We are seeing an increase in people hungry to know God. It has been made clear that, to some, getting connected to a church or God simply wouldn’t have been possible if not for online contact. Last week when I shared at the 2017 Engage Conference, a national conference in New Zealand helping to equip people to live on mission, there was a growing excitement for the possibilities of seeing people connected to God in the online space. We are praying for churches across Australia and New Zealand to grasp this method of church outreach. Matt’s* testimony is a clear example:

Matt used to walk past a local church regularly, and he often wanted to go inside but never had enough courage. I offered to help by asking if someone from the church could contact him via Facebook and meet him at the door to invite him in. My heart dropped when I received the response of the church saying, “No we don’t do that; he’s welcome to come into the church, it’s open daily or we can connect by phone.” I now had a problem on my hands. Matt had told me he was a bit of a wallflower; he didn’t like the phone and Facebook was his typical point of contact. So I asked God for a solution. “God help!” The next morning, I suddenly realised I had a friend who went to that church. She immediately jumped at the opportunity, and 3 days later Matt was sitting in church beside her and her husband!

After attending church for the first time Matt said, “It was very empowering, and it made my whole day infinitely better. It was a very unique experience that I enjoyed.” He wants to fully embrace God and is hoping a few more visits to church will help him take that next step. “Thank you so much for putting this together for me, I feel like I’ve started walking a new journey in my life.” Wow!

Please pray with us that people will understand the importance of online church outreach. We need to be willing to adjust our plans to reach people.