SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — Nils Smith recognizes he has an unusual title — pastor for college and online community ministry. But he suspects he may be one of the first of a new breed of ministers.
Smith was serving on staff at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio as college minister when Pastor Les Hollon realized his background and abilities could enable the church to move into an area where it saw a definite need.
Hollon, who has been pastor at Trinity for only about a year, thought it might take up to three years for the church to develop a greater online presence. But he was glad Trinity could hit the fast-forward button on that timetable.
Nils Smith (right) already was serving on the staff at Trinity Baptist Church as college minister when Pastor Les Hollon (left) realized his skill-set could enable the church to move into an area where it saw a definite need—online ministry.
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“Nils has a giftedness, an aptitude and a passion for online ministry. We were needing to expand on that as a regional congregation with some global responsibilities. And, therefore, it was a gift of God’s calling in his time and the church’s time for it to be able to come together,” Hollon explained.
Smith already was using Facebook and other social-networking media in his work with college students. The addition to his title and responsibilities grew out of the realization that the Internet was an integral part of the lives of more than just college students.
“We said, ‘We need to broaden this,” Hollon explained. “It’s not just college students on Facebook. And the Internet is shaping commerce. It’s shaping everything in our culture today. So, as a church, we’re being intentional about how we’re using the Internet in ministry.”
Trinity’s presence on the Internet includes live streaming feeds of the Sunday morning worship service, as well as Monday night college worship service, weekly video devotionals featuring Hollon in different locations titled “My Prayer for You,” a Facebook fan page and Twitter feeds.
Also, members of the congregation can post prayer requests and make financial gifts online. It also allows mission teams to communicate their victories and prayer needs in real time, rather than waiting to return home to share their stories.
Trinity sees boundless opportunities for ministry through the Internet, Smith said.
“Evangelism can really be expanded,” he pointed out. “You can reach across the globe, reaching new people, new cultures, and the gospel message can go to the ends of the earth through the Internet.”
Smith, a seminary student enrolled in video classes over the Internet, said the church eventually plans to present discipleship opportunities online. Through his class, he has seen the potential for interaction and connectedness, even when the participants are hundreds of miles apart.
Greater level of connection
Trinity has experienced a greater level of connection among its members through its online presence, he noted. Many members have become better acquainted through Facebook, he said. While they may sit on the same pew for an hour a week at church, the opportunities for interaction on Sundays are limited.
Although the format may be new, Hollon said, the use of the Internet offers just one more platform for Trinity to be a caring, ministering body.
“Trinity is a congregation that has always had a broader view for the body of Christ as a whole — and also as a local congregation with regional connection and with global application. So, how do you do that in the 21st century, but online? And through Nils’ leadership and the giftedness of our congregation, with that as the vision, we’ve decided this is our 21st-century application to be who we’ve always been,” he said.
So, the goal of the online ministry remains the same on any of Trinity’s three physical campuses — converting the lost and growing Christians in their faith, Hollon continued.
“What we’re hoping to accomplish is to create expanded resources with the current Trinity congregation, to connect with the unchurched and the larger online community with the promise of a joyous faith in Christ.
“And then, through the resources of a body of Christ by way of online connections, for seekers to become believers and believers to become disciples out of the online ministry.”
A virtual fourth campus
Hollon views the church’s Internet presence as a fourth campus, but he also sees in it the possibility for bringing members of the three physical congregations into greater fellowship with one another.
Different levels of understanding existed within the congregation regarding need for a minister with responsibilities for the Internet, but there has been almost unanimous support, he said.
“For some, there was a ‘huh’ and ‘let’s try it.’ For others it was, ‘This is obvious; we really need to be doing this.’ Part of the joy is that those who were going ‘huh’ are willing to trust, and those who were saying, ‘Yeah, let’s go for it,’ became the champions of the cause. Therefore, it had a unity of trust.”
Since his new role began Jan. 1, Smith said, he has become increasingly aware of how much more can be done.
“We’re still in the very entry level of getting started, and the more we get involved with this and the more we seek out the possibilities, the more we find out we’re just at the beginning of where this will lead in maximizing the Internet in ministry,” Smith said.
For example, iPhone users now have the ability to download an application button to take them to the church’s Internet resources.
Immediate reports from mission teams may help members who stay at home get a greater sense of the church’s international role, Hollon said.
“For some, what we see is what is real. So, being able to communicate the images or create word pictures, in a way that it becomes real, that helps us understand how we really are a global village,” he said.
Not just for the youngsters
Trinity is a multigenerational congregation, and Smith said not just the young are participating online. As a matter of fact, he noted, median adults have been most active.
“The biggest surprise for me has been that the most active participants on like our Facebook page have been over 50 years old. And I think Facebook in general is seeing that demographic grow. I’ve been surprised to see how active, participatory and open they are to these new technologies and opportunities to experience and connect,” he said.
For years, conventional wisdom has said most people come to churches after having been invited by family or friends, Hollon said. “This is just another way to invite someone into the life of the church, either in person or through one of our online opportunities,” he said.
One of the greatest surprises, the ministers noted, has been the cost effectiveness of Internet ministry.
“Any church, regardless of what size you are and what your resources are, has the ability to do ministry online,” Smith said.
“To be a 21st-century congregation, every church has to find the right online strategy. This is Trinity Baptist Church’s attempt to find our best strategy,” Hollon added.
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George Henson is a staff writer for the Texas Baptist Standard.