The local ministerial association is going global via a new high-tech ministry tool being promoted by California Southern Baptist pastor Rick Warren.
There is nothing new about pastors and other ministers gathering in various settings to swap ideas, interact and learn from and help each other. Warren and his wife, Kay, hope to replicate that kind of community in cyberspace with a new Internet site named www.pastors.com.
Warren, pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church, Lake Forest, Calif., said he and his wife have been praying about how to use royalties from his book “The Purpose-Driven Church,” which has sold a million copies in 14 languages.
They decided to use the money to build a Web site to provide free electronic mail and other Internet services to pastors and church leaders everywhere, he said.
“God blessed us through the publication of ‘The Purpose-Driven Church’ book,” Warren said, “and we felt compelled to give back to the pastors I dedicated the book to.”
Among features is free e-mail for church leaders. Ministers can receive e-mail by their name “@pastors.com.” The address doesn’t change when a pastor moves to another state and can be used from anywhere. E-mail can also be encrypted for use by missionaries serving in areas where security is a concern.
Pastors.com also offers clergy chat rooms and bulletin boards, placement notices and a daily devotional. Soon it will offer a church-to-church auction like the popular E-Bay, news and information and on-line stewardship consulting, Warren said. (ABP)
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