850 words, three-minute read to understand the concept. Longer to think through.
The following article was first released by Generis in the GENEROSITY NOW resource. This has been adapted with a few clarifiers. To get similar and more free resources from Generis, go here and complete the form.
This is a part of an ongoing series of frameworks to think about concerns to church leaders.
Frameworks help us think about issues so we can have meaningful conversations with our teams about future directions.
A big question coming from clients is: What does the future hold for Online Church?
The following frameworks describe three predominant streams. There will be some space in between these, but here are three ways to look at the issue:
The biggest shifts due to the pandemic are those churches that went from one category to the other, mostly moving down the chart. Whether they will stay in that mode is an open issue.
Some “We Don’t” have allowed for pandemic convenience but will return to their original stance. And if that is your congregation’s convictions, I trust that you are following God’s leading in the matter. There is no shame in holding that conviction.
Some “Permissive Convenience” has moved to Digital Campus. Will they return? It depends on the strength of the Digital Campus and how quickly people join in.
A wave of churches shifted to some version of Permissive Convenience 10 years ago but then went back to “live” because they felt it impacted their volunteer capacities negatively. But now, they are moving back to having digital expressions.
While the streams and buckets here are not all-inclusive, most churches tend towards one of these. It helps to clarify where we think we are and where we are headed.
A digital campus means that all functions or 90% of the church can function via remote means.
This can include phone, email, online courses, and live experiences via telepresence. It can still be life-on-life but mediated, not in a physical way.
The key question: How can one grow and move from outside the faith to grow in faith and towards completeness in faith through these means?
Here is one way to think about filling in the boxes:
The core experiences need a personal expression that also works with a corporate or group expression.
In this protocol, a single individual could experience benefit from an online course but would only maximize that if it includes a group, peer, or facilitator-led experience.
As each era’s technologies have changed, the definitions of true discipleship have changed.
How has the advent of the digital experience changed how your church or faith tradition views discipleship?
Questions for insight and discussion:
Where are we now, and where are we going in this area?
What are the implications for our staffing, budgeting, and execution strategy?
How are we focused on individual faith journeys and congregational faith journeys?
Where will we find resources to do this?
Generis has an Effective Ministry Team that can help with these discussions. Check out Greg Ligon and Dave Ronne at Effectiveministry.com and schedule a time for a conversation. Or connect directly through their email:
Greg.Ligon@generis.com or Dave.Ronne@generis.com
Great Things GOD Has Done Podcast
Catch up on these episodes from the last few months you may have missed on your next car ride of 30 minutes.
Matt Evans – Dalton, GA: https://greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com/p/matt-evans
Scott Wilson – Red Oak, TX : https://greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com/p/scott-wilson
Clay Smith – Sumter, SC: https://greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com/p/clay-smith
Michael Fletcher – Fayetteville, NC : https://greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com/p/michael-fletcher
Tyrone Barnette – Decatur, GA: https://greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com/p/tyrone-barnette
Rich Villodas – Queens, NY: https://greatthingsgodhasdone.substack.com/p/rich-villodas
The Church Leader Insider newsletter is written by Dave Travis and Greg Ligon and appears weekly (mostly) on Wednesdays.