As Pastors Transition to Online: "God is At Work"

John Dickerson is the Lead Pastor of Connection Pointe Christian Church in Indianapolis. He’s also an award- winning journalist and a best-selling author of several books. 

Question: “John, in this transition to a digital world, what are you already seeing?”

John Dickerson: “Well we're already seeing God at work! I mean we acknowledge it's uncomfortable, it's not the way we would've planned it but aren't those the times that God so often does miracles! And I could tell you a few of them. The first is actually the fact that we’re able to do live streaming. Actually when we knew the state was going to be locking down, God open the door for us to get a note to the Governor of Indiana and we asked him, ‘would you include live stream church services as an essential service so that we can keep reaching our people after the stay at home order is issued?’ And get this!! The Governor actually read from our letter when he issued the statewide stay at home order and he said church live streaming is an essential service! Churches need to keep live streaming!”

Question: “Are you able to measure the immediacy of connecting?

John Dickerson: “Let me just tell you one story of how our church is coming together. We have a fire fighter in our congregation named Keith. Keith was on the front lines making 911 calls as a fire fighter when he would go to the home with someone who called 911 and very often those people have COVID symptoms. Well, Keith caught COVID-19 in the process. He's actually in the hospital right now on a ventilator. Keith’s wife Becky, is unemployed because of this crisis and so as we've been praying for Keith and Becky, trusting God for physical healing for Keith’s body as a church we've been able to come together financially to support Becky and actually our people raised
$20,000 to get Becky through this time so they don’t have to lose their house.”

Question: “How is this generation uniquely designed at this unique time with this unique virus?”

John Dickerson: “Yeah, it’s incredible, you look back through church history and you know and in Acts Chapter 2, people didn't even have church buildings yet, they were meeting in homes. Really the structures that we call quote - “the church” - the building - are temporary. It's the souls, the Word of God and the work of God that are eternal. I believe God has positioned us at a pivot in world history where we get to be the church, in a way that people will look back and say, ‘wow, only God could have done that!’ And so here's how we see God work in this time: we stay true to his word, we keep inviting His spirit to do the work, and we keep depending on Him through prayer, we keep investing in those ministries that are really getting the word out and connecting believers together.”

Question: “John the growing opinion is life has changed, we will never see it returned the way that we’re used to seeing it. That said - how will the Sunday church experience change from this point on?”

John Dickerson: “He doesn't need a building. All He uses are people who are faithful, the word of God, and the spirit of God! And so here's what I know: if we stay faithful to the word of God and if we stay dependent on the Spirit of God and if we be in intentional everyday to fill our mind with God's truth using Christian media and Christian connection online - God will keep doing His work! And I know that we’ll look back - someday from heaven - and even in this life and we’ll say, ‘Jesus was faithful to his promises in Matthew 16 - He will build His church the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”