Five Reasons Why Every Church Should Continue Online Services

Rev. Brad Kirk is an Elder serving as pastor of Kingman United Methodist Church in Kingman, Kansas and a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary. Brad lives with his wife, Diana, his son and daughter, two great danes, his faithful hunting dog, and his wife’s cat. This article is republished from his blog with permission. 

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I do not remember when the COVID-19 Pandemic became real for me, but I certainly recognized its importance when the stay-at-home orders for my area were issued. What was an issue someplace else, in China, then Europe, then the coasts, and finally the larger cities around me, was becoming an issue for me. As a pastor I was thrown into the new reality that the thing that normally defines a church’s schedule, the weekly worship service, was now no longer going to be a possible in the usual sense. Church services had to move online and it needed to happen immediately.

I am blessed and thankful that my congregation, Kingman United Methodist Church, has been live streaming our services for years. I have been here for 2 years and it was already part of the ministry when I arrived. May God bless all pastors who had no idea what to do and quickly pivoted to a new method of ministry. I’m reminded that in every generation the methods change but the message of the Gospel never does.

As we see the states starting to reopen and the stay-at-home orders expire, churches will undoubtedly begin public worship again. I pray your reopening is done with discernment and wisdom. For many pastors the added weight of trying to livestream has been onerous and frustrating. Internet speeds that do not keep up, files that will not upload, or cameras that will not cooperate have all caused us to gain a few gray hairs.

There is a temptation to return to “normal” when we begin public worship again. We will be tempted to put the tripod back in the closet, go back to the pulpit, and forget that this entire chapter ever happened. We must not forget, nor should we try to return to normal. The new normal is different, and as such we should keep live streaming. Here are 5 reasons why your church should keep live streaming your services after this pandemic is gone:

1.    Many members will be nervous to return to worship right away. We all have members who have various reasons they do not want to risk their health, yet they desire to attend your services. If you stop live streaming you cut off your ability to minister to them.

2.    Once you establish online ministry, it is an invaluable way to reach people.  You have made inroads into your community and reached people who have never heard from you before this crisis. I have heard from people out of state that have listened into my sermons. In the past 2 years that I have been live streaming it has been very appreciated when a family can watch a funeral from states away. We have had children’s programs that are some of our most watched videos as families share them. It is powerful outreach. When our members travel they will go out of their way to still watch the service from wherever they are. I never knew the importance and usefulness of live streaming until I did it, but it is well worth it.

3.    We should be proud of our ministry. Paul reminds us in 1 Cor. 1:31 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” I serve a church with around 100 in weekly worship attendance.  It is easy to compare our smaller churches to a large church and their production quality and be discouraged. There is an investment to get a quality livestream, both in time, experience, and money. If you have been doing it on a shoestring budget, look into the cost of buying better cameras, computers, or whatever you may need. A little money can go a long way. Look into getting servants (volunteers) to help. Many systems can be run with a small bit of training. Make live streaming a regular part of your Sunday morning experience.

4.    The future is digital. I have some members without internet who have had challenges watching online, yet most of my members have internet access and the ability to watch. All the trends show that it is likely more and more people will get internet access in the future as it gets cheaper, more reliable, and more accessible. As our members age those who feel comfortable with technology will keep using it.  Our youngest members expect it. Paul states in Philippians 3:8 “More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” We should use every tool at our disposal to share the Good News, including those things that make us uncomfortable and press us into new territory. It is exactly in that new territory we find new places to share the Gospel and we see God’s kingdom grow. As John Wesley wrote in his instructions for singing hymns, “If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing.”

5.    Local ministry is powerful.  Your church people want to hear from their pastor, not another megachurch preacher they have never met. They love you because they know you. Churches have struggled to keep the weekly service attendance with competition from traveling sports teams, grandchildren to visit, professional sports teams, and on and on.  While a livestream video is not the same as meeting physically with the church, why would we want to make it harder for people in our churches to be reached? What ministry you have grown in the past month is important.  Do not cede that ground but grow your roots deeper. If you are not satisfied with it, keep growing it.  God will bless our work if we are faithful to do as he calls us to do.

The future is always uncertain, but our God is always faithful. Our need to livestream and create videos has transitioned many of us from a high-quality terrorist video quality to an effective, helpful ministry tool. I had never made a ministry video before March and now I’m making several a week. Preaching to an empty room is not easy, but hopefully soon we can start to fill the pews again. We all must grow in our gifts and abilities if we are following God. Keep the faith. Stay focused on Jesus. Leave the rest to God.