Princeton Seminary was the jewel of theological education 200 years ago in the English-speaking world, with an outstanding model of missions that produced many impactful pastors and missionaries. Although Princeton today has lost all semblance of orthodoxy, there is much to be learned from its once-renowned program. In this article, Brooks Buser, President of Radius International, shares.

For years now in conservative circles, viral media is viewed as this sort of “wild child.” Like a Reformed church whose pastor has a kid with full sleeve tattoos and hipster hair, creative innovation and high effort on digital missions is tolerated with eye-rolling disdain. Whether subconscious or intentional, far too many people think of digital creativity as nothing more than the methods of false teachers. Some tend to view digital efforts as tolerable so long as they are filled with truth, but not enough of us have embraced digital efforts as essential. Allow me to propose an additional phrase for your vocabulary, your missions strategy, and your budget: digital missions. I would define this as: utilizing digital mediums to creatively and innovatively reach the lost, equip the saints, and support missionaries with gospel truth and sound doctrine.

It’s been a year since COVID-19 first drove churches from their buildings. For many churches, this marked their first foray into online ministry. When it first began, I was serving as the Director of Digital Platforms for Grace to You. And I can’t count how many pastors contacted us asking where to begin. Most had never live-streamed a service before; many didn’t even have a website.

In 1999, my wife and I graduated from college and began working to pay off our student debts, which were substantial. We didn’t have a “missionary call,” but we believed it was important to be rooted and active in our local church, and faithful in reading our Bibles and prayer.