Post-Pandemic Digital Strategies

Mike Bonem — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 06:01:00 +0000

What day did everything change for your church or ministry? March 12, 2020 was the last time I had a face-to-face meeting with a client. Everything moved online after that. For many churches, March 7 or 14 was their last time for regular, in-person, unrestricted worship services. In a matter of days, they switched to online offerings. Then over the following weeks, they purchased equipment and made a variety of adjustments to improve digital quality.

Eleven months later, we face different questions. We don’t know an exact date, but we can foresee the time when it will be safe for people to gather indoors for worship, sitting side-by-side without masks. I don’t know of any church that plans to discontinue their online worship at that point in time. But have you defined your post-pandemic digital strategy?

The specific details for your future online offerings should be dictated by an overall philosophy. Here are three possibilities:

Online as second choice. This philosophy emphasizes that gathering in-person whenever possible is the first choice. Online is seen primarily as an offering for church members who are unable to attend, due to illness, travel, or work schedules. The expectations for quality and the amount of additional programming are lowest with this approach.
Online as the front door. This philosophy also seeks to move people to an on-site experience, but it sees a church’s digital presence as an essential way to reach new people. The assumption is that newcomers will linger in the ease and safety of online before setting foot on campus. Therefore quality online content (worship and more) is needed in addition to the church’s web site and social media presence.
Online as a unique community. This option is based on a belief that a number of people will prefer online over in-person and will choose a church that meets their desire. High quality is also essential in this approach, and the need for additional non-worship content is elevated. Staffing will need to reflect this level of commitment. Churches operating under this model will explore ways to build community and disciple people who are online only.

In the first option, worship may be experienced through the lens of a camera in the back of a sanctuary. The online participant is an invisible presence looking over the shoulders of the people who are on-site. The second option increases production quality with better camera angles or the use of multiple cameras. Just as importantly, active efforts will be made to connect with online worshippers, especially visitors, and invite them to on-site worship and programming. The online worship experience may be very similar In the third option, but the invitation will focus on digital programs such as an online small group or Bible study.

These three philosophies are distinct, but they are not mutually exclusive. Resource requirements – staff, funding, and more – are lowest for the first option, and highest for third one. One is not better than another. But leaders need to be clear about which path they are pursuing and then align programming and resources accordingly. Which digital strategy is right for your church?

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Restart?

Mike — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 11:19:23 +0000

How many times have you heard the word “restart” in the last week? In the last 24 hours? Restarting seems to be on everyone’s mind right now. But I think it’s the wrong word.

Language has power. The words we use shape how we think about our context. Human beings are the only species with the ability to plan for the future, and our choice of words deeply influences those plans.

What meaning does “restart” convey? I think it suggests that we’ll return to the way things were in the past. Few leaders actually believe that our churches and ministries will return to “normal” in the near term. Even though the picture is still unfolding and will vary based on geography and other factors, some sort of gradual reduction in social distancing rules seems inevitable.

So if no one expects us to flip a switch and go back to the way we were, does the word matter? I think it does because of the subtle ways it shapes our thinking. Talking about a restart anchors our expectations around the patterns of the past. We then talk about slight deviations from that norm. For example, the restart mindset implies that we’ll definitely have live worship at 11am on Sunday (the norm) but we might have to limit attendance for a while (the deviation). Or that my Sunday school class will resume its weekly meetings in our familiar location and format (the norm) as soon as we open the building (the deviation).

This kind of thinking limits the creativity and exploration of new opportunities that is possible in the current crisis. What if 11am is not the best time for worship? What if the current Sunday school structure isn’t attractive for visitors or doesn’t help people grow deeper in their faith?

You’re probably wondering what word I propose using instead of “restart,” and I’ve struggled to find a replacement. Words like reinvent, reimagine, renew, and launch all have merit. But perhaps the most helpful step you can take is to name the tensions around the idea of “restarting.” Then engage your leadership team in a conversation about what your new normal should look like. That’s a conversation that you can start today.

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Post-Pandemic Digital Strategies

Restart?