While the message of the gospel does not change from generation to generation, we are responsible to adapt the means by which we share it. We, like Paul, aim to “become all things to all people” so that we might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22 NIV).
In this modern era, your church can impact people through an online presence. Gone are the days when a church being online simply meant maintaining a website. As ministry leaders have worked to adapt over the past decades, there have been all kinds of challenges. For example, the struggle to find a way to connect people to church online, the struggle to connect people who attend online church to also find in-person community, and the struggle to find ways to use content to extend the church experience. The conversation continues.
It can be valuable for every church, no matter how big or how small, to engage in this conversation. Consider adding this agenda item to your next leadership team meeting or board meeting: What will we do about online church?
As you discuss, here are five goals for the conversation.
1. Understand the changing rhythms of church.
Whether we are prepared for it or not, the rhythm of life in church has changed significantly over the past two decades. With so much at our fingertips, and so much more available, Sundays are no longer the priority they used to be. Strategies for online church must address the changing rhythms you are experiencing in your churches.
2. Redefine what “sitting in a pew” means for your church.
The most basic metric the Church has had over the past several centuries has been the pew: how many people sit in seats on Sunday (or whatever day you have services). With the changing rhythms of church, the pew itself needs to be redefined. Our strategies must go beyond simply being online and move toward redefining engagement (and how we measure it).
3. Move beyond content and into community.
There is a race to the bottom on the internet to be the baseline of information—the default search engine for knowledge. What happens, though, when knowledge is not enough? Many secular companies are shifting to build community around their online presence. But has the Church moved with them? Online church is about people, not just content. Our strategies must drive people to community—in person or online.
4. Figure out what you want to accomplish online, and do that.
In the halcyon days of the World Wide Web and the Wild West that was the Dot-Com era, there was a real Field of Dreams “if you build it they will come” attitude toward the internet. And it worked. Many companies built a presence online because they wanted to beat someone there. Now everyone is online, so simply being there is not enough. Any online strategy should be tied to a purpose or goal and be built to achieve that.
5. Recognize that now is the time.
When you look at a graph of the population growth of the world over time, the “population” line flows slowly across the years until, in the last 100 years, it swells and then dramatically spikes. The sheer scale of the modern global population can be mind-boggling. There has never been a more necessary time to explore church online. There have never been so many people who need us to figure it out.
Let’s journey together.
You don’t need to do ministry alone. You can find opportunities to connect, plus more content and conversations about church administration, at XP Summit: xpsummit.org.
