Gateway (United Methodist) Church archives sermons online. Some pastors shudder at the thought, though. Why is that; are there solutions?
A big reason for shunning online sermons, some Pastors have told me, is that they fear that serving up Sunday sermons on the web just entices some people to skip attending church on a few Sundays when they might otherwise attend. To help lessen that temptation, Gateway waits a few weeks before adding the sermon online. On May 12th, the April 23rd sermon was the latest posted, for example.
Here's another thought -- people who'd skip church if the sermons were online might skip church anyway. In that case, having sermons online might just reach them with a spiritual message they'd otherwise miss. The up-side of adding sermons online is that the pastoral message reaches more people -- affects more lives. That's what the sermons is for, right?
In fact, consider adding a condensed sermon outline just above the text. It helps people mentally prepare to read the text. So don't hesitate -- archive those sermons online. Reach out into the world!
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