HT HOME   General Assembly 2009

The 27th General Assembly business sessions were broadcast live, via the Internet, from Orlando, Florida at nazarene.org and nazarenemedialibrary.org.
Technology makes General Assembly a real-time connection point
Orlando, Florida
Sunday, June 28, 2009
General Assembly is always an exciting time for Nazarenes around the world and this year is certainly no different. In addition to the 22,000-plus individuals who made the voyage to Orlando, tens of thousands have watched services online.

Premier Studios confirmed there were over 10,000 online connections to Orlando for Sunday morning's Holy Communion service. Some of these viewers were no doubt alone in their living rooms or offices. Others, however, were among hundreds or more watching the service live from their church. Therefore, there is really no accurate means of counting all viewers, but the number could climb exponentially.

It says something about the importance of an event like General Assembly when so many people from across the earth gather wherever they can to connect with others via the Internet. And it doesn't stop there.

Others have been connecting with old friends and discussing the services on Nazarene-specific Facebook pages. Others created their own General Assembly site. More are Tweeting their Orlando updates and photos through Twitter, or quickly sending text after text back home - or across North Hall A/B. There's also instant messaging and real-time data on BlackBerrys, QWERTY cell phones, smart phones, and iPhones.

Suddenly sitting at a computer and sending an E-mail seems old-fashioned.

Jason Caddy, pastor of the St. Louis Ferguson Church of the Nazarene, said his church has a long-standing tradition of going to General Assembly. But even though they brought 80 members ages 2 through 85 this year, that wasn't enough. Thanks to technology, he could create another tradition by connecting his church at home to Orlando, by having them watch the Sunday morning service's live Internet feed on nazarenemedialibrary.org. This was an idea shared by thousands of others Nazarenes, but with one exception: Caddy used his laptop and a web cam to Skype himself giving a live introduction.
--NCN News

Note: DVDs of worship services can be purchased at www.generalassemblyvideos.com or viewed/downloaded at www.nazarenemedialibrary.org.

 
< back to General Assembly 2009