Creating a Structure for Digital Church
By now you are tired of hearing how much has changed over the last 90 days. I will spare you the grandiose talk of "unprecedented times" and all of that. Churches are beginning to reopen in many states and routes forward are being plotted. In our conversations with churches, we are repeatedly hearing leaders wrestle with how to continue to gain momentum with their virtual ministries while at the same time relaunching their in-person experiences. This won't be easy.
So, where do we start? I am convinced that we need to begin by defining how we are going to do virtual ministry. As we have learned from churches and researched best practices, we have determined that there are 5 models for doing virtual ministry:
- The OldNormal: These are churches who want to get back to the way things were in January. The goal is to have everyone back together in the sanctuary and to move forward from there. These churches will have recorded sermons on their website in an on-demand format, but not much else.
- The SimulService: These churches have the goal of everyone being together, in-person, on Sunday mornings but will live stream their services so that those who are on vacation, sick, or otherwise indisposed on Sunday morning can have a 'second-best' option for attendance.
- The BuildingFeeder: BuildingFeeder churches ultimately want to have everyone together, in-person, on Sunday morning, but recognize that Sunday morning programming that is customized for their web and social channels can be a great front door for potential attenders. They approach their virtual ministries as a campus, and program accordingly.
- The CampusLauncher: This model is less focused on having people together on campus, but still highly values in-person gatherings. The goal of this model is to birth additional campuses, whether they are micro-sites meeting in people's living rooms, or full-service campuses made up of hundreds of people. CampusLaunchers have a more regional approach to their virtual ministries as it ultimately leads to a new physical campus or church plant.
- The DigitalDisciple: This is the most radical model of them all as it seeks to engage and disciple people that they may never physically meet. The DigitalDisciple church seeks to extend its reach beyond its region, desiring to create a fully virtual church that makes disciples across the globe.
Next week we will be sharing what we believe are the 4 key roles that churches need to be successful in their virtual strategy. In the meantime, if you are wrestling through which model best fits your church, we'd love to talk. Click here to find a time that works for both of us.
Also, if you are wrestling through what your online church strategy should look like post COVID, navigate here and download our free resource.
