As you navigate what church looks like during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, something to think about first….. your community is looking to the church for hope and support. They are also craving connection and right now that seems like a tough hill to climb when churches have moved from brick and mortar to a digital platform or online church. It is time for the creativity from our community to kick into overdrive and find ways to keep people connected.
As you work toward a solution to the ‘new normal’ for church there are some some questions you should consider when making decisions of how your online church will look. Questions like:
- Does the live stream have to be live? (11:16)
- How or should we incorporate worship into our live stream? (15:32)
- What is the best way to program a live stream for better engagement? (21:14)
- Bonus: Thoughts on doing Easter during this pandemic. (29:01)
Each of these questions are covered in a conversation between SALT Founder and Visionary, Luke McElroy and Nick Kofahl, Chief Visionary for Summit Integrated Systems. Luke and Nick discussed these questions and more in the following recorded live stream. I have added time stamps to help you navigate topics and hopefully get your answers quickly. In addition, there are many resources (some I have linked below) and some excellent comments, from others in the community, that can be accessed by going to the stream on Facebook, here.
In addition to the video below, our friend and SALT leader Jay Kranda, the online pastor for Saddleback Church had some great things to share about online church in this SALT19 interview. Jay talks about how developing an online church and using the digital platform can help engage a person and move them from watching from their home to visiting your physical church.
Lastly, our team and our SALT leaders want to encourage you as you navigate unfamiliar territory but we also want you to take time to just breathe. We have heard from many of you that you are overworked and just tired and as Luke has shared “it isn’t in our doing, it is in our being that God delights in.” So take some time to just breathe and just BE in the presence of God. Our SALT team is available for any questions that you may have. Please don’t hesitate to reach out.
