Digital Ecclesiology Round Table Hosted by Aqueduct Project
I had the honor to be on an academic video meeting centered around the topic of Digital Ecclesiology. The conversation included pastors from around the world, church planters, online pastors, theologians, and digital experts. Not everyone agreed on what was and wasn't possible for the church online, which led to a healthy conversation. I geeked out a bit because a few of the participants were authors I have read. I enjoyed the meeting and I believe you will too. Thank you to the Aqueduct Project for putting the meeting & transcript together!
The Logic of #ChurchOnline
God is everywhere. The church is people who follow the God-man Jesus. Wherever a follower of Jesus is so is the church. The Bible supports 1, 2, & 3. You can hold to the best expression argument of #ChurchOnline, but you can't discredit what is possible.
Leaky Funnel
You're trained in seminary and throughout your internship as a pastor never to send people away. A person comes into your doors, and our job is to keep them connected to the church. After that first modem came online, the game changed. People could tune in from anywhere in the world. The online attendee isn't just down the street. Your reachable audience is broader, which means your methodology needs a good old fashion upgrade. Unfortunately, most seminaries are still operating on those AOL CDs.
Here Are Some Graphics To Help Your Church With #CHURCHONLINE
After a few jokes about my graphics, I went ahead to get my visuals designed by the pros at Creativechurch.co. I love how they turned out! Go ahead and use these visuals to move your #ChurchOnline strategy to the next level. Start downloading and emailing your leadership right now! I even give you freedom to slap your name on it. Praying for your church!
Star Wars > Star Trek Because of Belief on Technology
The future isn’t some glamorized place where everything is fixed. The future consists of new things and old things. It’s more like Star Wars than Star Trek. Technology isn't a cure and won't solve your church's problems. You need to have a healthy church to be great online. Focus on understanding what success looks like at your local church. Once you have a grasp of what's happening in the building, expanding online will be easy.
Visualizing Turning an Online Watcher to Attending In-Person Process
Below is the process of how we move an online watcher on Facebook, YouTube, or our Online Campus page into face to face community and the critical platforms and tools to accomplish our vision.
Featured Resources
The same four things, licensed for one reader. If you are buying this for a team, the Church License covers your entire staff and every volunteer for less than the cost of three copies.
What you get:
Online Church Is Not the Answer, the full book as a PDF. 227 pages, 15 chapters, each one ending in a big idea you can put in front of your team.
The complete audiobook in MP3. 5 hours 28 minutes, read by Jay.
A Guide to Digital Goal Setting and Online Ministry Planning, including the team assessment.
The Church AI Policy Template, an editable policy your board can approve. What staff and volunteers can and cannot use AI for, when it has to be disclosed, where the line sits in sermon prep and pastoral care, and how member data gets handled.
Read three chapters. If you do not walk away with at least one thing you can change this season, reply to your receipt and I will refund you. Keep the files either way.
Everything in the Digital Strategy Kit, licensed for your entire staff and every volunteer on your team. No seat counting and no per person pricing. Buy it once, download the files, and send them to everybody.
What you get:
Online Church Is Not the Answer, the full book as a PDF. 227 pages, 15 chapters, each one ending in a big idea you can put in front of your team.
The complete audiobook in MP3. 5 hours 28 minutes, read by Jay.
A Guide to Digital Goal Setting and Online Ministry Planning, including the team assessment.
The Church AI Policy Template, an editable policy your board can approve. What staff and volunteers can and cannot use AI for, when it has to be disclosed, where the line sits in sermon prep and pastoral care, and how member data gets handled.
Read three chapters. If you do not walk away with at least one thing your team can change this season, reply to your receipt and I will refund you. Keep the files either way.
Overview of Book: Digital is a confusing concept, and many churches struggle to understand it, with most limiting their digital experience to streaming their church services and nothing more. In this book, you’ll learn how to think strategically about digital strategy and how to best integrate digital ideas into your church that align with your ministry’s in-person objectives. The goal is to disciple more people and not just get an online audience. Readers of this book will learn to cut through the hype and discern the most critical, high-level concepts and find practical ideas they can implement in their church. You’ll walk away with a vision and a pathway to take your church’s digital strategy to the next level and beyond just streaming a church service.