1. Convenience Lowers the Bar of CommitmentCommitment... 2. Convenience Reduces the Power of Presence.... 3. Convenience Creates Spectators Instead of Participants.... 4. Convenience Weakens Accountability.... 5. Convenience Replaces Meaning with Ease. " - Baptist Press
“For the time being, we continue to offer it as a help to those who are legitimately unable to attend church due to illness. However, to ensure it is being used for only that purpose, we put it behind a password.” - Challies
By Brian Richard
For pastors, the last decade has presented a perfect storm of cultural upheaval, societal trends, and accelerated change. Pastors constantly face difficult and pressing questions about how to “do church” in the twenty-first century. Since the internet has fundamentally changed almost every aspect of our lives, many ask, “Why shouldn’t the church change too?”
“Some 17% of U.S. adults regularly attend religious services in person and watch them online or on TV….Roughly three-quarters of this group…say they prefer attending in person” - Pew
“nearly 2 in 5 Protestant churchgoers (39%) say they have watched a livestream service instead of attending a church service in person on more than five occasions over the past year.” - Lifeway
“Two years into the pandemic, more religious institutions are asking themselves what a hybrid approach can and should look like.” - RNS
“While we certainly anticipated that many church members would return to in-person worship attendance after the quarantine, we were not prepared for the magnitude of decline in digital services. And this decline took place regardless of the platform: Facebook, YouTube, and others.” - Rainer
“Studies have shown that most millennials want to view 6 live streams of your church services before deciding to visit your church. That is a huge difference between the way we did church when I first started out in ministry compared to now.” - C.Leaders
“We probably have three times more people participating now than before,’ said Parsley, who in addition to preaching each Sunday hosts a noon devotional on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.” - BPNews
“AGTV not only features both American Gospel films (and will feature future films), but other solid films and series which share the same goal; guarding the gospel and exalting Christ. It’s also a platform for pointing people in the direction of recommended ministries and biblical teaching.” - Challies
