Mission
The "Get Every Church Connected" Global Lectureship is designed to demonstrate and educate the members and the leaders of the churches of Christ about the importance and methods of using technology to reach lost souls with the gospel of Christ, edify the saints, and minister to people.
Vision
The Church of Christ Broadcast Network - COCBN has developed and assembled technology and methods to broadcast local churches to the world. For the first time in history, all churches of Christ have the potential to reach lost souls in all corners of the earth while providing ministries in their local communities.
Even for people who do not have access to technology, they are now even closer to the gospel as those saints who do have access can be given a wealth of information to minister to lost souls.
Mark 16:15 states, "He said to them, 'Go into all the world. Preach the good news to everyone.'"
This command, given to the eleven apostles, is the charge to all Christians. With the awesome gift of technology, local churches can minister to entire communities. By providing ministry resources, local congregations are the front line in a war to win souls to Christ. Streaming media technology has the potential to be a bridge to those in need and the churches who are here to serve them.
In 2011, church of Christ Congregations will broadcast sermons from all over the world via the Internet. For the first time ever, people all over the world will be able to join in and hear the good news of Christ in many languages by preachers of all races and nationalities. This demonstration of unity will prove that Satan has not won the world, that the church of Jesus Christ is as alive as Christ Himself who gave us this charge.
The Church of Christ Broadcast Network - COCBN was founded by brother in Christ, Hammond Burke. In 2003, Bro. Burke was watching the Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) and observed the style of broadcast TBN offered. Productions were high quality, every form of broadcasting was being used, and the preachers of TBN were reaching millions of people at a time. Burke wondered why the church found in scripture was not using this awesome technology to reach the lost.
As a member of the Mountain View Church of Christ in Dallas, TX, Burke was inspired by Minister J. K. Hamilton to help develop technology at this congregation. While serving as Mountain View's Minister of Technology under the guidance of Bro. Hamilton and the congregation's leadership, Burke established the Church of Christ Broadcast Network - COCBN to assist Mountain View (the first to stream through COCBN) and other congregations in building technology ministries and developing methods of video streaming.
Burke was further inspired by the late Johnnie Wilder, Jr. in 2004 when Bro. Wilder asked Burke to build the first 100% acappella online radio broadcast wVusic105am.com. Developing this broadcast was the fuel needed to push COCBN ahead. With the assistance of the Wilder family, that effort still lives on today.
Over the years, COCBN has provided technology for various congregations and church of Christ ministries. COCBN also provided website development and video production services for churches, as well as, acappella ministries such as Terri Mays, D' Paul Williams, Committed, and the Melo-D-Heirs who were all awesome humble supporters. In the beginning, there seemed to be too many obstacles for COCBN to succeed. Video streaming, the backbone of COCBN efforts, required more technology than existed in order to become a prominent feature in the church. Leaders of congregations found it difficult to understand the potential this technology had. Finally, the lack of funding and support almost broke the back of this effort.
As Burke contemplated shutting down COCBN, he made a call to his business administrator, the late Jaime Garrison to inform her of the plan to shut down. She in turn contacted her business partner and gospel songstress Tiffany Malone. Sister Malone reminded Burke that this ministry "was not his to shut down" and that God can do anything. This show of support and encouragement was a turning point for the ministry. The effort to build this technology continued and several years later in 2010, the technology was finally ready.
God brought everything into place including the widespread availability of broadband Internet, social networking such as Facebook, and a cluster of ministers and church leaders who sought the use of streaming technology for their ministries. As COCBN continued to develop streaming media technology, it has now come to a point where it is even possible to broadcast from every part of the globe the one gospel of Christ.
Churches of Christ such as Central Pointe Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas (Burke's home congregation); North Peoria Church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Ferguson Heights Church of Christ in Ferguson Heights, Missouri, are some of the congregations utilizing COCBN technology. Other churches of Christ, including congregations in countries such as India, Kenya, Ghana, the Philippines, and various states in the U. S. are now being prepared with COCBN technology to become a part of the "Get Every Church Connected" Global Lectureship.
By the grace of God, this story is the beginning with the end being the return of Christ. Amen!
