Importantly, behind each of those 16.5 million avatars is a very real person–with real needs, real desires, real fears and real problems. Because there is a certain level of anonymity (each person has a name–not their own), people can be whatever they want, look as they want and behave as they want–often in ways they may not in real life, As you might guess–just as in the real world–with so many people and such diversity comes much that is good… and unfortunately, much that is… well… not so good… and some are just plain bad! But, there is one thing that everyone in SL‚Ñ¢ has in common–they all need Christ! And that makes Second Life¬Æ one of the largest mission fields anywhere in the world! It is for this reason that the Fellowship of the Unashamed Christian Ministry was established–A calling from God to labor in His harvest.

When I first joined about 2 years ago there was very little in the way of Christian venues and–as most familiar with SL know–very much of the not-so-good and even nasty venues for others. The Fellowship now has ~275 active members; Calvary Chapel: SL has ~665 and places like ALM add hundreds more. Calvary is a REAL Church, run by REAL pastors. Calvary holds two services each Sunday and each brings in close to 40 people–often more who can’t get in, as mainland SIMs only support 40 avatars at once.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed Christian Retreat is an entire mainland SIM in Second Life® devoted to providing a clean, wholesome, safe environment for fellowship, recreation and the edification of residents while gently spreading the Gospel of Christ. The Fellowship offers prayer ministries, bible studies, praise ministries and through our ministry partner, Calvary Chapel: Second Life®, Sunday services, Lady’s Fellowship and Christian counseling.

The Fellowship offers much to see and do–alone, or in the fellowship of friends–showcasing some of the best that Second Life¬Æ has to offer. Here you‚Äôll find a prayer lodge; a chapel; a meditation park; a drive-in movie theater with over 45 movies to choose from; a game park with board games and laser tag; a resource center with tons of free stuff; an amusement pier with cool rides; a coffee house to meet friends, or watch KMTV Christian television; an event pavilion with regular, live Praise and Worship; a sandbox for building and messing around; and much more…

All that said, it’s also important to note that the SL Christian community is not without its problems. Ministry here is as difficult as anywhere else and many who start with good intentions later find they can’t stick to it and wind up giving it up. Because of the diversity I mentioned earlier, there is a small amount of division among some in the community, though not as much as I have witnessed in the real world. And most unfortunate, there are even a few “churches” that are run buy people who aren’t, in fact, pastors at all, but claim to be in SL. One must be very careful to discern what is what here–just like in the real world!

If you want to find out more, please take a look at the Fellowship or Calvary Chapel: SL websites – http://www.thefellowship-sl.org and http://www.calvarychapelsl.com – or feel free to contact me directly at jedheckroth@gmail.com

Second Life

It is a fascinating issue.

blessings

Tony

Things to ponder,
-ebrown
(a.k.a. WeirdGuy)

Nice blog. Keep it up!

Those who are accustomed to evangelizing with less interpersonal cybermethods will learn about this in time. If reaching large numbers is what is desired, the ease of use of Second Life makes this more simple within the suited abilities to advertise and post events.