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|  I am in the process of building a longterm vision for a virtual church. To understand the basis for this vision, I would like you to watch this video. |  I have learned that we must contextualize the message of God with our current time and culture. Surprisingly, the world is quickly moving toward the internet, yet the church remains safely behind its brick and mortar walls. I believe that there will always be a need for a physical church; however, I have found that there is a large group of people online who will never step inside a church.
 The video above shares the reality that online virtual sites like “Second Life” are growing at an alarming rate. Millions of people can be found on these sites on any given day. This is why new churches like lifechurch.tv have invested so much into the internet. They are reaching the lost over the web. However, the video also shares the downfall of this type of ministry. There is no intimacy, accountability, and discipleship. Lifechurch is probably one of the most contextualized churches of the day, but they have yet to fully understand how to be an online church. The first church that is able to answer these problems online will see enormous growth and change the face of worship forever.
Second life is a great site. It allows people to run businesses in a virtual setting. You can have streaming videos, virtual meetings, and sell products all on the same site. However, you are also limited by the site. Graphics are limited, and a person can go straight from a church to a strip club. Furthermore, since there are so many types of businesses in the site, a person is very limited as to what he can do.
 My vision is to create a virtual church that will revolutionize the way we minister to our culture. Instead of limiting this church on a site like second life, I would use a game-like foundation for the church. Online games like StarWars Galaxies and World of Warcraft, have overtaken the gaming industry. They provide a virtual world that is controlled by real individuals. Combining this game-like feel with the capabilities of websites like Second life will create a fertile atmosphere to develop a virtual church. An independent system like this would also give safety and censorship to the church.
Is there really a need for an online church? I feel that there are three main reasons. The first reason is that the culture is addicted to the internet. This can be seen by the trend of finding a husband through a dating site. Secondly, there are many people who live outside the range of an acceptable church, and would love to be apart of a healthy church. And thirdly, there are many people who have been kick out of their church or have been treated badly. It would be much easier for these people to come back to church if it was from inside their home.
 Picture this, a lost person (Bob) is handed a card by a friend that has the website of a virtual church. Bob goes to the site and then downloads the virtual church to his computer. After it is installed, he opens the program. It brings him to a station that allows him to create a virtual person. He modifies his hair and his height and then chooses his clothes. Once finished, he enters the first Nazarene virtual church. He is placed in the parking lot. As he looks around, he can see a large church building and other people talking to each other. He then makes his way to the church.
He is greeted by a real person at the information desk and asks about the church. He is told that a certain small group is about to start in the “Apostles Room.” As he enters the room, he sits with the other 12 people and looks at the video screen. A live teacher appears and begins to interact with the group in a live video feed. As the class goes on, Bob meets a man in the class who invites him to join his accountability group. The man shares that it will meet in the “Green Room” on Wednesday at 3pm.
Bob is impressed to learn that he can schedule meetings with the pastor or meet with a professional counselor through the virtual church. And during the last service, he was amazed to see that people were getting saved. As he slowly grows closer to Christ, he now has many questions. He talks with many of the people in the virtual church, but some of them are not able to answer the questions. Bob then finds out that there will be a theological roundtable later that night.
 The next week, Bob had to work during the Sunday service. He was pleased to find out that there was a video vault that he could access that would show him the sermon he missed. He also found a video on the Gospels by a professor at Nazarene Bible College. In the quietness of his home, Bob is now ready to get saved and learn how to bring others to Christ. Soon after his conversion, he starts a home bible study and leads someone else to Christ. Bob becomes a member of the virtual church and begins to tithe using PayPal because he learns that the site is monetarily and physically supported by its members. He posts pictures in his profile page and then checks his church e-mail.
This is only the tip of the iceberg as to the vast ideas that can turn a virtual church into a warm and lively church family. I have shared with you the beginnings of a vision. Please tell me what you think.
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