Along with Send The Light (STL) Inc., the Los Angeles-based multimedia company planned to give “webex” presentations to more than 100 Christian publishers during Advance.

The Lights Together platform allows for the formation of “Webchurches,” which will create virtual congregations and allow local church members to connect with one another on the Internet, company officials said.

“The body of Christ is meant to be a community of believers sharing their lives and ministries,” said Good News Holdings Board Chairman George Barna. “Lights Together is the best example I have seen of harnessing the power of technology for relational and transformational ministry.”

STL will be promoting advertising sales for the site. Lights Together was created by Nelson Saba, who also created the best-selling iLumina Bible software for Tyndale House Publishers.

“Most churches could never afford this type of Web-based infrastructure,” said Good News co-founder Thom Black. “By bringing the right ministry partners to Lights Together, STL will allow us to offer this powerful Web experience for free to the local church.” STL Senior Vice President Larry Carpenter added that the new service would be "the MySpace for Christians.”

The ministry partners of Lights Together will be publishers and retailers, who will provide ads on the custom Web sites for each congregation. The publishers and retailers can then target specific products for individuals in each church, Black said.

He anticipated 500 churches would join Lights Together by April 22, and Good News hopes to sign up 10,000 churches in the next 12 months.

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