Digital Worship

Rev. Joshua Patty
Regional Minister and President

Again this month, I have some resources to share from others about successful digital worship as part of your congregation's ministry.

Even as your congregation worships in person, ways to connect and participate in your worship services remain very important. Last month, I stressed that people in your congregation will appreciate opportunities to connect virtually when they cannot join in person.

Here's an educated guess about the future. Over the past decade, it has become common for people to visit church websites and social media to learn about a church before they ever visit in person. Now, I expect that most will participate in online worship and education opportunities before they set foot in your building.

Here's a good article for people who are reluctant to view online worship experiences as actual worship. As the author, Tim Snyder, reminds us, that's a myth. People connecting with God and each other in worship is about engagement, not sharing the same physical space. (This is written by the same author of the practical dos and don'ts of digital worship that I shared last month.) Next week, our New Church Ministry will share a new episode of New Church Hacks, focused on "Hybrid Church: Combining Online and In-Person Communities." (Register here.)

In the past month, I've also come across a slightly different approach to this. The Forum for Theological Education has invited people together in groups over the past 20 years to discern God's call for them. They have adapted of their approach to digital spaces, and they share this in a Guide to Gathering Virtually. They offer good questions for you and other worship leaders to ask as you prepare and lead worship services.

As we keep growing into this new aspect of our shared worship, we need to keep learning and sharing what we learn. Our general church is working to create a Disciples Tech Corp that can share some expertise in these areas. You can see the beginning of this on a new Disciples.tech website (which includes the link to their Facebook group).

If you learn things that you can share, please don't keep them to yourself. Email me (josh@uppermidwestcc.org) so we can share story in this space in Worship Together. You can also email me to invite me to join you in worship . Usually, these visits will be planned weeks in advance, so extend your invitations early. Invitations for non-Sunday morning activities are especially welcome.