USA (MNN) — In Multiplying Disciples: Social Media and the New Roman Road, author Sammy Tippit of Sammy Tippit Ministries shares how he has used social media to share Jesus with people all over the world.
Reaching the Lost
The book will be released this fall, but the idea has been in the works for a while. Tippit says he first began contemplating how social media could be used to share the good news while working with ministry partners in India and Brazil.
Image courtesy of Sammy Tippit via sammytippitbooks.com
“I worked with these young leaders over there, and they were very social media savvy and technologically savvy. They saw the potential of using innovative technology, along with the great biblical truths, to reach their communities,” he says. “We started doing that in India. I was preaching through Skype to literally 10s of thousands of people. Then we started the Facebook and social media outreach. As we did that, I just saw the incredible potential of doing what God called his people to do.”
Many people have heard the Gospel through social media where they might never have otherwise. A livestream event that Tippit and ministry partners held even reached millions. Tippit hopes other ministry leaders and Christians alike can see the potential that technology has to present Jesus to more and more people.
“We don’t have a large organization at Sammy Tippit ministries, but we were able to use technology to reach people. My heart is to help not only our ministry do this, but I want to see others do this. That’s why I wrote a book. This book really talks about the principles and the strategy that needs to be developed,” Tippit says.
Innovative Inspiration
Tippit also found inspiration for the book through Christians from the past who have used the innovations of their times to further the Gospel.
“One of the things that captured me as I studied Scripture is that the Apostle Paul went from Antioch to the non-Jewish world. He used the Roman road because the Romans develop a very sophisticated road system [that] was the best the world had ever known,” he explains.
“The purpose of that road was for military development, to keep people under [the] control [of] the Roman military, but Paul saw it as a way to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He didn’t say, ‘Oh, this road is for negative purposes, there are prostitutes on the road, robbers, thieves, all these bad people.’ He saw an opportunity and let it transport him to what Jesus had told His disciples to do.”
Beyond the Screens
Image courtesy of dole777 via Unsplash
The church has used everything from the printing press to television to spread the Gospel. However, even with amazing technological innovations, Tippit recognizes that these are tools used for a greater goal than views and likes on a social media page.
“Technology without relationships will never produce multiplying disciples, but in the context of human relationships, it will enable the multiplication,” he says.
Tippit believes that ministry leaders and Christians with personal social media pages alike will benefit from reading his book and learning about the principles he’s absorbed through his own journey. You can preorder the book from his website or your bookseller of choice.
“If a person has a dream of reaching people for Christ, I’m going to provide a way [to] fulfill that dream in this book. It’ll help you to take your resources and what God’s given you and use them for His glory.”
Header image courtesy of Gerd Altmann via Pixabay
