As I was looking at some websites for good ideas the other day, I found one where a fellow described himself as an “internet minister.” Since I can’t call myself a “pulpit minister” any longer, I may need a new title – and that seemed like a good possibility. (I thought of “televangelist,” but that tends to hold negative connotations for some folks.) The reason “internet minister” might be suitable is that Know Your Bible now gets more Bible course requests and questions through our website than we do over the telephone, and that trend will continue to grow. I already answer more questions by email than by snail mail, and that percentage is growing.
Oh well, we’ll worry about titles some other time. What I really wanted to talk about was another item I noticed on that fellow’s website. He mentioned a specific number of people who had become Christians through his internet efforts. The number was impressive. In the thousands. Now I’m not questioning his veracity – or calling that fake news – but I do wonder what kind of accounting system he uses to keep track of all that.
The Know Your Bible ministry does a great job of accounting for every dollar donated and every dollar spent. We even publish those numbers every year so donors can see where it all goes. But accounting for the human responses is a bit more difficult. With students in every state and dozens of foreign countries, I’m pretty sure we don’t hear about every baptism or restoration that happens. But even in our broadcast areas we often don’t get the good news of some student’s obedience. Here’s one we did hear about. Mr. and Mrs. G watched KYB and signed up for the BCC in Mt. Vernon, MO. They noted on their course that they wanted to study more about salvation. Bill McFarland at the Watermill congregation called David Gregerson, the minister in Mt. Vernon. David visited them, invited them to church, and baptized them last February. We can account for two more precious souls affected by KYB, but I can assure you that there are many more we will never know about until we get to heaven. When I travel to speak at congregations about KYB, I can’t tell you how many times a brother or sister or couple has come up to me and told me they are Christians because of Know Your Bible – and I’ve never heard their name before. They aren’t accounted for in OUR system. Thankfully, the Lamb’s Book of Life is 100% accurate.