"Sent" Into the Digital World As Well?

It is perhaps fitting that this month's theme is about being 'sent' by the Spirit in light of what has happened at the annual Synod gathering of the CRCNA in Grand Rapids this past week. If you have been paying attention, you would see that our mission agency, Resonate, put forth a bold 10-year plan for church planting for our denomination. Significantly, the plan received a broad and hearty endorsement from the delegates, electing for—to use a contemporary cliche—faith over fear.

In every age since Christ's ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the church has been sent by God to bear witness to the Gospel wherever and whenever she finds herself. Though the method and means of spreading the Gospel may change, the message of forgiveness of sins and salvation through Jesus Christ and him alone never changes.

In every generation, there are people passionate about sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ with the unreached, oftentimes using any and every means to "get the message out there". From the early church's use of the Codex and the Roman roadway system, to the use of seafaring expeditions, to the printing press, horseback evangelists and even televangelists, Christians have embraced new forms of technology as a means of sharing the Gospel with as many people as possible. The age of the internet and social media has been no different in terms of Christians utilizing the technology to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. At the same time, this new technology presents unique challenges not previously possible: one (among several) that I see is the problem of presence.

One decision that may have somewhat flown under the radar (at least in the coverage of Synod) is the report of Advisory Committee 6F in response to Overture 21 regarding the non-'Recognition of Exclusively Digital Ministries as Churches'. This Overture came to Synod in response to a Task Force report from Synod 2025 on the same subject. Although the Task Force report is careful about neither excluding nor endorsing exclusively online churches as true churches, Synod 2026 adopted the Advisory Committee's recommendation to accede to the Overture and agree that exclusively digital/online churches are not churches.

Although the Advisory Committee does not note it as a grounds, the Belgic Confession's article on The Marks of the True Church are instructive here (pure preaching of the gospel, pure administration of the sacraments, and the practice of church discipline), as explored by the 2025 Task Force report. The 2025 report concludes: "On the whole, our task force agreed that it is not impossible for a virtual church to embody the three marks of a true church, as outlined in the Belgic Confession" (p. 315, emphasis added). The authors of the report do not rule it out entirely, but do admit of the limitations of exclusively online ministries.

Although I do see practical and theological challenges with the administration of sacraments for an exclusively online (and even hybrid online) 'churches', the point I would like to explore briefly here is the third mark: discipline. Although "discipline" can often have negative connotations, I believe that the author of the Belgic Confession envisions a much broader definition than we might apply today. "Discipline" and "disciple" come from the same root, and have to do with teaching and learning. Thus, when we think of "discipline" in this context, we would also consider accountability as an important aspect. Is accountability possible for an exclusively online church? Even if it is, how robust can we expect it to be? (The Task Force authors raise similar questions). One of the things the digital world affords us—often with impunity—is anonymity. Who we are online is often quite different from who we are in person.

The same, of course, could be said of a physical church. History is unfortunately filled with examples of people who were highly respected church members who led dark double lives of infidelity, criminality, or simply just hypocrisy. Sadly, even when such indiscretions are brought to light, church leadership has downplayed accusations or otherwise come to the defense of the clearly guilty. By the same token, in many other situations, leadership has held the wayward member accountable through the administration of discipline. And, for all these concerns, this in no way suggests that online church would be immune to such situations (in fact, the anonymity afforded by the internet would perhaps make them more likely). Yet my concern runs deeper still.

Returning to the starting point of this post offers a clue as to where some deeper issues lie. Namely, when we speak of the "Gospel" (or "Good News") what are we referring to? Is it merely a message or something more? If only a message, then certainly an online medium would be sufficient for its transmission. But is the Gospel not more than a message? Is it not a person? Namely, Jesus Christ. The Gospel is more than a message, it is an event both within and outside of time because it points to God's decisive acts in the Incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Of particular interest here is the Incarnation.

In the Incarnation, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, takes on human flesh with the purpose of redeeming it and reversing the curse of the Fall (Romans 5). What we were unable to do ourselves, God does for us. It cannot be understated, however, that Jesus took on human flesh. Fully God and fully human. Indeed, one of the many names given to Jesus is "Immanuel, meaning "God with us"" (Matt 1:23). Jesus' physical presence matters immensely, so how can we suggest that our physical presence is optional when it comes to participating in the life of the church, Christ' "body" on earth (see 1 Cor 12:12–30)? This has implications far beyond exclusively online church that we ought to consider carefully.

For my part, I am excited to see what the future holds for our denomination as we lean into the church-planting vision approved at Synod 2026. My hope and prayer is that we embrace the needed "cultural shift" as we are ignited by a passion for Jesus Christ in sharing his person and mission within our communities; that we not merely tell others about him, but make him known to everyone we encounter.

—GH