People ask all the time, “Can people really experience community online?” or “Is that REAL community?”
I’ve supplied different arguements for online communities, but I had a recent realization – it really doesn’t matter whether people experience REAL community online or not. That determination isn’t important.
What is important is that there are lost people interacting online all the time. And they need Jesus. I’m going to walk with them and encourage and challenge others to do the same. When God opens the door, I’m going to read His Word with the Online Generation. I’m going to teach them that we express our love for God by obeying His Word. And I will teach them to teach others.
Everything else is up to the Holy Spirit, really. He is the one who makes true spirit-level community happen. He is the one who directs the paths of those who choose to follow Christ. He is the one who will transform the online and offline lives of those who choose to love God with all their heart.
So, really, the conversations about community are fun but are they vital? Do we have to answer everything to everyone’s satisfaction? Is it enought to say, “Look! There are people who don’t know Jesus. Let’s walk beside them for a time and show them who He is and tell the about the wonderful things He does?”
Maybe the questions about online community are the wrong questions.
