Technology can never replace touch, in the long run.

Has there been experiences that moved people from being touched by technology to the touch of a human?

Are you able to connect folks with the local Church outside of your local area?

Hello:

I'll try to get to some of these questions now (4PM EST) and then I will have to come back on later tonight to handle the rest. :-)

It's hard to know just what each person's experience is like when they attend online. Unlike the "real" world of a church, we don't even know who all is attending. In a church building you can at least see people sitting there, coming through the lobby and so forth and with any luck catch them and start asking questions, welcome them to events and learn more of their story. We don't have that luxury online.

However, I do know of several people who have started attending Forest Lake online and then as they got acquainted with the church, moved (in some cases, literally relocated) to our area and began attending in person. One such person has now become very involved in our Regeneration Ministry--a Christian 12-Step program--after attending first via the Internet and then relocating to our area so they could attend in person.

And in my own experience, this is how I came to be on the staff at Forest Lake. I started by first attending online. Then I connected with an affinity ministry group (scuba) and from there started becoming involved in a personal way. All of which eventually lead, over the course of nearly 3 years, to the place where becoming full-time seemed like the most obvious and natural thing to do.

--delwin