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Listening to Sermons Through Podcasts

One hundred years ago, physical church buildings were a central gathering place of the community. The epicenter of weddings, fundraisers, and weekly sermons, these buildings helped to create a shared community and build relationships. Times have changed. The most successful churches are changing with them, in part by broadcasting sermons online through regular podcasts. These forward-thinking churches recognize that community can be nurtured online, and that strong relationships can be built and maintained over long distances with the assistance of the web.

The world has become significantly smaller over the past century.  As a result, people are traveling further, and relocating more frequently, for jobs and education. Leaving a spiritual “home” can be more difficult than leaving the town it’s centered in, and when individuals can take this part of a community with them through a podcast, the transition is easier. Since spiritual ties run deep, these long-distance members of a religious community often continue their financial commitment to their “home” church. In this way, both the long-distance church member and the physical church benefit from the continued relationship.  

The smaller world phenomenon has also increased the available options for joining a church. No longer bound by physical distance, individuals can shop for a religious community that resonates with their beliefs from all across the nation. Making your church available to long-distance members lays the groundwork for a sizeable increase in membership, as it opens doors, quite literally, to a nation of potential attendees. Regularly scheduled podcasts show these members that their spiritual needs are a priority, inviting them into other web-based initiatives to build community and participation.

As our culture has moved away from a typical five-day workweek, many individuals are finding themselves locked out of regular church attendance by their work schedule. Podcasting sermons shows that a church recognizes this cultural shift. Instead of implicitly demanding that members adjust their work to accommodate the schedule of a church, podcasts acknowledge that members have competing priorities. By giving members the flexibility to download sermons at their convenience, churches convey that they understand the hectic schedules of lives today, and will make supporting the members in their busy lives a main concern.

 The following churches and online ministries have successfully built their memberships and met the needs of their communities by embracing technology.  After taking a look at these examples, you’ll see that podcasting isn’t a mystery.  Churches across denominations and membership size are participating, benefitting from the “tech-saavy” label, and the encouragement of their appreciative members as well.

Mars Hill Church: This tech-savvy church is among the top ten fastest growing churches in America, and generously shares sermons and worship music through podcasts. Pastor Mark Driscoll is well-known for his straight-shooting and humorous speaking style, oriented to a younger audience.   

John MacArthur: This established Baptist minister and author shares his broadcast, “Grace to You,” through sermonaudio.com. Numerous other podcasts from leading Christian ministries and denominations can be found here as well.  

Daily Bread Radio, Catholic Reflections: The staff of the deceased Fr. Lauer continues to promote his ministry with podcasts on classic Catholic readings, sharing his encouraging messages in podcasts posted weekly.  

Ravi Zacharias International Ministries: Ravi Zacharias, an apologist highly respected for his articulate and intelligent views on the foundations of Christianity, shares the content of his daily radio program “Just Thinking” through this podcast.  

Joel Osteen: If you can’t be among the thousands to flock to the Lakewood Church in Texas to hear weekly sermons, you can still find your weekly dose of encouragement and inspiration online. The author of best-selling book Live Your Best Life Now shares his uplifting sermons in weekly podcasts.

About the Author

Laurah Hagen is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on online schools for Guide to Online Schools.

Disclaimer:

The above guest post is published based on the premise that it will be helpful and informative. The opinions made within it are those of the author and not of sunnyray.org. The links you may find within this post do not necessarily imply our recommendation or endorsement of the views expressed within them.

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