A Little Church A Big Internet

"Exciting things can happen when a people or a church is obedient to God's will," said Kelly St. Germain,

member of Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church and owner of a Christian web design company, www.JesusMedia.us. "Unbelievable things that can be seen, heard, and felt both locally and all across the world.

At least, that's how the 135 members feel at Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Deep Gap, North Carolina. A little church perched high atop windy Wildcat Ridge, Cornerstone has embraced the internet in helping to spread the biblical message of Jesus Christ.

Their website is a compilation of approximately 47 short videos. These videos include testimonials, baptisms, dramas, preaching and, most popular of all, mountain bluegrass and gospel music videos. The videos on the website have been watched nearly 70,000 times since May 2008. "Cornerstone has received emails from people throughout the United States and from all over the world who have watched one or more of the videos.
"All I can say," says St. Germain, "is All Glory to God!"

"I can remember thinking about this time last year that if the Devil can use technology to further his ends, why can't God's people use it to further his."

St. Germain began bringing a small video camera to church and started filming bits and pieces of the singing and the service. With support from his pastor, Eric Proffit, and deacons, St. Germain soon designed a website and started uploading the videos. His first thought was that members, friends and shut-ins of the church would be the only ones to know about and visit the website. But, before he knew it, he started receiving emails and comments from all over the world from fellow Christians who enjoyed the testimonials and the music.

"What this experience has taught me," St. Germain reflects, "is that you can't put limits on God. When he is in something, it knows no bounds."

One email that he received read, "Hi, I would like to thank God for the blessings I have gotten from this website. I get up in the mornings and listen to some of its music and preaching. I usually find myself in tears praising God for his spirit I feel through this site. I feel I can be with God's people anytime of the day, 24/7. What a blessing! But the biggest blessing I've gotten through this site is when I placed a prayer request on the online prayer wall. I asked these people to help me pray for my teenage daughter who was lost and headed down a hard road. I have visited this church but I live an hour away and attend another church. My daughter, who didn't know I even knew about this site, ends up on the alter of this church that very Sunday, giving her heart to Jesus. She went with a friend and I had no idea she was going to be there. Praise God, I love this site and I thank God for it."

It is emails like that which encourages and excites Cornerstone members, according to St. Germain. Jim Watson, a church deacon, explains "This whole project has been an amazing team effort. It shows that with modern technology and the Lord's blessing, a very small group of committed Christians can not only minister to folks in their own area, but also to people on the other side of the earth, hungry to hear the word."

"With the Lord's blessing, members know that the website will continue to grow, said a statement released from the church. St. Germain, for one, is interested in filming and producing videos from other small churches that could be included on the site.

"How exciting it would be to travel up and down the Blue Ridge, from West Virginia down into Georgia, visiting small country churches that have limited resources but who really love the Lord; capturing on video and putting on the internet some of their talented singers and hearing their testimonials. Wow. A website of this magnitude would truly be a source of inspiration for Christians everywhere…not to mention an important historical and religious resource. I think our kids and grandkids would really thank us for doing it," St. Germain said.