by Mark Mayberry, Phillip Stuckey, and Corey Willis
Synopsis: Mark, Phillip and Corey consider how brethren, past and present, have effectively leveraged available technology to reach others with biblical truth.
Believers have frequently used available technology to spread the word of God. Consider the impact of the printing press (Gutenberg’s Bible, etc.), camp meetings in frontier days, tent meetings in the early and mid-20th century, the widespread use of mass media: newspapers, radio and television, and now, the internet (email, blogs, websites, social media, etc.). Truth Publications is using the latest technologies (print-on-demand, digital distribution, our various websites, etc.) to put reliable study materials in the hands of Bible students around the world.
Jesus calls on His disciples to “Go into all the world” and make more disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). Today, with the internet and the proliferation of the vast amount of information that is available to people, Christians have a great opportunity to reach people all over the world with an ease unknown in previous generations. It is estimated that over four billion people use the internet worldwide today and that number will continue to grow. How many of these people have never heard the gospel? How many of these people live in areas that could use good Bible study material but have limited access to it?
These are some of the things that drive us at Truth Publications to continue to try and stay abreast of current technologies so we can maximize our reach in spreading the gospel to God’s glory. Our goal is to help as many people as we can to not only come to know the Lord but to know Him better. To accomplish this end, we want to produce and distribute as much sound biblical material as we can, and our website is on the front lines in reaching a global audience. Our new redesigned website is designed to make it as easy as possible for people to find the material they are looking for, both in print and in digital form, and to make it simpler for them to purchase useful materials. No matter what device you are using, whether that is your laptop, desktop, tablet, or smartphone, we want our site to be accessible and easy for you to use. We welcome any feedback or suggestions you might have. Our mission is to help each other in our journey home.
Although technology research and development (R&D) projects might be pursued for no other reason than to determine what’s possible, that’s a horrible reason to implement new technologies in an organization. Technology must be used to accomplish an objective or fulfill a larger mission. It’s no surprise, then, that Christianity has consistently leveraged new and emerging technologies. What is more important than the divine mission of teaching the gospel to reach the lost or edify the church?
When radio was an emerging technology in America during the early 1920s, it was quickly assessed as a wonderful medium for broadcasting the gospel. In the early 1920s, only a few “engineers and tinkering boys” owned radios, but by 1922 Chicago heard their first gospel message broadcast from the station on the roof of City Hall (Rogers, 2010). By 1931, when over half of the homes in America owned a radio, the word of God was a staple of the medium. We see the same pattern in the 1990s during the early days of the internet. “Just as the printing press was lauded by Protestant Christians as a revolutionary tool for spreading the gospel in the vernacular of the common people of Europe, a new generation has come forth and embraced the internet for the task of spreading Christian beliefs” (Campbell, 2010).
Conversations and studies of important Bible questions were formerly facilitated in printed publications. They provided a forum for these discussions long before the advent of the world wide web. Thankfully, many of these publications have been preserved on the internet and are more accessible than ever before. I’ve prepared for very few sermons or classes without researching these archives. Truth Publications continues to pursue its missions today by leveraging technologies to fulfill orders online, distribute books and materials digitally, and utilize print-on-demand services to rapidly address needs and minimize the capital required for printed publications. Regardless of the medium through which we preach and teach, the content of the gospel is the critical focus of these efforts.
Campbell, Heidi A. When Religion Meets New Media. New York: Routledge, 2010. ISBN-13: 978-0415349574.
Rogers, Mark. 2016. “Broadcasting the Gospel.” Christianity Today. March 2, 2016. https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2010/march/broadcasting-gospel.html.
Author Bio: Mark has labored with the Adoue Street church of Christ in Alvin, TX since 1998, where he serves as the evangelist and an elder. The church website is ascoc.org. His Bible study website is markmayberry.net. He can be reached at mark@truthpublications.com.
Phillip has worked with Robison Street church of Christ in Edna, TX for over four years. He and his wife, Beth, have three children. The church website is ednachurchofchrist.org. He can be reached at philstuckey@gmail.com.
Corey Willis and his wife, Meagan, have been married for 18 years and have two daughters: 10 and 12 years old. Corey oversees business operations for an electric utility in Indiana, serves on the board of Friends of Indiana Youth (FIY) and as a deacon for the Jamestown church of Christ. He can be reached at truthmagazine.coreyw@neverbox.com.
