July 24, 2026

Technology is a funny thing. If you think about it, technology doesn’t necessarily come up with brand-new never-before-imagined human experiences. Technology allows a human experience to discover a new mechanism for that experience. For example, people have always wanted to pass messages to one another. For many centuries that was done through written letters and messages that took a significant amount of time to exchange. Now, with the advent of smart phones, we get to pass messages along to at instant speeds. Same human desires with new mechanisms for the experience.

Over the last few weeks we’ve been looking at God’s description of his name, Yahweh, as we see it in Exodus 34:4-7. I’d like to pick that back up with you next week. This week, I’d like to share with you a vision for our church that is developing. I’d like to talk about a delivery method of our sermons at White Oak on some weekends. From time to time, we are using a pre-recorded video sermon of me (Nathan) speaking one message to our entire church. Let me take a few minutes to share with you our vision behind this method.

White Oak Christian Church is a multi-site church. That means we are one church that meets in multiple locations. We believe that this is a great way to steward the resources God has given to us to reach more people with the good news of Jesus in different neighborhoods around our city. With this comes some challenges we must learn to overcome.

As the Lead Pastor, I think it’s crucial to stay connected with our entire church family and for you to hear from me at important places along our journey together including our preaching on the weekends. This sometimes comes at a time when we are opening or closing a sermon series, and I want our entire church family to hear my heart and vision for that series. Or there may be a message that I believe will carry a certain amount of weight for our church in a particular season or on a specific topic. While it is impossible for me to be in two or more places at once, this is the obstacle around which we must navigate. This is where video comes into play.

With video I can speak to all of you at once, we all hear the same thing at the same time, and we have one clear unified vision and voice for where we’re headed as one church. The church has counted biblical teaching as a core part of a worship gathering since the church’s start.

Acts 2:42 says, And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

The need for teaching from Scripture has always been a crucial part of worship, spiritual growth, and the furthering of Jesus’s mission through the Church. Consider the early churches in the New Testament times. Each local church community certainly had its own teachers. But once in a while Paul or another apostle would have something to say that he wanted all the churches to hear… straight from his mouth (or hand). So, he would write a letter and that letter would circulate to many churches and be read out loud to those gathered. Take the book of Galatians, for example. Galatia was a province in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), it wasn’t a city. It’s very likely that Paul’s letter to the Galatians was passed along to many churches within that area. See Galatians 1:1-3.

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead…

To the churches of Galatia:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…

Did you see that? It says, “churches of Galatia.” One preacher. One desire… to have the same words heard by people in many different physical locations. Multi-site isn’t an entirely new concept. It’s ancient. Because of technology, we now have a new mechanism to accomplish some very old and crucial things which are of great value to the Church.

Many of us prefer a LIVE preacher at our campuses each week. I understand that! We also understand the value of unified messaging and consistent vision when it’s shared to all of us at key times throughout the ministry year. I am asking for your open mind and open heart and open ears to hear the words that God has prepared for us (regardless of if they are shared LIVE or via video). Together, we move toward the things God has for us in Jesus!

We are excited and continue to pray for our multi-site efforts here in Greater Cincinnati as we connect people to full life in Jesus! I am humbled and grateful for the opportunities I have to share with all of you what God is up to in and around White Oak.

Thank you so much! -Nathan

Nathan Hinkle

Lead Pastor

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