As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Read the series.
Online ministry efforts have doubtless expanded exponentially since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It expedited my own plans for engaging in online ministry—and I am sure it did the same for many others.
“Although Millennials (and, emerging behind them, Gen Z) are known for declines in religiosity, data show that, since 2019, the percentage of Millennials reporting weekly church attendance has increased from 21 percent to 39 percent.” - Barna
“ ‘Digital Religion Among U.S. and Canadian Millennial Adults,’ recently published in the Review of Religious Research, explores the prevalence of some digital religion practices among 18- to 35-year-old millennials in the U.S. and Canada using data from the 2019 Millennial Trends Survey.” - CPost
I am truly amazed when I consider how blessed we are in our ability to communicate the gospel and Biblical truth in our ministries today.
I am even more astonished when I think about how far the Lord has brought us, personally, in this regard, in just three-and-a-half years with The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.
Of course, in a perfect world, we would have had everything we are doing now all laid out ahead of time—planned, prepared, produced and ready to unveil before we ever stepped into our first ministry assignment.
“Before you invest in your next sound system upgrade, it’s important to understand … how sound waves propagate in an enclosed space, and how the complex interrelationships of direct and reflected sounds are perceived by listeners in the context of music and speech program material.” - C.Leaders
“The new front door to your church is probably your online worship service. For many, the first time they encounter your congregation will be through a video.” - Lifeway
Read Part 1.
“Two weeks to flatten the curve.” If that infamous line from 2020 still makes you grit your teeth, you’re not the only one.
But here’s the real issue that we as church leaders should be focused on: How have our churches and ministries handled the last two years’ worth of unprecedented opportunities?
“Two years into the pandemic, more religious institutions are asking themselves what a hybrid approach can and should look like.” - RNS
“We are not immune to the digital era. If we fight it, we will lose. At the same time, if we act like a leaf tossed into a stream and simply abandon biblical convictions, we will drift from our central purpose.” - Benjamin Windle
“While online worship allows us to truly worship the living God, it ruptures our common sense [input from the five senses] in a way that doesn’t happen with in-person worship …. This is not to deny the real value of online worship… however, it does offer us a way to understand how it differs from in-person worship.” - TGC
Discussion