Suggestions For Planning a Online Worship Service
The present COVID-19 pandemic has left us thinking what church might look like this week or the next. Maybe your council has already chosen to drop your Sunday morning meeting, or maybe you are checking out and wishing for the best. Either way, it is not too new to start thinking about how to prepare a worship gathering or secret manifestations online.
From our experience, here are some suggestions on how to plan a strong online worship event:
1. Stick to making the most of being present together in virtual space.
The great news of the Gospel is Jesus Christ incarnates, Lord with us. The church represents the presence of God in this realm. For Christians, presence is important. But our world is totally virtual: we see TV characters as our friends, we provide support to loved ones through text messages, and we find out what our relationships are up to by reading their Facebook posts. It is solely likely to be truly present in virtual spaces.
2. Communicate!
Your gathering won’t know to show up in a digital space if they think you are gathering at church. Like in all things, communication is key. Decide to interact with your members several times and in a lot of ways.
You also want to have the team managing the service advertising well. Don’t think your leaders automatically have an idea of what to do. Get together, ahead of time, several times, best if using the platform that your service will be on.
3. Select your platform.
Zoom. Skype. BlueJeans. Hangouts. There are plenty of choices to choose from! If you already stream your assistance online, you may choose to use the technology you already have in place. Unless, you may be searching to try something new. Some things to consider: What platforms has your leadership worked with? How simple will it be for your group members to participate in if they have never practiced the platform prior? Where are your colleagues already meeting vortually? Bear in mind that practice is useful and that church members may not want to purchase for a subscription, make an account, or install an app.