Online or virtual church - is it even sufficiently practical?

We have literally continued outside a local church for over 5 years. While new language learning curve, illness as well as frequent relocation had a big share, looking particularly for a church that sought only God's glory through Christ was the major contributor. Particularly because I had both seen and read about churches that would be found so much in bad shape that they would be literally impenetrible in the past.

We have been trying to join one 'AFM of Africa' that seemed hopefully but the process is not being as smooth. One other issue is that we have a 5yr old autistic son who only feels more comfortable at home and is fussy else where. Suggesting that we might need to take turns in our doing local church endeavours. While plausible, my wife still cannot be patient with him enough so I might need to take all the stay-home turns in a way :)

So I wondered if anyone would be aware of a workable church that formally streams as well as acknoledge virtual membership. Or you may simply comment on whether on not this might be sufficiently practical. I read of an aged lady in The Wonders of Prayer book who was by illness detained from local church and reckoned there could be many such Christians who would appreciate an online option if suffiently practical.

I have gone through a list of those that come up on Google but had yet to find one that is evangelically convincing.

I bagan my illness journey as Covid broke out. And we were still without a church then. So no wonder how I missed arguments such as this: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/no-virtual-church/

While I agree alot shall be missing, it seems to me that virtual presence is way better than complete absence for those with only two options.

Dear Brother,

Matthew 18:20

20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Please know that you can always have fellowship, discipleship, Bible reading, be asking the Lord for wisdom and direction, even in your small family group. It can be a precious time of prayer and singing, reading and ask Him to bring others to you.
We are never alone with even two or three.

In
Christ, sister Leslie

Greatly appreciated input. While I fully agree and that we infact truly do try, the issue arises when you notice like an enomous earthly welfare gap that could ideally be addressed by fellow Christians who are able. Imagine a qualifying widow as Paul puts it, who, as a mother of 5 and without social security, has hopes in the Church's charitable considerations?

Yes it does further say that if she is destitute, she aught to trust in the Lord. My wife is now spiritually discouraged because she has a long standing PTSD and MDD that we did not properly afford to have treated and our government health care can only afford so much. Her mother has resources but she is not a Christian and therefore leans on her own understanding and priorities (social standing, etc.).

And then I often seat and say, if only we were part of a true Church of Christ, we perhaps would be aware of those who not only would have resources but also prioritize a Christian's welfare (or ledding to the Loard) over social standing.

While we should ever be faithful unto death, its difficult when the condition at hand is psychological and affects how you think amongst others - as that is the same fucullty necessary to reason with oneself through hardships. I read that when Evan Roberts was diagnosed with MDD, he withdrew from the Welsh revival activities.

So while I am not dreaming about a trouble free Christian walk, I feel like psychological or mental disorders ideally needs to be treated with possible immediate effect or else the sufferers then needs to be excused?

I also reckon so, brother. I came across this two days back: https://mentalhealthgracealliance.org/ and hoped to suggest it to her. I just struggled to find the trauma related group link suggested there (under Find a group). It's Christian oriented support groups - which makes it a very interesting added intervention. And they boost of very interesting results too.

With my friends in Israel and groups that over vast distances I have to meet online but I would prefer to meet in person
Hebrews 10:25
King James Version
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Yes I too would ever choose in-person over online for more fellowship-oriented meetings such as these. But yes when options are not much, it seems online should be comparatively better than nothing. A very relevant verse by the way, brother.

It was during lockdown , I desired to be with people as meeting over zoom sometimes does not cut it over meeting with people but I also like zoom as I can meet with people from Israel and people I wouldnt normally meet with

It breaks my heart in our church how few come and how empty the churches are , in these times you think people would be flocking to good bible teaching

As there has been many a time I have led a prayer meeting on my own

I evangelise each week but I want jesus as I do not want jesus to say depart from me I never knew you

It breaks my heart that all the heretical churches have thousands of followers yet those that are true have about as many people on my fingers about 10

I do not preach In church but on the street and not for very long as I not very bold

Duly noted dear brother. It is that coldish spiritual climent that has many of us in this SI community waking up and going to bed with an ernest longing for a wideapread revival of God through Christ by his Spirit. Hope I got that last part theologically correct :|

May the Lord guide you as per his perfect will. The dying world surely can use more John Wesleys (endued and deployed). I believe I have a private prayer/intercession ministry so I barely preach. But I pray much as his Spirit thus gives me utterance (often in groans that cannot be uttered)

Jame 5:14 and Wesley's commentary marks another important and very relevant point on the need to be part of local/formal church whenever possible/practical:

Verse 14
[14] Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

Having anointed him with oil ”” This single conspicuous gift, which Christ committed to his apostles, Mark 6:13, remained in the church long after the other miraculous gifts were withdrawn. Indeed, it seems to have been designed to remain always; and St. James directs the elders, who were the most, if not the only, gifted men, to administer at. This was the whole process of physic in the Christian church, till it was lost through unbelief. That novel invention among the Romanists, extreme unction, practised not for cure, but where life is despaired of, bears no manner of resemblance to this.

P. S: I expect this should include mental disorders too

I hope I was not haste thereto but I have now gone on to initiate (having a technical background therein) the desired online Church platform. It is indeed aimed solely at those who feel they have no access to an evangelical/worthy brick and mortar Church.

I am currently building or sandboxing it at https://likechrist.c1.is (free domain) but expect to have it running officially under https://www.likeChristFellowship.Church once I have the $10 necessary to register the domain.

This is expected to operate as a sub-intiative of the 'likeChrist Ministries', which is a registered Not-for-Profit Company (NPC). It not yet worked out how timezone differences shall best be addressed but there are ideas. So if you know someone who could use this hub type (evangelical Online Church), kindly recommend the initiative to them (my email: \tkerv.mathumbu@gmail.com).

Should I ever be convicted to discontinue this initiative (I have non thus far) I shall be sure to add a comment here to advise accordingly.

A Christian someone (based in UK and detained from physical Church largely by illness) who appreciated the initiative donated twice+ the needed sum for the domain. I am now accordingly migrating the site from the free to the newly purchased one. I should comment back here once done - since only then can considering brethren be able to best create member accounts.

Thank you for the updates dear brother. As one who is in the midst of a ruling false religion, with few to no Christian gatherings, I will continue to follow your updates.

Dear brother, I indeed also cannot wait to see what God might make out of this work for which nothing else is purposed save his glory (thus through biblical fellowship). While I should continue to tweak here and there, the site is now fairly functional under https://likechristfellowship.church/ as hoped. So may those who feel they could use this hub-type proceed to create joining accounts. Or if you know someone who could use the same, kindly recommend it thereto accordingly.

My bug bear at the moment there is no real praying apps as I am from a computer science background and can code and and so would like a proper praying app and I so miss a good local Christian bookshop

One thing that is apparent, brother, is that, it is often unlikely that the world can build that perfect something that Christians may go around longing for. So yes we will need to get hands as often as we have these potentially high impact dreams.

It proves I was right in my understanding that many of our long standing needs coud easily have been ministered to had we had been part of a thorough Church.

Despite being yet the only member (of the new likeChrist Fellowship) ouside my family, the said saint not only have donated the said $20+ for the domain but went on to offer an additional $239 after I got a chance to detail out our needy state. The size of that gift left me agitated for the rest of the day and needed to calm down.

I would have a problem when my wife's Christless mother would barely try to help us as I wished but understood that our true relatives were those in the Church (which we did not have).

As limited as some may rightly argue, the LCF online Church has thus left us with good hope over our situation (which sadly left my wife drifting swiftly from the faith). May as may as feel like they are without a local Church be encouraged to join LCF because what is there proves to be more than superstition.

Theae also includes those that are newly converted (on the street perhaps by modern day Wesleys) and do not have home Church to grow further in yet. As these increases beyond available care, then we may need to invite volunteering mentors/disciplers from this hopeful SI community.

Some updates (edited):

The dear sister from the UK eventually wished to leave the LCF ( https://likechristfellowship.church/ ) around the middle of this month. We have had extensive talks, mainly via email, on various topics almost on a daily basis. We for some reason seemed to disagree on several of the topics, sadly. One of the two examples I wish to share are: She for one believed the thief had the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the cross as she implicitly maintained that those that enter heaven must have had the baptism (or Entire Sanctification as she prefers to put it). My position has been that the thief could not have had the HS baptism as it was not openly given until the day of Pentecost and therefore cannot have been a prerequisite for entering heaven for those dying without it.

Our second major disagreement was on James 5:14 where she believed the 'sick' that Jame envites there are not the literally (bodily sick) but the unsanctified as she puts it (those that have a sort of spiritual impurity). This was very sad to me as not only did I disagree with her but I still desire divine healing for my GAD, wife's PTSD and son's ASD (if God will grant) - but this was by her seemingly excluded there - only the unsanctified if I felt like one. Leaving this here for brethren to judge for themselves. While we are still only 3 on LCF to date, I do not feel convinced to let it go. When we can, we try to pray at the same hour everyday at 7AM GMT+2 for now.

Myself and wife have recently gone on to register a non-profit organisation https://ckwa.org.za/ that seeks to support autistic kids in South African disadvantaged families (including our son) through worthy fundraisings and donations. While this has been sweet tasting with all the possibilities of things such as needed salaries and being thus involved in a mercy ministry, my strongly welcoming divine healing especially first to my family's 3 cases of sickness brought me to question if we should desire (from God) to support these ASD kids through ordinary means (which will of cause be limited and protracted) or to desire for them too the complete and perfect divine healing (through work that is like that of Smith Wigglesworth?).

Yes, this still depends on whether God does grant the gift thereof - and until he does, he shall have not granted and so we shall have to continue to offer support through ordinary means thus. Yes, this question will only be valid if God should first heal the 3 of us (wife, son and I) through our prayer attempts. Yes my wife has last retraced her steps back to Christ and for this I so bless and praise God!

I read healing accounts (which I found very evangelical) in the 'The Wonders of Prayer' located here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11553/11553-h/11553-h.htm Particularly of two old ladies (one from Tuberculosis or Consumption) on their 70s and 80s (story section titled "The Prayer Of Faith.") and feel more stirred towards the validity of divine healing (yes I believe there are the counterfeit ones - you shall know them by their fruits?).

This has been so burdening in my heart that my third Sunday written sermon attempt turned to be more of an expression or study on the topic: https://likechristfellowship.church/2024/01/21/musing-on-divine-healing-for-the-bodily-sick-folks/

Updates post was edited (typos and additions for clarity)