Because I wasn’t able to make it to church this evening for the Frontline service, I decided to log into the Frontline Internet Campus to check out & sample the online version of the weekly Frontline service.

Unfortunately, I missed the worship band at the beginning. But I did catch the majority of Todd Phillips’ message.

I loved how smooth and clear the video stream was. I also appreciated having the presentation slides appearing in real-time next to the video stream. There was even a box to type your notes during the sermon (which you could later copy & paste, or print directly from the application browser).

When the service was over, an online chatroom (dubbed “The Lobby”) became activated, and there were about 20 people chatting on it. My only gripe about the chatroom is that it didn’t seem to foster a variety of discussions. Instead, we were all lumped into the same chat, so it seemed like we had to stick to the topic at hand, rather than raise up new topics or discussions.

All in all, the Frontline Internet Campus is a good option, if you aren’t able to attend the service in person on a given week. However, it’s not a total substitute, since 1) you can’t participate in the worship, or 2) meet actual people you can get to know and hang out with. Fellowship is a big part of the Christian life, and the Internet Campus barely fills that need. But, if all you’re interested in is the sermon, this online application is absolutely incredible. I only wish you could access these full-featured presentations for archived messages (not just the live ones).

If you’d like to check it out for yourself, visit the Frontline Internet Campus on Sunday nights at 5:30 PM EST. Let me know what you think!