Did you know that in 2009 there were 1.73 billion internet users, who sent out 90 trillion emails, who visited 234 million websites, who tweeted 27.3 million tweets per day, and who viewed facebook 260 times per month.

In addition to this, there are 126 million blogs on the Internet, 350 million people on facebook, and 12.2 billion video views on YouTube per month in the US alone.

It is quite clear from these statistics that we live in a digital culture, and this digital culture is becoming one of the largest unreached people groups in the country.  The digital population is searching for community and connection via the internet in staggering numbers.  Because of this, the church must find a way to reach these people as we seek to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. In response to this need as a local church, White’s Chapel is launching White’s Chapel Online as a digital mission to the internet population.

White’s Chapel Online will provide an online worship service for the digital population that might never come through our doors, or that of any other brick and mortar church.  White’s Chapel Online will be a way for us to share the White’s Chapel experience with the internet world.  Through worship, teaching, live chat and live prayer, we hope to connect the digital population to God and to others through the internet.  Not only will people be able to experience God through worship and teaching, but they will also be able to chat with other believers and faith journeyers. They will also be able to have one-on-one prayer with our volunteers.

We are hoping to create a safe space where people who are far from God are comfortable checking out the claims of Jesus and experiencing grace, truth, hope and connection for maybe the first time.

If you would like to be involved with White’s Chapel Online, please contact Dusty Craig at dcraig@whiteschapelumc.com.

So Im here in Portland, OR for the first day of my Dmin advance...a new chapter in my life to say the least.  I joined this program to get to study under Len Sweet as well as learn how to best become a leader in the future of the church.  Tonight was our orientation night, and it was amazing.  There are 17 other students in this program, all from different social, ethnic, and theological backgrounds.  As we briefly shared about why we were here, a common thread ran through all of our conversations in that we all know that something needs to change in the Church in order to reach future generations, and hopefully our various dissertation topics will help contribute to the conversation of how to reach postmoderns in a world that is quickly becoming anti-christian.  Though on the surface the future of the church could seem hopeless, I am filled to the brim with hope in that if only a small group of people gathered in Portland are trying to find and communicate the way of Jesus in the 21st century, then the movement will continue.

dc