Online Bible Church originated as a fictional setting in Carson's movie project, Shadow of Sin. In the screenplay, a small town pastor expanded the size of his ministry by building an online church in a virtual setting comparable to Second Life. By streaming his sermons online, the church which had only two hundred walk-in members in the physical world, also had over ten thousand that attended via the internet.
Carson soon desired to transform the idea into a real ministry and get an operational version of OLBC (a non-denominational protestant church with conservative social views) on the internet before the movie made it to the theaters. Due to a delay in funding for the film, that dream has partly come true.
Carson built a yahoo group called Online Bible Church and networked on the internet eventually meeting Rev. William Mazzulla III, who became a moderator of the group. Because of Mazzulla's compatible beliefs, values and dedication to the OLBC idea, Carson made him a co-owner of the yahoo group and head pastor of the ministry. Rev. Mazzulla's co-leadership is providing growth and new directions for what might become a viable church as it partners with other ministries and continues to grow.
OLBC's original mission was to aid the persecuted Church, and to support mission efforts in countries where Christianity is illegal. That it still part of the core mission, however, its mission statement is growing.
OLBC is not in competition with other churches for membership; it is being designed in such a way that it can work with other churches as a resource multiplier, outreach tool and supplemental ministry. Membership is free and open to everyone. However, recruiting efforts will still target people who live in countries where Christianity is illegal or for people living in an environment too hostile for regular attendance a local church.
Carson still hopes for an eventual virtual sanctuary where the avatars of pastors, missionaries, and Christian performing artists can be represented on stage or at the pulpit, and members can move about in the 3-D environment. Carson's original idea also included a labyrinth beneath the sanctuary where virtual underground churches could meet in their own custom environments and where teens could play exciting interactive games that teach Christian principles. There could even be an underground social hangout for Christian teens. Carson has recently thought about locating OLBC's virtual church within the Second Life virtual community.
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