How can the Church embrace the digital age during COVID-19?
COVID-19 has, at the very least, forced churches to think about conducting ministry and mission in the digital space. While I understand some churches are ahead of the curve, my goal in this post is to provide a few ways churches can increasingly step into this new age of digital engagement.
Focus on the weekend gatherings
I think this is a given, however I don’t want to gloss over it. I still think churches need to think strategically and contextually with how they go about streaming their corporate gatherings as well as how they engage people via their online platforms.
There are at least three options churches have when it comes to how they stream their corporate gatherings.
First, churches can stream their in-person gatherings. In other words, all of the music, giving, and teaching moments are geared for an in-person audience, but the church streams it to an online (or on-demand) audience.
Second, churches can stream their gatherings engaging both the in-person and online audience. This might include the pastor/preacher/teacher recognizing the online audience multiple times throughout their message as well as them looking straight into the camera at least 30% of the time to make those connecting online feel as if you are speaking to them.
Third, churches can stream a gathering for just an online audience. With this option, churches create a worship environment designed for an online audience. This naturally lends itself to a church having a shorter song set as well as a shorter message.
Leverage social media
Just because a church has a Facebook account doesn’t mean they are leveraging social media. For many churches, they use social media like a bulletin, solely for information.
But we must not forget there is much ...
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