I’m not happy about not being able to meet live for church, but consider: in England, ten times the number of people that were attending churches on Sunday are joining online services. A church in my town that has under 200 people attending on a typical Sunday is getting 6,000 people on Facebook Live. A multi-campus megachurch in Florida that gets 10,000 people for live services on an average Sunday and 18,000 on a typical Easter got 60,000 people viewing their service online this Easter. I’m seeing similar reports from other churches.

What does this mean for us? Yes, it is better to meet live, to be able to participate together in the Eucharist, to see and comfort and hug and laugh with each other. Yes, in the US there are first amendment issues and occasional abuses. But on the other hand, the shutdowns are giving us an unprecedented opportunity. Rather than complaining about being kept from meeting, we need to be thinking about how to disciple the people who are coming in online. There’s a solid gold lining to the dark cloud we’re in if we can prayerfully follow through on the opportunity we’re being given. In all likelihood it will require significant changes in how we think about church growth, disciple making, what we do during services, and a host of other issues, but if we want to see the Kingdom grow in our lifetime, we must not miss the opportunity before us.