What is technology’s role in faith?
Aug 29, 2014, 8:44 AM | Updated: 1:34 pm
(AP Photo/file)
If the Bible was being written today, Eve wouldn’t just give Adam and apple, she’d also give him an unlimited data plan to go with it.
A web presence has become essential for churches who want to share their faith. And now one website is taking the next step, attempting to turn online followers into church-going, hymn-singing, and tithe-giving members. It’s the creation of Sean Coughlin.
“There are dozens of sites that help you find a doctor or a restaurant or vacation, but no good website that helps you find a place of worship,” says Coughlin.
He decided to quit his day job and start a website called FaithStreet, a kind of faith dating service, to link seekers with established congregations. It started with 500 churches in New York and now includes 15,000 across the country.
Coughlin told CBS his goal is to lead people into an authentic community experience.
“Helping people engage with those communities more deeply, rather than helping them experience those communities online,” he says.
These days you get tweets from the Dalai Lama and the Pope. The latest tweet from the Dalai Lama: “When we have an altruistic motivation, all our actions become constructive.” The latest from Pope Francis: “God’s love is unbounded. It has no limits.”
What’s the latest tweet from Sean Coughlin, founder of Faithstreet? “Technology has always had a really important role to play in faith.”
“This idea that Jesus had to go out to all the world and preach the Gospel is huge to us,” says Coughlin. “We want to equip leaders of faith communities to do that in a more powerful way.”