The Great Digital Commission: A Review

A few short years ago, a seminary student asked one of his professors, “When are you going to start teaching online?” The professor replied, “When you start leading worship online.” We know where that went, don’t we? During the pandemic, most churches learned how to take their services to Zoom, Facebook Live, or some other digital platform.

In The Great Digital Commission, author Caleb J. Lines encourages the church to go even further, embracing social media not only to connect those who are already involved in a local congregation but to use digital platforms to reintroduce itself to those outside the church.

Just as Jesus and the early apostles developed community to reach and disciple believers, Lines argues that community is still at the heart of the Christian faith and the social media can be used to engage the unreached and to nurture believers. He defines social media as “applications and websites that enable social networking and the creation/sharing of digital content.” Social media encourages people to interact with each other rather than just consume content. This is the basis of community.

Social media is essential to engaging young adults. Lines quotes a Hartford Institute study that reports, “Congregations wanting to engage younger adults almost certainly need a basic digital literacy and some kind of web presence to be taken seriously.”

In his book, Lines provides not only suggestions for developing “a basic digital literacy” but how to make it authentic, representative of the congregation’s values, and socially engaged.

The book is not long but can be extremely helpful for those developing a congregation’s digital ministry. The author offers practical, sound information as well as an extensive bibliography for further study.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.

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