|
|
|
Christ-centred. Creative. Canadian.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A few months ago, Eric Almon joined my Bible study group. Almon is a 25-year-old entrepreneur, Canadian Armed Forces reservist and lifelong Toronto resident. As we got to know each other, Almon shared his unique testimony: his father was a non-practising Anglican, his mother came from a New Age Buddhist background and faith wasn’t a significant part of family life. Like many teenagers, however, Almon spent a lot of time online.
|
|
Around age 16, Almon became interested in politics and started watching political content on YouTube. Then the platform began recommending Christian content.
|
|
|
|
|
“I wasn’t out there searching for Ray Comfort or anything,” Almon told me, referencing the Living Waters evangelist. “These videos would just pop up on my feed as suggestions.”
|
|
|
|
One video led to another. Creators (such as J. Warner Wallace of Cold-Case Christianity) presented arguments for the historical reliability of the Bible and the resurrection of Jesus. Debate videos explored questions of faith and reason. The content appealed to Almon’s curiosity.
|
|
“It didn’t even seem like evangelism,” he said. “It just seemed more like something fun or interesting that I was learning about . . . I was looking for evidence, looking for logical arguments for faith. Learning about the evidence was fun.”
|
|
|
|
Over time, intellectual curiosity became personal conviction. Sitting alone in his room after months of watching videos and wrestling with what he was learning, Almon prayed and gave his life to Christ.
|
“I remember realizing that I am a sinner, that I have sinned, and that I do need a Saviour.”
|
|
It’s not the kind of conversion story many people expect. “Whether I would have come to faith another way, I can’t say,” Almon told me. “But it informed me of my faith significantly. . .
|
Social media and technology were essential to establishing my faith foundation and belief.”
|
For several years, Almon’s faith existed mostly through YouTube videos, Bible reading and online teaching. While that helped build a strong intellectual foundation, he eventually realized something was missing.
|
“When you’re not in the environment of Christ-like community, you don’t really know how to model that behaviour in real life.”
|
Years later, he began attending church, joining small groups and discovering the value of worship and Christian community. The algorithm introduced him to faith; the Church helped him live it. “It’s added that layer of people and personality, which I think was missing, right? All I had was kind of principles.”
|
Almon recalled “the first time that I’d experienced what worship was”: “It was really refreshing to see some really strong Christians, people that were really devoted to the faith, people that really knew the Word.”
|
Almon’s story isn’t an argument that technology can replace the local church. If anything, it shows the opposite. But it does challenge the assumption that digital spaces are only places of distraction and decline.
|
“If we could go to where people are instead of expecting them to just come to us, it would do a lot of good,” Almon reflected.
|
Jesus met people where they were – in homes, on roads, by fishing boats and around dinner tables. He didn’t wait for people to find him. Today, many of those gathering places are digital. Christian content creators understand this: God isn’t limited by our modern-day tools.
|
|
Sometimes he works through a conversation with a friend. Sometimes through a church community. And sometimes, somehow, he uses a suggested video on YouTube to bring someone toward Jesus.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Did someone forward this newsletter to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
RULES FOR DIGITAL HIGHWAYS
|
|
Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, uses protection of children to justify proposed regulations for social media. Critics fly the flag of freedom to arouse fears of big brother state intrusion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BREAKING RULES
|
|
Cameron Van Kooten Laughead
|
|
Pushing my faith away then was among the easier decisions I’ve made. Entering high school, I tried at every turn to reject whatever a “personal faith” meant. In hindsight, I can see that despite the silence, God was around.
|
|
|
|
|
|
PSALM 8 INCLUDES COMPUTERS
|
|
Creation is everything that God has ordained to be. This includes the latent possibilities in creation waiting to be unfolded: the arts, fashion, agriculture, education, government, and, yes, even computer science.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Christian Courier is independent of a denomination, but broadly reformed. And maybe that sounds like something your church needs: a conversation starter and partner.
|
We've launched an offer for churches to sign up for bundles of CC, with up to 50% off their first year subscription. Email Michelle Slomp to learn more: [email protected], or call 1-800-275-9185.
|
|
|
|
|
|
   
|
|
|
|
|
|
