A growing number of churches are tuning into God through "video cafes."
According to
The Washington Post, congregations across the
country are offering services with TV sermons, in which a pastor
preaches live in a more traditional service in one room, while people
in the video cafe see only his talking head on a screen.
video
venues are experiencing explosive growth nationwide
The success of the technology has allowed churches to start low-cost
branches miles from their main sanctuaries without having to find and
hire another pastor to do the preaching. But some warn that bringing
video sermons into a worship service could erode the sense of community
in churches, The Post reported.
Still, video venues are experiencing explosive growth nationwide.
Seacoast
Church in Charleston, S.C., records the head pastor's sermons
Saturday night and delivers the videotapes by bus to eight locations
for Sunday services across the city. The video services, launched two
years ago, draw a total of 2,000, about a third of the congregation.
Heartland Community Church in Rockford, Ill., has
no preaching pastor on its staff and instead relies on a videotape
library of sermons from other top preachers in the state. The recorded
messages are reportedly so good that the congregation has grown from
100 members to 3,000 in six years.
Charisma News
Service