A couple weeks back we shared an article about how to create your own online campus and sparked a conversation on Twitter about the pros and cons of Internet church. It’s the online church debate! Innovate 4 Jesus (I4J) is hosted a conversation about online church. Watch the archived video:
The conversation features:
- Jason Caston, Internet church strategist and developer for The Potter’s House of Dallas and writer of our original online campus article.
- Nils Smith, innovation pastor at Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas, and runs OnlineChurch.com.
- Nate Friedrichsen, the self-described “grumpy naysayer” of the bunch, Nate is the pastor of communications at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Ill.
- Regular I4J host Justin Blaney is out, so our own Kevin D. Hendricks will be hosting.
Quotes:
The conversation covered the how and why of online church, exploring some of the preferences and the very nature of what it means to be the church. Nils even shared about how his online church practices communion together. Here are a few quotes from the conversation:
“The message stays the same, but the method we use to deliver the message continues to evolve.” -Jason Caston
“The key to online church is the community that is happening” -Nils Smith
“75 to 80% of people connect with a church online before they ever step foot through their door.” -Jason Caston
“The church should be in the online space, but our ultimate goal should not be to only have online connections.” -Nate Friedrichsen
More Resources:
- OnlineChurchLeaders.com is a resource both Nils and Jason helped launch that can walk your church through how to do online church.
- Church Online Platform is a free tool from LifeChurch.tv that Jason recommended, especially for smaller churches.
- How to Create Your Own Internet Church Campus by Jason Caston
- How Your Church Can Get an Internet TV Channel by Jason Caston
- How Our Facebook Page Grew to 250,000 Likes by Nils Smith (it’s over 500,000 now)
- Our review of Social Media Guide for Ministry by Nils Smith
- Watch Jason and Nils appear on a previous I4J show, talking new technology along with Rich Birch.
Steve Fogg
October 21, 2014
Hi Kevin,
Can it be like fight club? or WWF?
Seriously would pay to see that!
Is it on demand later for viewing for those of us in other timezones?
thanks
Steve
Nate Friedrichsen
October 21, 2014
Steve,
It will be archived for later viewing.
First rule: You do not talk about Fight Club.
Second rule: You DO NOT talk about Fight Club.
Eric Dye
October 24, 2014
I don’t think anyone has intended that “our ultimate goal” is to have ”only have online connections.”
That sounds like someone who’s being a naysayer for the sake of being a naysayer imho.
Kevin D. Hendricks
October 24, 2014
Hey Eric, did you watch the video? Nils was making the case that online church is enough as is and that it doesn’t require a physical presence. That often happens, but he was saying online is all you need. Nate was arguing that at some point you need to have physical connection–he likened it to Christ being embodied as a physical person.
Just fleshing out the arguments a bit, but I don’t think Nate was being a naysayer for the sake of naysaying. (is that a word? It should be)