Back in February 2019, Mark Milwee thought getting a video camera was a good move for his church. So he and fellow staff member David Phillips went to a Technology in Ministry (TIM) workshop and applied for the grant that came along with it.
“We didn’t know at the time what a dramatic difference that was going to make,” said Milwee, pastor of Mount View Baptist Church, Trinity.
In 2018 and 2019, TIM — a joint partnership between the Center for Congregational Resources at Samford University and TAB Media — offered consulting and a financial grant to churches that could use a technology boost. Mount View was one of six churches in Muscle Shoals Baptist Association and 40 churches statewide that received a grant.
And even though Milwee’s church was excited about it from the beginning, when the COVID-19 crisis happened, he and other staff members realized just how much God had used the grant to prepare them for what was to come.
“When that transpired, we started putting our service on YouTube and Facebook every week,” Milwee said. He also started his own YouTube channel, posting more than 50 teaching videos.
One young man came to Christ this summer after one of the videos he saw touched his heart.
“It was worth it all just for that one,” Milwee said.
But they didn’t stop there. The church, which has a thriving children’s ministry, decided to try something they’d never done before to reach their community — virtual Vacation Bible School. With church member Penny Phillips directing, volunteers prepared packets that families could drive through and pick up and then participate along with others online.
“We averaged 72 who came by and picked up a packet each night,” Milwee said. “We provided a meal for the children and sent a packet home with them that had Bible study and craft material and also something for the rec time.”
All in all, the camera “has been a tremendous blessing to our church,” Milwee said.
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