In Paul’s closing comments of the letter to the church at Colossae, he gives instruction that this letter should be read to the church at Laodicea and the letter from Laodicea also be read at Colossae (Colossians 4:16). Timothy and Titus, two of Paul’s well-known charges, would also receive and distribute Paul’s letters to various congregations. The apostles and early church leaders used pen and paper to more efficiently teach the early church.
Likewise, the creation and maintenance of the Roman road system, a new human development from the Roman Empire, greatly facilitated the spread of the Gospel, not only in speed but also breadth. This Roman system, developed to enhance trade and troop movement in the Empire, was critical to the spread of God’s kingdom after the ascension of Jesus Christ. The apostles and early missionaries also used these roads to enable more efficient mentoring of the new congregations.
Today, our charge, which is stated in Matthew 28:19, is the same as that delivered specifically to the apostles but also more generally to any follower of Christ: spread the Word to the furthest, most remote parts of the globe! During New Testament times, early church leaders and missionaries made good use of two man-made inventions to aid them in accomplishing their task: pen and parchment and the Roman road system. Although these technologies were employed without specific commands to do so—God made use of available tools to accomplish His will.
Today, we have similar inventions created to accomplish secular tasks that we can and do use to spread the Gospel, edify and teach. We employ digital ‘pen & paper’ to quickly and easily create content that is instantaneously distributed and consumed around the world, made possible by the modern equivalent of the Roman road system: the Internet. Just as the early church leaders and missionaries used available tools and resources to be more efficient in teaching the early disciples and congregations, we do the same today.
At WBS, we have developed and deployed many of our resources and tools to take advantage of powerful and efficient technologies:
WBS Library – a digital storehouse of regularly updated materials used to teach and strengthen the brotherhood as well as seekers.
Mathetis – an app that facilitates learning and teaching for individuals and groups.
Ocean Bridge – a modern system replacing collapsing postal systems that converts print to digital, enabling us to more quickly deliver and grade lessons for our international Students.
Recently, we created and launched a new segment of outreach – the WBS Podcasts:
“One More Chapter” – a weekly series exploring the search for wisdom and why the Bible should be the source of wisdom.
“Together in Mission” – a monthly series reporting on WBS efforts and accomplishments around the world.
We continue to research and explore other possibilities to take advantage of these and other technologies. Just as was the case with parchment and roads, God has delivered tools and resources we can and should use to teach the lost about salvation through Jesus!
Our quarterly flagship magazine mailed to your home or church address.
Our bi-monthly email with success stories, evangelism tips and updates.
Multiple podcast series for in-depth Bible study and WBS updates.
