We’re all missing being with each other right now.
While I’m grateful for the technology that allows me to communicate with friends, co-workers, church members and family, there’s nothing like being able to hug someone, shake their hand or eat a meal in the same room.
It will be glorious when we can do that again.
There’s a lot of talk in church leadership about how the time has come for online church to finally be taken seriously. Especially since it’s all we have right now – and for a lot longer than we expected.
So we need to do online church better. Even when we’re eventually able to meet in our buildings again, we can’t forget or abandon what we’re learning about reaching out digitally.
The Rise Of Online Church
Churches that minister well online will probably continue to see their numbers rise to the point where our online church will remain many times larger than our in-person experience.
We need to be ready for that.
We also need to be ready for a better in-person experience than we’ve ever had, because it will matter more than it ever has.
No, that’s not a contradiction.
The rise of online church, as important as it is, will make the in-person church experience even more precious.
We need to start getting ready now for a better in-person church experience then.
The Rule Of Scarcity
Scarcity creates value.
It’s a basic rule of economics, relationships and life.
When we have a lot of something, the value attached to it goes down. When it’s rare, its value goes up.
This will be true for the flesh-and-blood in-person church experience.
As we reach more people with an online church experience, the value of the in-person experiences of worship, fellowship, ministry, discipleship and evangelism will increase exponentially. Both inside and outside the church building.
Prepare To Offer A Better In-Person Experience
Online church is booming. And it will stay large for the foreseeable future. So we’d better do it well.
But the more we do online church, the more important and valuable it will be to offer a safe, high-quality in-person experience when we’re able to gather again.
Especially when people are justifiably concerned about being in the same room together, we need to meet and exceed their expectations.
Online and in-person both matter. We can’t neglect one for the other.
For more resources on leading a smaller congregation through uncertain times, check out SPARK Online at KarlVaters.com.
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