I was wrong.
By now you’ve heard Nicky Gumbel humbly confess how much he learned about the authenticity and effectiveness of online ministry. He led his first online Alpha group in 2020. For the first time in his experience, the group had 100% attendance in their 11-week course. A single mom was able to be at home with her infant AND be in the online Alpha group. The vulnerability level surprised Nicky with how quickly and deeply it developed.
Get This Right
Now that we are gathering physically doesn’t mean we’re off the hook digitally. There are still large segments of our congregation and community who can’t or won’t venture out into public gatherings. We can’t leave those people behind in our desire to get back to whatever we define as normal.
So yes, our weekend online gatherings must provide options to help people take a step towards connection.
Stories From Online
From Pastor Marlo Jenkins, Eaglemont Christian Church, Beaumont
I was emailed by a woman who described herself as “a spiritual seeker.” She had watched Eaglemont’s The Problem of God Sunday series. She said she learned a lot and was online every Sunday for all 10 weeks. She gave an offering online after the course.
Marlo sent a thank you email. She replied by expressing her appreciation of the online option as she would most likely not have engaged with the church if that were not an option. She subsequently attended a 5-week online Christian Foundations Course. Weeks later she attended onsite, committed to following Jesus, signed up to volunteer, and was baptized in water.
From Pastor Chris Grant, Bethel Family Worship Centre, St Paul
We had 20 water baptisms between May 31 and July 18. A worker at the foster home in St Paul, who’d been watching the online services, came onsite to a service. She brought three teenage girls from the home. The woman and the teens all made decisions and were baptized. A 16-year old and his and 13-year old brother, who were raised by drug dealers, discovered our church online. They watched the services and started to attend our youth group. On their first in-person Sunday they asked to get baptized.
From Pastor Dwayne Mitchell, Lakeview Gospel Centre, Bonnyville
We had several people who watched online first before coming in person. They expressed feeling very connected when they attended onsite. During the summer over half of our congregation attended online. One person who participated in the online Sanctuary Course came to Christ and is faithfully attending.
From Meaghan West, Claresholm Pentecostal Assembly
Our church had a Facebook account that wasn't being used regularly. In the past, we'd canvas houses with flyers or put an ad in the newspaper. I started researching how to market our church on Facebook and Instagram through a coach and got to work inviting anyone and everyone I knew to "like" us on Facebook. Guess what? They did! Then, our church started following Facebook pages of small businesses in the town. Everyone is pretty much online so it was a no-brainer to build this base. During the pandemic, most events had to be online which set us up for when COVID started to wane. Now even more of our information and services are streamed from different social media sites.
I started hearing around town that people knew of the Pentecostal Church and our Senior Pastor but weren't sure where our building was located. We promoted an Easter 2021 outreach event online. We prepared family packs of an Easter movie, popcorn, treats, and church info. We reached the community online and sent them to the church to pick up their goodies. Online ministry can be used as a neutral space to bring people right into the church.
From Pastor Mauricio Rabino, Bethel Pentecostal Church, Barrhead
We made use of online using Livestream, YouTube, website broadcast, hosting a pre-service digital lobby, hosting the Alpha course and Sanctuary Course, staff debrief after every Sunday service, small groups, training times, the Annual Business Meeting, and some Board meetings. There was a significant amount of money donated by people who never attended onsite and still attend only online. When restrictions were lifted, we had over 25 newcomers whose first encounter was online. One believer was baptized who came to Christ during our Livestream. We invested in upgraded broadcast equipment, built a sound studio, and will continue to offer groups and services online to reach greater Barrhead.
From Pastor Mark McMillan, Cold Lake Community Church
Online has been a lifeline for ministry this past year. We facilitated small groups and prayer gatherings. We saw consistent, regular giving by our congregation online which sustained us during COVID. Prior to being online, giving was dependent on people being onsite.
Jay is a remote worker that is away two or three weeks of the month. His work schedule has prevented Jay from remaining connected with Cold Lake Community Church in the past until online services and small groups have allowed him to connect better than ever before. He is now able to watch the weekly Livestream and join online small groups when he is at home and when he is working in a camp in Northern Alberta. His physical proximity to the church is no longer a barrier to growing and living in the Christian community. Pastor Mark McMillan says We are grateful for how Covid facilitated a huge growth in our online capabilities facilitating our church’s ability to stay engaged and connected in new and innovative ways.
From Pastor Derek Sheahan, Advance Church, Calgary
We are all in. We have one couple who joined us online. During a lockdown season, I followed them up by dropping off some items at their door. I regularly check in with them. They have not attended in person, yet, but they feel fully a part of Advance Church online.
Bob Jones is the founder of REVwords.com, an author, blogger, and coach with 39 years of pastoral experience. Bob is also an Advance Coach with the ABNWT Resource Centre. You can connect with Bob here.