THE CALL TO THE NEW ROMAN ROAD

Paul did not ask the empire to rebuild the roads. He learned them. He set his face toward cities connected by stone and dust, and he carried the news that Jesus came to proclaim. When you read the book of Acts, you notice how often geography becomes theology in motion. The Spirit calls. The church prays. Someone goes. There is a harbor, a marketplace, a home, a road. Then a letter follows to water the seed that was planted face-to-face.

The church has always been a community that moves.

Paul alludes to this core gospel pattern in Romans 10:14-15, “How can people believe unless they hear, and how can they hear without someone preaching, and how can anyone preach unless they are sent.” Roads do not save people. They simply make “sent” possible.

This first blog introduces one of my upcoming books, “The New Roman Road,” which will be out in Spring 2026. You can sign up for a pre-release copy on my website.

We begin with one simple conviction. “The digital roads of our time belong in the same category as the Roman roads of Paul’s time, not because pixels are holy, but because people are precious.”

Roads carry people. Roads carry news. The Spirit has a long history of turning common roads into uncommon grace.

Our task is not to rush to tactics, but to settle the ground under our feet.

The Map Beside the Map

Lay an ancient map beside a modern one, and you will feel the echo. Where there were stones and dust, there is fiber and wireless. Where there were physical crossroads, there are online platforms. Where letters traveled by hand, messages arrive in seconds. Where public forums hosted debates, livestreams host prayer and digital communities. Where missionaries walked, digital evangelists carry truth in their pocket.

This move from stones and dust to fiber and wireless is not a clever metaphor. It is a sober inventory of stewardship. It compares ancient roads and modern highways, markets and feeds, letters and messages. It asks a blunt question: Will we show up on the roads where our neighbors actually walk?

We are not replacing presence when a short Scripture reflection lands on a phone at midnight. We are extending it. We are doing what the church has always done with roads. We are simply doing it faster.

Seven Convictions for the Road

Strategy without doctrine is at best a windsock. Doctrine without courage is a museum. Before we touch a camera or an app or an AI assistant, we need convictions that read like a creed and act like a compass.

Here are seven that shape The New Roman Road.

Incarnation is a pattern, not a competitor. John 1:14 reminds us that the Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood. Incarnation does not mean everything must be physical to be faithful. It means we go where people actually live, speak with a human voice, and carry a holy love. That includes living rooms, cafeterias, and digital platforms.
Mission precedes method. Paul said, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). Methods are servants. If a method helps more people hear and believe, we use it. If it distorts the message, we leave it.
Wisdom is the governor. James 1:5 invites us to ask God for wisdom. New roads require discernment. What should we say? Where should we say it? When should we rest? Wisdom keeps zeal from becoming noise.
Truth must stay true in every room. Jesus promised that the truth sets people free (John 8:32). Algorithms do not edit the gospel. Synthetic media does not blur the resurrection. We test claims, cite sources, correct errors, and keep Jesus at the center.
The church is a family before it is a feed. Acts 2:42 describes a community devoted to teaching, fellowship, meals, and prayer. Digital is a doorway and sometimes a table, but never the whole house. We use digital roads to invite people into embodied life with presence, sacraments, and service.
Tools serve people, not the other way around. Bezalel had tools. Paul had couriers. Today we have cameras, apps, and artificial intelligence. When a tool helps people hear, repent, believe, and grow, we keep it. When it steals attention from people, we retire it.
Joy is a discipline. Proverbs 17:22 says that a cheerful heart is good medicine. New roads bring new bloopers. Streams freeze. Captions turn “amen” into “almond.” Fix what you can, laugh, stay kind, and keep preaching Jesus. The almonds will keep you humble.

These convictions do not answer every question. They simply give us sandals and a compass.

The Field is More Open Than You Think

Jesus said in John 4:35, “Open your eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest.” That is still true.

Recent research shows that about three in four adults in the United States say they want to grow spiritually, most believe there is a spiritual dimension to life, and nearly half say they are more open to God today than before the pandemic.1 Many of these same people spend multiple hours every day on digital devices. That is the new Roman road.

Among teens around the world, Barna’s Open Generation study reports that Jesus still matters. Many say he speaks to them in ways that feel personally relevant. 2 Again, most of them live in digital spaces.

The doorway for many first faith conversations is now private and digital. Studies of digital church engagement show that a significant share of churchgoers invite friends to watch online, and for many who do not currently attend church, a private online service is often the only invitation that crosses into meaningful interest. 3

Texting has become the new conversation layer of daily life. Billions of messages are sent every day worldwide. 4 Many people will confess deep hurts in a text message long before they will sit in an office and say the same words out loud.

If the field is open and the foyer is digital, then a theology of the road is not optional. It is urgent

What the Roads Already Carry

Look at what God is already doing on the roads you can open with one tap.

The Bible App family is approaching one billion installs, representing millions of daily interactions with Scripture in places no single missionary could reach in a lifetime.5 The team at BibleProject continues to help people experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus, through videos, classes, podcasts, and reading plans that live where people already spend time. 6

Inside the faith and tech space, leaders are leaning in with a relational posture. The AI and the Church initiatives at Gloo keep repeating a simple conviction: artificial intelligence should support relationships, not replace them. 7 A national survey of 663 church leaders found that 87 percent are for the use of AI in ministry to some degree, and 66 percent are already using tools like ChatGPT, Canva, and Grammarly at least occasionally for sermons, communication, and creative work. 8

Another national State of Church Tech study reports that 90 percent of churches now operate in a hybrid model with both in person and digital ministry, and leaders increasingly see livestreaming, online giving, and church apps as strategically essential for their future. 9

Beyond church walls, the wider AI conversation is accelerating. Analysts estimate that generative AI could add between 2.6 and 4.4 trillion dollars each year in economic value worldwide if work is redeployed wisely. 10 Thoughtful Christian voices are stepping into that conversation, warning that libertarian “anything goes” and technocratic “we know best” ideologies around AI function like rival religions that need to be tested against biblical wisdom. 11

In other words, the roads are built, the traffic is flowing, and serious people are already steering the vehicles.

Answering Honest Worries

Faithful people ask honest questions. That is a feature of the church, not a flaw. In the book I will take more time with these, but here is the big picture.

Digital is not a replacement for embodied community. It is a foyer and sometimes a side table, not the whole house. Paul used letters for reach and homes for formation. We can do the same.
Tools will not replace pastors unless pastors surrender their calling. Keep a human in the loop for anything that sounds like a shepherd. Use tools for drafting, organizing, translating, and listening, then step in with real presence and real prayer.
Yes, AI brings ethical risk. So did the press. So did radio. So did the camera and the smartphone. Responsible leaders build guardrails, policies, and training, not panic.
No, this is not a fad that will simply pass. Specific tools may come and go. Roads remain.

A Short Creed for Teams on the New Road

Here is a starting creed you might consider putting on a wall, or better, in a heart.

Scripture sets the center. Mission sets the pace.
Every digital touch is a person, not a metric.
Keep a human in the loop for anything a shepherd would do.
Disclose when you use tools and protect privacy.
Verify. Correct quickly. Keep Jesus at the center.
Pursue formation, not only reach.
Rest, so that love stays holy.
Laugh at yourself and keep moving.

None of this requires a studio. It requires a shared heart and a willingness to walk the roads that already exist.

Where This Leaves Us

We started by putting two maps side by side, biblical and digital. We named convictions. We looked at the field and noticed that it is more open than many of us assumed. We saw that Scripture is already running on the new roads, that leaders are aligning technology with relationships, and that the wider world is treating AI as a serious force that needs wise guidance.

The headline is simple. God uses roads. The message does not change. The methods can change without apology. Technology is not the mission. It is the road the mission rides.

In the coming chapters of The New Roman Road, we will talk about practical playbooks for pastors and teams, ethical frameworks for AI in ministry, and real stories from churches that are learning to live sent in a digital age.

For now, lift your eyes, like Jesus invited. Look at the fields. Look at the roads. Then ask the Spirit a very old question in a very new moment.

Where are you sending us next.

Endnotes

Barna Group, “Rising Spiritual Openness in America: Three in Four U S Adults Say They Want to Grow Spiritually,” online summary of national findings.
Barna Group, The Open Generation findings within the rising spiritual openness project, reporting that teens say Jesus matters and speaks to them in relevant ways.
Barna Group, “Digital Church and the Invitations that Work,” findings on private online services as a significant first step for many who do not currently attend church.
Domo, “Data Never Sleeps 8.0” infographic, 2020, cited in “How Many Text Messages Are Sent Per Day,” DeadZones, updated April 19, 2023.
YouVersion, “An Incredible Milestone Is Coming,” “Billions: Celebrate the Bible” campaign materials, and related blog and video resources describing the Bible App approaching one billion installs.
BibleProject, “About” page and the “One Story That Leads to Jesus” reading plan on YouVersion, which summarize the mission to help people experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus.
Gloo, “AI and the Church Initiative,” 2023 announcements describing the commitment to use AI to support, not replace, relationships in ministry.
Exponential NEXT, State of AI in the Church Survey 2024, national findings that 87 percent of respondents are for the use of AI in ministry to some degree and 66 percent already use AI tools at least occasionally.
Pushpay and Mastercard, State of Church Tech 2024, survey reporting that about 90 percent of churches now offer a hybrid model of ministry and that livestreaming and online giving are viewed as strategically important.
McKinsey Global Institute, The Economic Potential of Generative AI: The Next Productivity Frontier (June 2023), which estimates that generative AI could add between 2.6 and 4.4 trillion dollars of value annually to the global economy.
Johnnie Moore, “The Religion of AI: How Faith Informs the New Age of Intelligence,” Deseret News, April 15, 2025, which argues that libertarian and technocratic ideologies around AI function like secular religions and that religious wisdom must guide the age of intelligence.