Mission Collab Origins
In March 2020, When covid hit the world, we were far from home.
Through the wrangling of time zones and the power of zoom, our USA-life kept going even though we were in Australia. We continued working our jobs from across the world, our kids did school digitally, and we stayed connected with our friends and family across the world. We even shared Passover with our friends over zoom!
A few months later, we were back in Seattle where covid-shutdowns made our digital lives continue at full force. Everything was online. Our kid had zoom soccer team meetings and training. We had virtual doctor appointments. We gathered online for church. Birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were celebrated with video calls. School, work, conferences, friendships all found ways to continue online.
Over the past year, I kept thinking just how cutoff we would all be without the digital tools of our age. It wasn’t the same as being together physically, but there were actually some huge benefits in meeting digitally. My horrible commute to work was gone. The drama of getting my family ready to go places every day was gone. My ability to "hang out” late into the night was increased because I didn’t have to worry about the drive home. And spending my life in yoga pants wasn’t terrible either. ha!
My heart kept wondering: What if digital community became a legitimate part of life from now on?
The truth is, my family has been living this way for a lot of years. My kids’ relationships with their Aussie grandparents, aunt & uncle, and cousins are all thanks to video calls. Digital tools mean we are still a tight-knit family despite the geographical distance.
What if digital community is supposed to be more than just a temporary stop-gap?
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“Even though I’m not there in person, consider me right there with you…” (1 Cor 5:3)
In the early days of the Church, the Apostle Paul had traveled to the diasporic Jewish & Gentile churches. He was a leader and mentor to so many of the first generation of Jesus-followers. Then, he was placed under house arrest and couldn’t continue his in-person visits.
Instead, he wrote letters. And, thanks to these house-arrest spurred writings, we have Paul’s precious teachings in writing. The communication tools of his age enabled us to have the New Testament. Paul had no idea this would happen. He simply used the tools he had to continue his spiritual calling to lead the church, regardless of his physical circumstances.
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What if this era is a catalyst for things in the future?
What if Yahweh is inviting us into pivotal opportunities?
This is the path that led us to see not just the possibility of a digital church community, but the incredible opportunity it gives for the Church to reach beyond geography and timezones! The digital space is an incredible new frontier for the Church!
And so we have begun the journey towards church planting a fully digital church...