About Us

1. Overview

Our Mission: To know Christ and to make Him known.

Our strategy: To raise an army of Christ-followers on the Internet through the creation of a scalable, interactive virtual churches.

Our goals: 1. To evangelize the lost; 2. To foster dynamic Christian community; 3. To create God-honoring worship experiences.

Introduction

In 1998, Christian pollster and sociologist George Barna forecast the emergence of a "cyberchurch" in the early years of the new century.¹ This cyberchurch would not be anything like the bricks-and-mortar gathering places that pass for churches in our culture today. Rather, Barna’s cyberchurch would be an online church – one that is entirely on the Internet. Its congregation of millions "will never travel physically to a church, but will instead roam the Internet in search of meaningful spiritual experiences," he predicted.

Reaction was not good.

Traditional church leaders from across the spectrum decried Barna's suggestion that the "traditional" church mold was giving way, or even would give way, to one that reached across time and space to form Christian community. Some even suggested that church on the Internet wasn’t "church" at all, but a poor and extra-biblical substitute.

What happened in the period following Barna's 1998 prediction was dramatic. Teen use of the Internet for spiritual or religious experience grew by 200 percent between 1998 and 2000, with 46 percent of teens reporting that they expected to go online to discuss faith.² This dramatic trend was not just limited to tech-savvy teens, however. By 2003, an ongoing series of surveys by the Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that 29 percent of users 18 and older looked for spiritual or religious information online.³

Barna's more recent research shows that one out of every four teenagers (26%) have learned something about their faith or spirituality online in the last six months.⁴ Furthermore, one-sixth of teenagers (16%) and one-quarter of born again teens (25%) said they had "a spiritual experience" online where they worshiped or connected with God.

The Internet as a Mission Field

When it comes to responding to dramatic societal change, our track record in the Church is not so good. Rather than acting as "men of Issachar" who understand the times and know what direction to take (1 Chronicles 12:32), we more often adopt a bunker mentality during periods of cultural shift.

How can the Church make the most of this moment in history? First, we must recognize the Internet precisely for what it is. It is more than a mere tool or technology. It also encompasses a "world" – an entirely new culture – into which the Church must enter, if it is to fulfill the Great Commission. The Internet is both tool (a medium through which to further share the Gospel) and a mission field (a world populated by people who desperately need to hear our message).

Shoutchurch.tv is a church planting movement on the web established in 2008. We seek to establish not just experiences where participants passively participate (like the broadcast ministries of yesteryear), but rich, dynamic faith communities in cities across the world. Shoutchurch.tv is organized into "channels" - each designed to build community among a specific target audience.

2. Statement of Faith

We believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and in His deity.

We believe Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.

We believe Christ is the bridge from mankind to God the Father.

We believe Christ’s death on the Cross and His shed blood was for the atonement of mankind’s sin.

We believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that He is now seated at God’s right hand.

We believe salvation is by grace through faith in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

We believe man was created by the direct act of God in His image.

We believe in the return of Jesus Christ to claim His church.

We believe the Bible is God’s Holy and inspired Word and that it is the final authority and guide for our worship and practice of daily Christian living.

We believe all believers are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed.

3. Affiliations

Baptist General Association of Virginia (www.vbmb.org)

Since its formation in 1823, the purpose of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) has been "to furnish the Baptist churches of Virginia with a medium of cooperation for the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and for the advancement of the Reedeemer's Kingdom by all methods in accord with the Word of God." BGAV has no creeds but the Bible, which it holds as inspired and authoritative.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (www.thefellowship.info)

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. Our mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission. Made up of individuals and approximately 1,900 affiliated churches seeking to be the presence of Christ, the Fellowship serves a larger renewal movement among Baptists.

¹ "The Cyberchurch Is Coming: National Survey of Teenagers Shows Expectation of Substituting Internet for Forner Church," 1998, Barna Research Group, Oxnard, CA.
² www.religionlink.org.³ Ibid.⁴ "What Teenagers Look For in a Church," 2007, Barna Research Group, Oxnard, CA.