An
Introduction by our Ecumenical Consultant, The Reverend John B. Davies
The Church has always been in the business of communication. It is
remarkable how quickly the Christian message spread as communication in the
early years was limited to people travelling around, on foot, on horseback or by
sailing ship to carry the message of the Gospel. The greatest communicator of
those early times was Saint Paul.
In the years that
followed there was little change in the method of communication until the
invention of printing in the 15th century. This revolutionised society and
the church was quick to use this means of communication. Indeed the reformation
could never have happened without the invention of printing. Now people were
able to read the Bible for themselves.
By the late 20th century, there was another major
development in communication – the rapid advancement of modern technology.
Churches were somewhat slow to adopt this method of communication but gradually
they came to realise the great help it is in communication. For some time now,
most churches have been using computers for administrative purposes but as the
internet has expanded, more and more churches have been seeing the advantage of
using technology as a means of communicating the Gospel.
Today, it seems that everyone has a website, from
major multi national companies to the corner shop. Businesses spend money
on commissioning websites because they know how effective a web site is in
promoting their products and
services. Similarly people with a faith message
can use this technology to get their message across. Churches are now realising
the advantage of having a web site, and how worth while it is to have a
professionally designed site.
If the Internet had been around in St. Paul’s day, he
would have soon seen the advantage of it to get his message across. If the
internet had been around in the 15th and 16th centuries, just think how those
who translated the Bible into the common language would have been able to get
their message across. If the Internet had been around at the time of the
Wesleys, just think how they would have used this means for spreading the
Gospel, for preaching and for hymn writing.
Today we have that means, and churches can use a web
site to get their message across. It could be an evangelistic message like
seeking to bring people to Christ. It could be a theological message like
writing articles about major theological issues. It could be a Biblical message
with bible studies and sermons. A church web site can also have a very
practical use in letting the world know what is happening in the local church
and what it is about.
There are many people in today’s world who are
searching for a faith. They are often reluctant to visit a church or even to
ask someone they know who is a Christian as they think they will look foolish if
the have no knowledge of Christ. People often seek the church for baptisms,
weddings and funerals who would not at any other time go to a church. A web
site can provide all the basic information about what the Church has to offer
to people at these special and critical times in their lives,
A web site is invaluable to today’s church, and it is
a must for any church that is serious about communication in today’s
technological world.
The Reverend John Barden Davies
-
Area Dean & Rector of Llanfwrog Church,
Dyffryn Clwyd Deanery,
North Wales.
