Online Campus - What We Have Learned
Written by Pastor Kelli Brownlee (APC Online Campus Pastor)
I remember the first weekend in March 2020 when Allison Park Church went ONLINE ONLY for the weekend services. Like the rest of the world, we assumed that our physical locations would only be shut down by Covid-19 for a week or two.
Our production team, an innovative group of people led by our Experiences Director, Brendon Robinson, seemed to be excited about the pivot.
Prior to the pandemic, we had already been streaming most of our services online from our Hampton Campus location, “the mothership”. But, Covid-19 forced us to accept that there was a group of people who might never step foot in a physical church building again, or at the very least, might be some of the last people to return.
Here are a few things we learned:
#1 - Online Church is a great way for new people to check us out.
Over the last twelve to eighteen months, I’ve had conversations with people who found us by searching randomly on Facebook. During the lockdown, they watched multiple churches online and when they finally felt comfortable to attend a church service in person, they most often visited the church(es) they had been previously watching online.
#2 - Online Church can keep your current members connected.
Each week without fail, we get a comment from someone who is plugged into a physical campus but is traveling, sick or working, but didn’t want to miss church. Having an engaging streaming experience helps regular attenders and members feel less disconnected when they’re unable to attend in person.
#3 - Online Church is an easy invite!
Sometimes people are hesitant to try out a new church, especially if they’ve had a previous bad experience. Having an easy way to log in from the comfort of their own home may make them more willing to accept the invitation to attend in person. We’ve had all sorts of people try us out online for a few weeks and then take the leap to attend a campus in person.
#4 - It takes intentional care to move someone from VIEWER to PARTICIPANT to CONNECTED.
At APC, one of our core values is to LIVE CONNECTED. We believe that community is imperative to growing in relationship with God. This can be more difficult to achieve in an online format. To address this challenge, we encourage our viewers to use our chat box on each platform during the service and use our app to connect with us. We then build relationships with our online viewers through weekly emails, monthly online communion services, prayer and invitations to online life groups.
Online church is a concept we’ll probably be wrestling with for years as technology continues to evolve. While it can be challenging to get viewers plugged in, an engaging experience and a consistent rhythm of follow up can help people connect in genuine community with other believers.