that are widely viewed such as Facebook and Google? The radio ministry would be a television ministry and internet ministry all at the same time. There would video of in studio programming and video of preaching and teaching of ministers and Sunday school teachers. Why have video along with audio? It is because certain people might pay attention more with video along with audio. Many radio stations are now several stations in one. They share the building, studios, and tower, but each "station" has it's own programming, over the air frequencies, distinct websites, and call letters. Individual churches could pay to have access to already existing stations with different over the air frequencies and websites with live programming. Presbytery could have access to several stations in various locations within the presbytery territory because of internet access ease the programming could be all the same. Such ministries would be to potential grow the numbers of existing Presbyterian churches and to start new churches in the Presbytery territory. It would to educate Christians inside or outside membership of Presbyterian churches on various Bible content.
I would like reformed Presbyterians to give me your thoughts about this idea.
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