Staff writer
chriscam@observer-reporter.com
When remnants of Hurricane Ivan flooded the Church of God in Houston in 2004, the Rev. Esther Scott knew the congregation would not recover.
It was the second time the little church on South Main Street had been flooded, and this time it was decided to close the doors.
But Scott knows that wherever God closes one door he opens another. Today, operating from her living room, Scott spreads the Good News to people in faraway places such as Africa, Japan, Russia and the Philippines.
"The world is my pulpit," she said.
Scott uses her computer and her Web site, newbirthministries3@yahoogroups.com, to reach people and tell them about Jesus Christ. Today, she ministers to about 45 people of all faiths.
In 2001 Scott lost a good-paying job with Verizon because she was not computer savvy. Two years later, she purchased a computer with her income tax refund and taught herself how to use it. Not only does she host an online ministry, she regularly puts religious messages on You Tube.
Sometimes the feedback she receives is not kind, but Scott never strikes back. Behind the nastiness she recognizes a deep need for a spiritual connection. Often the questions she is asked tell her how desperately people are seeking God or an understanding of their faith.
Some people e-mail her thanking her for praying for them and hosting the ministry. She used to post the letters on the wall beside her computer but recently took them down fearing they were making her too prideful. Twice before she shut down the Web site when she felt it was becoming argumentative.
Scott doesn't receive compensation for her efforts, though one time someone sent her $100, and another time a woman in Florida mailed her $5. But the work she does is not about money, she said. It's about spreading the gospel.
"There are preachers today who are fleecing the flock and it scares people off," she said. "Jesus is not about money."
A former Marine, Scott lives with her son, Jared, in Houston. She has to vie with him for access to the computer.
But she is sure her online ministry is where God wants her, and while she is grateful that her computer congregants spend time with her, she hopes they will also find a spiritual community where they live and get involved.
Scott once served as associate pastor for Mt. Olive Baptist Church and said the one aspect of her ministry that is lacking is the fellowship with other believers that comes from attending a local church. For that reason she hopes someday to have another church building of her own.
"This is my church for right now," she said.