The Terrain Ahead
“Families are more media savvy than the congregation’s resources.” Rev. Kate Zywicki, Calvary Lutheran, Clarkston, Michigan
“Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho and the LORD showed him the whole land...” Deuteronomy 34:1 [NRSV]
Moses saw the whole land because the LORD showed it to him. There have been times when church leaders have longed for God to show us the whole land ahead of us. If only we knew what terrain lay ahead, we would know what is needed to navigate that landscape. [See Tod Bolsinger Canoeing the Mountains, InterVarsity Press, 2018, for an excellent presentation of this metaphor for congregational leadership.] We asked leaders to share their view of the terrain that lies ahead for congregations. Not one of them has the vision of God, only the humility to ask God for guidance to navigate what lies ahead. After the LORD showed Moses the whole land, the LORD said, “I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” [Deuteronomy 34:4] Then Moses died and Joshua led the people on the next part of their journey.
The next phase of the journey for congregations continuing with online worship will take different paths depending on where the congregations feel led to go and why they are going there. The focus of our questions asked specifically about how online worship reaches people who are new to the congregation and what the experiences of those newcomers have been that move them into becoming part of the community. The repeated challenge of this focus was to identify the people who are new. Pastor Scott Suskovic of Christ Lutheran in Charlotte, North Carolina, commented that people may be participating online for six months before they tell anyone from the congregation that they are there. If your congregation expects to continue with online worship, you will likely encounter the following questions.
How do newcomers access worship and classes? Each platform (YouTube, Facebook, Zoom, Church Online, etc.) has its own benefits and drawbacks. Safety of participants from inappropriate content shared by other participants is a real concern for congregations. However, that risk management concern for safety needs to be balanced with a way for newcomers to access worship and classes. If every worship link and invitation to a class is shared exclusively in an email or text sent to the congregation’s current members, newcomers will never be able to access those links. Christ Lutheran in Charlotte, North Carolina, makes links to its worship services and classes easy to locate on its website. Those services can also be found on the congregation’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. The chats (on both YouTube and Facebook) during worship are monitored by a paid staff member. Zoom is used for classes where additional levels of interaction among the participants is encouraged. The leader of the class or an assigned host has the ability to quickly address inappropriate content. Planning that newcomers will be well-intentioned, but having people assigned to address concerns in real time may be the “wise as serpents, gentle as doves” [Matthew 10:16] approach that congregations need to take.
Who are the newcomers participating in online worship? This feels like the most difficult question to answer. The most effective way to know who is participating is if the participant provides their own name and contact information. Although this will be the most accurate information, new participants are unlikely to share that information during a first or second experience with a congregation online. Leaders can’t change that. Leaders can continue to invite participants to share that information. A chat feature allows someone to share their name when they comment. Unless the host recognizes that as a name they have not seen before, the host is unlikely to follow up publicly or in a private chat to ask if someone is new.
St. Mark Lutheran in West Des Moines, Iowa, uses Church Online. This platform allows for a landing page that captures additional information about the participant (beyond the general geographic analytics available from Facebook and YouTube.) It also allows the host to post a “Next Steps” card that functions like an attendance record on which participants can note their name, contact information, make a prayer request, and post additional comments. Information from “Next Steps” cards is routed to appropriate staff so that follow up can be made with newcomers. The majority of the newcomers we spoke with said they were referred to the congregation’s online worship service by someone they knew.
Another effective way to identify newcomers is to ask current members to invite friends, co-workers, family members and other acquaintances to participate online. Then ask the current member who did the inviting to follow up with the person within 24 hours of the worship service. An authentic conversation about their experience can lead to the question (by the current member), “may I give your name and email address (or mailing address or phone number) to the church office so you can receive regular information about what is happening in the congregation?” The current member might also offer to introduce the newcomer to a pastor or other staff member.
What other social media experiences do people have? “Families are more media savvy than the congregation’s resources.” Their experiences with social media are not exclusive to your congregation. Pastor Kate Zywicki of Calvary Lutheran in Clarkson, Michigan, recognizes that the church has to make changes in the ways it communicates. The social media presence of the congregation is more than simply having a website and a Facebook page. If information is not updated to what is accurate (such as worship times or links to online worship) or if the most recent Facebook post is about an event that happened months ago, people will not continue to look there for information. “The changes in media communications are not happening fast enough. Communications is a whole job in and of itself for the congregation. Families are more media savvy than the congregation’s resources.” Pastor Bob Bekkerus of St. Mark Lutheran in West Des Moines, Iowa, noted, “the church isn’t comparing itself only to other churches. We are on the platforms that other people are on. Our social media gets compared to airlines, or the school, or the baseball team.”
What skills do current staff need to develop? Whatever their proficiency level in January 2020, many church leaders gained more experience with a variety of technical streaming platforms during the next eighteen months. “The future just got sped up,” said Pastor Bob Hegdal of Calvary Lutheran in Clarkston, Michigan. In response to the question, where do you see yourself still needing to go, he replied, “Instagram and Tik Tok are valued by this generation. I want to learn this. As a redevelopment and mission development pastor, my skills need to evolve over time.” Intern Pastor Tim Jacobsen of St. Mark Lutheran in West Des Moines, Iowa, said, “digital church is now the front door to any church.” He has trained St. Mark’s team of hosts. Identifying someone who knows the digital tools well enough to teach them to the people who will use those tools during worship is essential for sustaining online ministry.
What skill sets are needed to support the congregation’s online ministry? Pastor Jill Seagle of St. Thomas/Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in St. Louis, Missouri, sees the dramatic shift in congregational needs. The position of administrative assistant has been vacant since November 2020. When the new position was posted in mid-2021, the congregation recognized that hiring someone who is skilled at managing the website, monitoring the worship livestream, and facilitating the chat (on Facebook during worship) addresses needs for the ministry terrain ahead. St. Mark Lutheran in West Des Moines, Iowa, asks volunteer hosts to facilitate the chat during worship. These hosts sign-in to the worship service 5-10 minutes before it begins. Denise, a volunteer host at St. Mark uses the chat feature to welcome people to worship. She describes her role as, “helping people feel like someone is noticing them online.” Becky, a volunteer host at St. Mark, was trained for this role during a Zoom call. “This was a great way for me to volunteer safely.” She says, “I follow the verbal cues [during worship] and then post the preloaded messages. It does not require me to be very tech savvy.” The congregation uses a platform called “Church Online.” When someone requests a prayer, “I type, ‘how can I pray for you,’ then I type a prayer for that person. Then I pass the request along to the pastors.” She also helps identify technical glitches in real time. “Sometimes there are streaming issues. Tech people at the church get a text from me saying that the service cut out.” Then the issue can get fixed more quickly. A robust team of people (paid and/or volunteer) who can run the technical side of the online worship experience is also needed for the online ministry to be sustainable.
How can newcomers feel connected to God and the congregation throughout the week? Alexis Williams, Online Minister at Christ Lutheran in Charlotte, North Carolina, keeps the congregation’s social media presence active throughout the week by posting “replays” of songs from worship. As people begin to have more opportunities for in-person interaction, she will invite people who participate online to attend periodic area gatherings at various public locations such as parks, restaurants, or coffee shops. Calvary Lutheran in Clarkston, Michigan, hosts Impact Days of service twice a year. These and other service opportunities give newcomers ways to participate in the life of the congregation beyond worship.
How can newcomers participate in opportunities beyond worship? Pastor Kate Zywicki of Calvary Lutheran in Clarkston, Michigan, observed that she anticipates a need to keep a Zoom class or small group going for faith formation for children and youth (Sunday School.) “Families are very active in sports, dance, teams, and band but can usually drop in for an hour on Zoom.” Pastor Drew Goodson of Christ Lutheran in Charlotte, North Carolina, sees something similar happening with a group of mothers with young children. “Moms in Prayer had been a group of five or six who gathered together on Wednesday nights. Now the group has twelve to fifteen moms participating. They couldn’t drive in Wednesday traffic, but can hop on an 8:00 pm Zoom call from home.” One newcomer asked the pastor at St. Mark in West Des Moines, Iowa, about volunteering. “He gave me the name of the person who manages volunteering, I’d like to do that; they have an announcement tab [visible] during the online worship service – there is a rummage sale coming up.” Inviting newcomers to know about these opportunities will help more newcomers be able to share the experience voiced by Stacy of Calvary Lutheran in Clarkston, Michigan, “Yes, I am part of this faith community. I feel like I can sign up for things in person or online. I feel very welcomed.”
Although we do not have the vision of God to see the whole land to which we are going, we ask for God’s guidance in navigating the terrain that lies ahead. Asking questions about access, identifying who is new, social media experience, skills for current and new staff/volunteers, connection throughout the week, and participation beyond worship will help congregations invite active participation from newcomers who wish to dwell in the land of online worship.
Rev. Kristina Weber, Senior Pastor Trinity Lutheran, Jamestown, North Dakota
Rev. Erik Weber, Senior Pastor St. John’s Lutheran, Jamestown, North Dakota
July 2021