A few months ago a friend of mine invited me to the MyChurch website. He knew my interest in writing and recommended that I stop by and give it a look. I’m glad I did. I am so delighted to find a community of believers striving to make connections with a purpose. I found that it is an opportunity to express my faith by sharing what God is showing me in my own spiritual pilgrimage.

In this blog I would like to share 5 reasons why I value MyChurch.

First, it is a way to broaden my borders of ministry. With the advent of the Internet, the ability to minister to more people has been like never before. It used to be that a person’s sphere of influence was limited to one’s family, friends, neighborhood, and church. However, the borders of ministry are now being broadened.

Isn’t this what Jabez prayed, that his borders of influence would be expanded? It was his prayer that God would bless him and enlarge his territory (I Cor. 4:9-10). Consequently, the ability to make a global impact, which is at the heart of the Great Commission, is made possible, at least in part, through the ministry of MyChurch.

Second, it is an avenue to do writing. Writing is a great way to edify one another. The Greek word for edify, oikodomeo means “to build up as a house, construct, as living stones, encourage spiritual progress by word and example, thus to build up spiritually.”[1] This opportunity is afforded to us by blogs, encouraging e-mails, e-casts, etc. in order to build up one another. This is precisely what Paul recommended when he said that Christian should “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Rom. 14:19). You never know, if the writer of Hebrews was alive today, he may have even said that Christians might want to encourage one another by blogging, while it is still called today (Heb. 3:13).

Third, I found it a great way to sharpen my skills in counseling and engage in apologetics. As a pastor, people often come to me for answers to their questions in order to find solutions to problems. We are expected to be the ecclesiastical version of Radio Shack, “You’ve got questions; we have answers.” (Just kidding! J). The Bible does, however, call pastors to be the shepherds of the flock, and part of that duty is to disciple, equip, and train the laity. I have found that responding to posts has sharpened my ability to answer the questions that come my way as a pastor.

Fourth, it gives a more global perspective on the body of Christ. – Most Christians view Christianity from their own private enclaves. However, there are different churches with different cultures, maintaining different cultural expressions. Each of these churches are experiencing different challenges, but strive to maintain a Christian witness within their own cultural milieu while at the same time, being faithful to the Word. By exposing ourselves to different cultures and denominations, we better realize what God is doing, not just in our own backyard, but the world as well.

Last, it benefits my church. It has opened doors for people in my fellowship to express what God is doing in their lives. It has also assisted us in sharing to others what God is doing in our church.