As I sat in Church one night, I thought of the number of people I reached earlier that day with a few mouse clicks on my computer. The number of people attending our service that night couldn’t compare.
I have been writing “stories” for a few years and sending them out on my wife’s Facebook account. I wanted to tell the lost that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV).” Maybe they would accept JESUS and be saved? I also wanted to remind backsliders that JESUS still loves them. With 150,000 people dying every day, I had to give them another chance before death took them beyond mercy and forgiveness.
Recently I began using a dedicated Facebook page called “Good News to Share.” That lets me share my stories and point people to my page. I have two stories about Heaven and Hell that get their attention and remind them how important it is for them to get saved before it is too late. I put my stories on Christian pages that have hundreds of thousands of followers. During that week, I probably had more people reading my stories than the three previous years combined. Unfortunately, those are Christian pages, with mostly Christians seeing them. Hopefully those Christians will share my stories with people who need them.
Do those large numbers mean we should close our Churches and concentrate our efforts online? No way! Some thought television could replace churches, but that didn’t happen. The internet and social media can help but won’t reach everyone. Will my stories touch anyone’s heart? I hope so, but they are only attention getters and reminders. The LORD can speak to people wherever they are and change them whenever they respond to His calling. Lost and hurting souls need a real person with more than just a story to show them the love of JESUS. They also need a local Church, with regular services and fellowship so they can be loved and fed. GOD will deal with their hearts, but they need a place to grow and mature.
Yes, there is still room in this high-tech world for preaching and teaching the Word of GOD. We should use all the tools available to reach as many as we can, because people are more than numbers.
Wayne Lance (2017)