Reader alert: This is a look at how the church model is changing, so it comes from a distinctly Christian perspective.
By Stan Johnston
“We’ve seen two years of digital transformation in two months,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in April. Many Christian leaders have seen decades of technological change in recent months, thanks to the global pandemic. But we all face the same core challenge – how to adapt while continuing to operate.
Several pastors and friends asked my thoughts about the “next normal” for churches, because I have written extensively on digital transformation over the past 15 years in Silicon Valley communications roles. I cannot address all the issues — including entire volunteer teams with nothing to do – but I believe this will force a thorough reinvention of the local church.
The good news: Rapid change can produce fresh ideas and growth, albeit painful at times. Every organization in my career had to navigate change driven by technology. My first industry, newspapers, refused to adapt until too late. I left in 2000 for enterprise tech companies, including Hewlett Packard and NetApp. That industry thrives on change because it fuels innovation. They must anticipate the future or fall behind. Churches now must do the same.
The stakes are high. This is a battle for future generations. Millennials and Gen Zers are encountering worldwide disruption on a scope few generations have had to face. The coming period of severe economic hardship and despair will force many to their knees. Fortunately, we offer hope — a real God who cares about them, wants to reveal himself, wants to help, and has proven it.
The gospel of Jesus is timeless, but how we communicate it evolves continually.
Emerging generations are digital natives and intuitively use interactive channels, so we must engage them in relationships, not just teacher-student roles. We will reach them by being in conversations they care about with stories of true hope – especially examples of how God has been ever-present in times of trouble, both now and in the Bible. Those stories will prompt them to ask questions and engage in two-way dialogue. That will build connection, with other people and with God.
Few churches planned for this crisis, but we can anticipate many of the challenges and opportunities ahead, adapt, and come out stronger. The biggest issues I see:
Expectations
When watching Sunday services online, many people anticipated the same experience they had in their building. That is difficult when watching at home in your pajamas. So managing expectations has become an important part of navigating through this. When people do attend on-site again, they will find limited seating, with strict cleaning guidelines via local codes that will change frequently. As a result, group video chats will replace many target ministries, such as youth and women. The leaders of those teams will need training on how to do that effectively. Start now.
Audience
Many older and younger people will never return to your physical facility except for key events, either out of fear or convenience. Engagement will shift to virtual and social formats, which will require staff restructuring and training. Look for transferable skills; for example, ushers with a heart for hospitality can be taught to monitor social media. In the coming years of hardship, the draw for hurting people will not be your praise band or 4K video. They will be seeking the Lord – for help, hope, and peace.
In hard times, nothing trumps secularism like a real God.
Message
In the post-virus economic depression to come, people will not attend church for enlightenment or personal growth; they will be crying out with desperate hearts for a real God to save their families. Long expository teaching will be supplanted by stories of hope amplified in social conversations. Our most important tool for evangelism is still the message of Jesus, not the platform we use to communicate. In hard times, nothing trumps secularism like a real God.
Partnerships
Most corporations figured out long ago that nobody makes it alone in the digital era. Churches, governments and businesses must work together, or the needs of people will overwhelm us all. The most immediate challenge we must solve together is our growing Digital Divide. Our education systems are facing the same issues: For someone to attend, they need internet access, a device and training, plus a quiet place where they can focus. Many Smart City initiatives are years behind. Churches can help make this shift by partnering with local schools, agencies, service providers and tech vendors to transform communities. Think of it as your virtual bus program.
Platforms
Large campuses with arena seating, open areas, and buffet lines may never return. Micro churches connected virtually will sprout — home groups on steroids, with the sanctuary increasingly feeling like a live-audience broadcast studio. The danger will be over-rotating, with churches pouring everything into technology while making people a low priority.
Worship
Music will look and feel different for some time. We have enjoyed an extended period of inspired worship that has been poetic and emotionally powerful. However, the coming move of God, especially in Millennials, will be driven by a desperate need for tangible help in the aftermath of COVID-19. Large conferences will be slow to return, so gatherings will be much smaller, streaming audiences will be bigger, prayer will grow in importance, and Sunday worship will become less experiential. Going forward, people will have to experience the presence of God through small-group settings and personal worship, which we will embrace because the Holy Spirit will show up. It also will spawn lyrics that teach essential truths in song.
Social Media
Digital disciples will gravitate toward interactive, transmedia storytelling because it will be familiar from their new hybrid education system. Amplifying those stories on social media will be a major challenge – and opportunity – for the church. Streaming and archiving services will be important. But building relationships through social media will bring the most value, for both the church and hurting people.
To be effective in social media, the church must:
- Be in the right conversations – Engage in topical conversations while they are trending, with stories of hope.
- With the right voices – Use the most appropriate and approachable people to engage in those conversations.
- And the right content – Plan chapters of a consistent story line you feel matters most to your people and tell it across all your media channels.
- At the right time – Discuss the Resurrection in early spring, not on July 4 weekend.
The greatest transformation is still a heart that encounters God.
Just remember social media is a toolkit, not our objective. Many organizations get so wrapped up in platforms they do not think about the audience or what to say. The result: multiple irrelevant, mediocre, and disjointed messages told many places. We can never lose sight of our core message – a unique and compelling story of hope found only in God. The greatest transformation is still a heart that encounters him.
My biggest caution: A hidden cost of digital transformation is depression and burnout among those who must implement organizational change. In the war for hearts, we cannot leave our own wounded on the battlefield. Churches already are laying off staff while beefing up tech crews and sidelining large portions of their volunteer teams – from ushers and parking attendants to children’s workers and cafe staff. Helping your own people through this change should be your leadership’s top priority.
A hidden cost of digital transformation is depression and burnout among those who must implement organizational change.
Beyond that, run in such a way as to win the prize. The Lord has always enabled his church to reach future generations, so this should be our prayer:
“Even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.” (Psalm 71:18, ESV)
— May 2020
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