Is online ministry biblical?

In this article, I will set out to establish whether online ministries are an actual biblical concept, but in order to do that, we need to do a bit of time travel and take a trip to approximately 2000 years ago.

If we study the structure of the New Testament, we will find out that it is mostly comprised of letters written from different apostles to various audiences. In some cases, the writers were familiar with the church or individual to whom they were writing; in some other cases they were not.

Saying that this type of ministry is a long-distance ministry is a very valid statement. If we take into consideration that there was no such thing as electricity back then, we can conclude that the written word was actually break-through technology in the realm of information management. It was the fastest way available to transfer information through long distances. The internet, email, and online ministries serve the same function; they are just a new and improved version of the model the apostoles used back then. The only difference is that nowadays we are using the iPad instead of iPapyrus! (OK, I confess, that was a corny joke.)

It is worth mentioning that this was not the only mode of ministry that those receiving the instruction were exposed to. The churches back then were basically a network of small groups. The apostles were the senior ministers, but there were other mature christians discipling and helping the younger christians in their spiritual growth.

It is the same nowadays. Online ministries by themselves are very valid, but that cannot be the only source of ministry you are involved in. Get plugged into a church in your area. Find a small group to be a part of with which you can share your life. Every Christian needs instruction on the Word of God, but we also need an experienced mentor to show us how to apply it to our everyday lives and help us in the growing process!!