Downstream

God will inspire creative ways through which his message can be spread - for instance, strategic use of technology can provide powerful resources for us to spread the Gospel.  But, it can also be harmful. 

A certain king of Judah was apparently innovative in using the technology of the day, but his heart was not right toward God. We can read in 2nd Chronicles 26:
14 Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones.
15 And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.
16 But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

He was confronted by the priests and chastised by the Lord with leprosy. This is a great lesson for us to be creative, to allow God to inspire innovation in our hearts, but to always be submitted to God in our use of what He has given to us. The ancients in Genesis 11 wanted to use their human skill to build a tower to exalt humanity - God saw it was the wrong thing to do and brought it down.  We can rely on the Lord to direct us in how we use technological developments that are available to us.

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In Exodus 31, we can read about certain individuals upon whom was placed a significant responsibility to use their crafts for the glory of God. We see these words spoken by the Lord to Moses:
2 "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.
3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze,
5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.
6 And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all who are gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you...

He went on to enumerate parts and furnishings of the Temple that he was appointed to build. 

Faith Radio operates in the space of electronic media - we do not position ourselves as a substitute for the local church or a competitor.  Our desire is to help you grow in the Lord and strengthen your faith through solid Bible teaching and uplifting music; we also want to keep you informed so that you can apply a Christian worldview perspective for what is occurring in our world today.  We stream our content and offer interviews on a variety of platforms, including our website, app, and numerous podcast platforms.

There has seemingly been no shortage of surveys that have attempted to measure how people are interacting with church media being streamed online.  This especially became popular during the pandemic. It is certainly an important piece of the electronic media space; but the purpose and usage are different than what we offer at Faith Radio, I believe.  A recent survey sets up the scenario of church livestreaming being used as a substitute for in-person worship; the Lifeway Research summary says:

According to a Lifeway Research study, nearly 2 in 5 Protestant churchgoers (39%) say they have watched a livestream service instead of attending a church service in person on more than five occasions over the past year. Meanwhile, 1 in 5 (20%) have not watched a livestream service in the last year.

In 2019, among those surveyed, 50% of respondents said that they had watched at least one video livestreamed service in the previous year.  In 2021, that was up to 83% - 32% had engaged with a livestream 18 or more times, versus 4% in 2019.  Even in 2022, 76% of survey respondents had watched a livestream in the previous year, with 15% having watched 18+ times.  So, the percentage of frequent users had gone down by more than half from 2021 to 2022.

Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said: “The pandemic drove a large increase in the number of churches offering livestreams of their worship services, but some of these viewers were only temporary..."

Survey respondents were also asked about what they thought were acceptable reasons to watch a livestreamed church service.  The summary relates:

Churchgoers believe some reasons for watching a livestream service rather than attending in person are more valid than others. Most churchgoers say a livestream is a valid replacement when sick or caring for someone who is sick (69%), and nearly half say it is valid when traveling (48%). Nearly 2 in 5 (38%) say watching a livestream is acceptable when you live too far away to attend church in person.

What is interesting is that these numbers are actually down from 2019 - for instance, that year, 76% of respondents said it was acceptable to watch a livestream when sick or caring for a person who is sick. In 2019. 60% said traveling is a valid excuse vs. 48% last year. McConnell said: “A consistent quarter of churchgoers see any reason as a valid reason to attend church via video streaming, but with additional experience with the approach, fewer are open to its use instead of in-person attendance..."

The survey also showed, "While churchgoers identify various ways watching church livestreams has played roles in their walks with God, most say livestreaming is a temporary way to participate in the mission of the church during an illness or emergency like COVID (53%)." Only about a third indicate is a "supplemental" source of Bible teaching.

I am certainly grateful to be involved in using technology to help encourage and strengthen God's people in your walk with Christ.  And, we are very clear: Faith Radio is not intended to be a substitute for the mission of the local church, but we do want to be compatible with it - I have said that stronger Christians make for a stronger church.  We are a resource.  Live streaming is a resource.  Church content on a website is a resource, whether or not it is live. Each church has a variety of technological resources at its disposal in order to broaden its work and connect with its congregants.

Each individual Christian, and each church, should be able to determine the best way to accomplish our mission.  Ultimately, it is God's desire for each of us is to come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, grow in Him daily, and reflect His glory to the world.  How we do that is according to the direction and discretion of the Holy Spirit.  He has given us the gift of technology in order to be more effective for fulfilling our call. 

Streaming became such a vital aspect of church life during the COVID pandemic, and as I anticipated, there are elements of our lives developed during the pandemic that we still incorporate into our lives today.  You could say that there were some silver linings.  Through hardship and crisis, we can learn to adapt to our surroundings, and hopefully, the Church has found some strategies that can help it be more effective in the days to come.