When I first enrolled in a web-based Bible study course, I wasn’t expecting it to be life-changing. In fact, I had my doubts. Could digital learning really do justice to something as wealthy and sacred as theology? Would it feel impersonal, detached, or worse – superficial?
And yet, several years and dozens of lectures, essays, and Zoom discussions later, I’ve come to imagine that online learning is the most effective things that’s happened to Christian education in a protracted time.
As a mature learner returning to check after a few years away from formal education, the most important draw for me was flexibility. I’m not a full-time seminarian, and I wasn’t ready to pack up and move to a Bible college or divinity school. But I also didn’t need to remain stagnant in my understanding of Scripture, doctrine, or church history. Online learning let me grow theologically without pressing pause on the remaining of my life – work, family, ministry commitments, and the every day rhythms that don’t stop simply because you wish to study.
It was across the time of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 that I started to lean into this chance more seriously. With normal routines disrupted and life unusually quiet, I discovered myself drawn toward something deeper. That season became a form of unexpected gift – an area wherein online theological study offered not only learning, but spiritual renewal. It helped me turn enforced stillness into purposeful growth.
Of course, it wasn’t nearly convenience. Studying theology online modified the way in which I see learning as a Christian. Instead of considering of theological education as something you pursue for a number of years after which graduate from, I began to see it as a lifelong calling. I could dig into the Early Prophets one semester, take a course on Reformed theology the following, after which audit a category on spiritual formation. It felt less like earning a credential and more like feeding a hunger.
Naturally, it wasn’t at all times smooth. I missed the organic conversations that occur in hallways or after class in a conventional setting. I needed to learn to be more intentional – posting in forums, showing up for live sessions, asking questions in emails. But I discovered that instructors were surprisingly responsive, and the net discussions were often more thoughtful than anything I remembered from my in-person college days.
There’s something profoundly encouraging about joining a discussion thread with Christians from all around the world – some pastors, some students, some curious laypeople – all wrestling with Scripture and doctrine together. It jogged my memory that the Church is way greater than my local congregation, and that theological reflection isn’t the job of execs alone.
I also appreciated how online learning forced me to think deeply by myself. There’s a difference between sitting passively in a lecture and actively engaging with ideas through reading, writing, and reflection. In some ways, it taught me how you can learn again – not only what to think, but how you can think biblically and critically.
Looking back, I can truthfully say that online theological study has helped shape my walk with Christ. It gave me tools to grasp Scripture more clearly, discern doctrine more fastidiously, and serve my church more faithfully. It didn’t replace my devotional life or local church community – it deepened each.
Online learning isn’t perfect. It doesn’t replace the embodied experience of sitting in a classroom or worshiping in a chapel. But it has opened doors for people like me – for people who find themselves hungry to grow but rooted where they’re. In a time when many are rethinking what education and formation appear to be, I feel this model has more to supply the Church than we regularly give it credit for.
If you’re wondering whether it’s price it – whether you’ll really get anything out of learning theology online – my answer is yes. Not simply because it’s possible, but because, when approached with humility and purpose, it will probably be a type of discipleship.
And discipleship, in spite of everything, isn’t sure to a classroom.
Duncan Williams is outreach director for the Christian Free Press and has worked for Son Christian Media here within the UK and Recovery Network Radio within the United States. He is an ordained minister and a long-term member of Christians in Media. He provides content and syndicated news for regional publisher www.inyourarea.co.uk
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