November 10, 1999
Internet church's 200 members
haven't seen each other
___By Doy Cave
___New Orleans Seminary
___NEW ORLEANS (BP)--It's an incorporated church which has no building but has worship services and devotions held in hundreds of homes all over the world. And boasts 200 members who've never seen one another.
___It's Totalechurch, one of the first totally Internet churches in cyberspace, and thoughit's only been in the ministry five months, it's seeing rapid growth.
___With Christian researcher George Barna predicting 20 percent of the population will get all religious training from the Internet by the year 2010, Lyndon Glaesman, pastor of Totalechurch and an alumnus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, said he and his family's burden for an Internet church was part of a logical progression in using technology for the kingdom of God.
___An Internet church has been in a lot of people's minds, but the idea received little follow-through, said Glaesman, who learned that the Satanic church beat Totalechurch to the Internet. "That shows we need to jump onto the technology bandwagon or lose to those that do," he said.
___The church, and its technology, have garnered an overwhelming response. Though the church has only been open since June 15, it has recorded more than 14,000 visits to the site at www.totalechurch.com and has recorded more than 50 professions of faith in Christ from all over the world. The church roster presently includes members from across the country and from Bulgaria, Japan, Australia and South Africa. Its daily devotions are sent to more than 450 participants.
___Through what Glaesman calls nothing short of divine intervention, the church has seen overwhelming publicity beyond what he'd imagined. It has been featured in newspapers in Chicago and in Sophia, Bulgaria; has been featured on radio programs in Chicago, Alaska, and Montreal, Canada; and recently was one of the headlines on DataCast, a news service that goes to every compatible pager in the nation.
___"After that we got something like 3,000 hits in one week," said Stephen Glaesman, the pastor's son, who with his brother, Jesse, make up the technical staff of Totalechurch. "We still don't know how it happened. It was just God."
___Stirring up interest in the church started long before the site opened June 15, said Phillip Bullard, minister of evangelism and a New Orleans Seminary student. Bullard sent out e-mails but also did some old-fashioned witnessing work to garner interest. To target the more computer-savvy population, he went to the parking lots of Radio Shack, CompUSA and other computer stores to leave tracts on cars.
___One of Totalechurch's success stories is Jeff Pancoast of Phoenix, Ariz., who talks regularly with the pastor with questions galore. In an interview, he said he was "on the edge" after a 17-year marriage fell apart and was left with only a shattered life and a lot of questions.
___"They're my spiritual support structure," he said of the church. "They're there when I have questions, and they're there when I need support. The daily devotions were a constant reminder to me to stay on the right track."
___Admittedly against most organized religion, Pancoast said the Internet church has ministered to him and strengthened his faith in God again. He has a lot of questions, he said, but he's finding the answers.
___"I was born and raised Roman Catholic," he said, "but I've been kind of a spiritual gypsy all my life. My religion is mostly internalized, which is why Totalechurch appeals to me. Rev. Glaesman and I have written several letters to each other, and he's given me the most straightforward, intelligent answers I've gotten to all my questions."
___Glaesman said his vision for Totalechurch is not to get a list of members who have the Internet church as their only church home. Rather, his vision is to get his members into active local congregations as growing Christians.
___"We want to share the gospel with them and get them into a church," Bullard concurred. "A lot of people say, 'I'm not going in there. I've never been there, so why should I go now?' We want to show them why they need to be there."
___Glaesman's also planning his first Internet wedding, requested by two members of his cyber-congregation. "We're still working on that one," he admitted.
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