Online Ministry Presentation

Almost six months ago, how we did church programing was sent on a rather rough detour. And we started to hear phrases like physical distancing, and new normal. But what started out as four weeks, turned into eights weeks and now we are approaching the six month mark.

But it hasn’t really been a detour…

It has been a bridge to a new normal.

With a detour maybe you come on a road construction sign that says road close, you can’t go any further on that road. So you have to pull off the main road and find this zig zaggy path that eventually places you back on the road just past the construction. And for a lot of people, the thinking was this is just a detour we are just pausing and we’re stuck here for a bit until the road clears. And one day, hopefully soon everything will go back to normal. Let’s hold our breath until we can get back in our buildings. But this detour has become an opportunity to explore what the church really is, how it functions, and why we do what we do.

just pausing and we’re stuck here for a bit until the road clears. And one day, hopefully soon everything will go back to normal. Let’s hold our breath until we can get back in our buildings. But this detour has become an opportunity to explore what the church really is, how it functions, and why we do what we do.

So what does this mean for us? It means regardless of what happens in the next one or two years, hosting services online will continue. I was chatting with another pastor in Manitoba where restrictions have relaxed. They are opening up their building for Sunday services but they also recognized that they can’t stop church online also. We aren’t giving up on the folks who are engaging online. We aren’t going to stop meeting like this once this is over. What started as a detour has become a bridge, not just for how we do our services but how we express ourselves as the church in the world. And the Sunday service going online isn't the only way we have been engaging with people online. We are learning as we go.

When you think about the internet, it is still a fairly young thing in the history of humanity. And without a doubt the internet, along with social media is probably the biggest communication shift since the 1440 and the advent of the printing press.

So how does this online thing look?

This is where everything begins and from where all things flow. Jesus said to “go and make disciples of all nations” - giving us the mandate as you go along, make disciples

In 2005, just 5% of North American adults were using at least one social platform like, Facebook, twitter, Instagram and the like . By 2011, that rate had risen to 50%. And now? Pre-pandemic, almost 3 out of every 4 North American adults were using at least one social media site. 80% of those are using it daily.

It is clear the churches need to be online, the question is how?

Looking to Jesus we see that when he communicated the deepest truths of the kingdom he often used worldly ideas accessible to the average person as springboards. Agriculture, baking, economics, to name a few.

The goal is to find the intersections between faith and culture. Where can The Good News of Jesus cross paths with the lived experiences of people? We want to use Jesus as our example and then go and do likewise.

We are going to continue to lift up Jesus and the priority of his word online.

Online media is a ministry. How we approached it before Covid hit was more a way to promote ministry. Now we are using it to do ministry.

An example of this would be two contrasting posts - one that advertises Wednesdays with Craig and Lisa where we talked about loving one another.

Then a post calling people to actually love others through listening.

This is what it looks like to use online tools to do ministry – not just promote ministry.

This one is a no brainer but it needed to be said. People need connection and community, but most people today will check us out online before they ever set foot in the door. Some people are so afraid to come in the building, now think of the opportunities for them to experience a service online, or follow us on social media and build up that comfort level to reach out. I’ve had a number of conversations with individuals who are reengaging online. Two had no church involvement in their histories and one has found their way back into this community.

Again, an obvious comment. We are working hard to build an online team that not only can put together something for our online presence but who also will connect personally with those who reach out online.

This past season Life groups and course where forced to begin meeting online or by phone. It was a challenging time. I lead a course that had 45 people who participated both in a zoom class and on their own. I had personal conversations with many of the participants about the material and some significant friendships were formed in the eight weeks we had together. We even had two participants join us from Winnipeg.

We are going to keep doing public things like that but we are going to work hard to connect personally.

You may be thinking to yourself, “Online cannot replace in-person gatherings.” I totally agree.

One of our biggest priorities is Life Groups. We know that people need human interaction in order to thrive. Followers of Jesus need face to face contacts, 6 feet apart for now to continue growing and maturing in their faith.

Life Groups are non-negotiable if we are going to be the church during this time.

But here’s the thing: What we do in-person can never replace what we do online.

Your week has 168 hours.

For most churches, roughly one of those hours is dedicated to an in-person service, and maybe 2 hours for a LifeGroup, beyond that where you won’t be meeting in-person with your church.

But you can still connect with them online! This is why online ministry and offline ministry will to work together. The mission of our churches is not to host a service, nor is it to post on social media. The mission of our church is to make disciples. That mandate will not change regardless of how or when we meet.