Lucas Wong—Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Over a decade ago, the True Jesus Church’s Community Outreach Volunteer (COV) system highlighted the plight of an Indonesian sister residing in Germany. She had to make a two-hour commute to Hamburg twice a month to attend Sabbath worship services. During this time, her fourteen-month-old son was also suffering from severe neuro-dermatitis. This disheartening situation greatly challenged her faith. But by God’s grace, she received encouragement and strength by listening to sermons uploaded to the tjc.org website. This spurred her to submit a request to the True Jesus Church’s Internet Ministry Program (IMP) team to upload more audio and video sermons. This request has greatly encouraged the IMP team that their labor is not in vain in the Lord.

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. (Mt 5:13–14)

Salt is typically used for seasoning. How should we “season” our online communication? Today, the prevailing methods of communication are emails, short messages and social media posts. This has led to the inventive use of acronyms, abbreviations, icons, emojis and animated images such as GIFs. Unfortunately, such abbreviations can leave room for misunderstanding; for example, “LOL” could be interpreted as “lots of love” or “laughing out loud.” The elderly, being accustomed to more formal styles of communication, may have difficulties understanding these unfamiliar expressions. In light of these considerations, we ought to be thoughtful of our intended audience when we communicate online. Also, we ought to take it upon ourselves to seek clarification when we are unable to understand a message fully. Such efforts to “season” our conversations properly would preempt unnecessary misunderstandings and conflicts.

Salt is also used for preservation. The internet is a helpful platform to share ideas, views and knowledge. It provides services like online shopping or access to information on the latest trends. The internet can also simply be used for recreational browsing. Despite its various merits, this platform can be easily abused to become a gateway to addictive behavior. As True Jesus Church Christians, we have a responsibility to spread good tidings. This includes providing sound advice grounded in truth and biblically accurate teachings. In order to do so, we have to invest time to review the factual accuracy of what we share, and to be aware how our sharing, and, thus, implicit endorsements, may impact fellow believers and non-believers alike.

The True Jesus Church is established by the Lord Jesus to preach the gospel of salvation and save souls. We need to carefully assess how the IMP should support our mission to “make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). This can only be done with the abidance and power of the Holy Spirit.

How can you help?

As an individual, involvement in the IMP is simple:

1.      Pray

We need our Lord Jesus Christ to guide us to carry out His will. Include the internet ministry in your personal prayer list. Everyone can support the internet ministry with intercessory prayers.

2.      Propagate

Spread the good tidings to all people. Identify and share edifying videos, articles and content from church websites (including tjc.org). To do so requires that we become familiar with and sensitive to the current needs of others. Sharing content from our church website also helps improve the tjc.org search rating. If you notice any inaccuracies in articles or content, please report them via email to helpdesk@tjc.org.

3.      Contribute

Write and contribute articles, share testimonies, and produce videos and other multimedia content to preach the gospel (Lk 24:47–48). Such invaluable material can be produced through collaboration between churches’ audio-visual teams, writers, editors, graphic designers and video producers, as well as other behind-the-scene workers. There are many ways to prepare and equip ourselves for the ministry. Take the initiative to hone your skills and contribute while rallying fellow like-minded members to the cause. Remember to pray that all work is done according to His will.

4.      Participate in the COV team

We preach to save souls. While internet ministry can be the first step towards bringing people to the Lord, certain aspects of salvation, such as baptism, cannot be conducted in a virtual setting. The COV team comprises True Jesus Church members who do the outreach and stand as a ready point-of-contact to bring to fruition the work initiated and nurtured by the IMP. COV members can meet and provide counselling and answers to those seeking the truth. People have short attention spans. They may feel a fleeting yearning for God, only to forget about it moments later. The COV team provides a real connection between the church and online truth-seekers, facilitating systematic follow-up efforts through regular encouragements. You can become part of the COV team by registering with your general assembly’s IMP team, or you can drop an email to helpdesk@tjc.org and let us know you intend to join the COV team.

5.      Support

“Freely you have received, freely give” (Mt 10:8). All that we have has been given to us freely. Your contributions to the IMP are but a fraction of your life that you can readily offer for the love and grace you have received. Offering your time, effort and money to support the IMP is pleasing to God. Remember that nothing you do for God in His name shall be in vain (1 Cor 15:58).

Our Collective Efforts

Collectively, the church plays an important role in IMP.

1.      Pray

As with any church work, efforts in prayers are important. Like it or not, the internet has worked its way into every corner and crevice of modern life. It has become a fundamental part of life in both urban and rural areas. The IMP needs God’s wisdom to effectively utilize the virtual tools at its disposal, while seeking His protection from online assault, depravity and misinformation (Mt 6:13). The church should encourage and pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to serve Him in the internet ministry.

2.      Train

More training sessions on internet ministry are needed. Such trainings can include educating our members on virtual safety and security, along with the pros and cons of different types of online activities. The church can also provide opportunities and support for members willing and able to offer their varied talents to maintain church websites or launch new projects (for example, mobile applications).

3.      Connect

The church can connect talented members from local churches with their general assemblies and the International Assembly (IA). There are many skilled members around the world, but they may be working in isolated or uncoordinated environments. Unity and collaboration are essential to wisely manage the limited resources available to the IMP. Churches have to work with one another and with the IMP to connect members and raise awareness of the work being done in this area; “a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Eccl 4:12). Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we must consider how best to bring all the organs of the church together efficiently, so that we may improve our work for the good of the body (Rom 12:3–8).

When was your last visit to tjc.org?

By God’s grace, the IMP has come a long way. In 2017, the IA launched a new portal for the tjc.org evangelism site, with a revamped user interface. The new site is more intuitive and user-friendly. It was released along with a public YouTube channel. The e-Library (ia.tjc.org/elibrary) also has a variety of edifying contents to meet different needs.

Work on expanding the e-Library, to include Bible study sites and provide content in languages besides English and Mandarin, is in progress. Many more features are also being developed. One upcoming feature is the ability to easily share evangelistic events among general assemblies, regional coordination boards and local churches. Everyone will be able to access pastoral, evangelistic, training and events information on a common site. With your prayers and support, we can continue to develop useful features.

We encourage you to browse the current website and familiarize yourself with the contents and resources available.

Conclusion

The IMP is at various stages of construction and is far from being a finished product. We welcome any support that members can offer. There have been many difficulties along the way. Yet with God’s grace and guidance, we have and will continue to overcome.

Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the LORD. (Hag 1:7–8)

May the Lord stir up our hearts to serve Him in this ministry!

APPENDIX: The COV Program

The internet has brought the world much closer. As one entrepreneur once remarked, with the internet, one can make money even while asleep. Likewise, the internet can be a useful platform for our evangelistic outreach and pastoral work. However, despite the convenience it provides, the internet does have its shortcomings. As Christians, we must seek to use the internet for good and seize every opportunity to fulfill the evangelistic mission entrusted to us by our Lord Jesus.