Hybrid churches do 4 things

Bob Whitesel Sept. 28, 2020

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The following is excerpted from a ReclaimedLeader.com interview by Jason Tucker and Jesse Skiffington with Dr. Bob Whitesel, an expert on change in the church.

The pandemic and resultant quarantine have shown church leaders that online worship is going to be more important. And, a fallout from this pandemic is that a fear of viral infections is not going away. At the very least it's going to recur in waves. And churches aren't prepared for that if they emphasize mostly the on-location worship opportunities.

Make worship an encounter, not a performance.

I warn leaders that both the online (and onsite) worship expressions must not be about a "performance." It's an "experience." People should feel that God is right there with them. They should feel they are experiencing God's presence.

So, seek to create an experience with God's presence. Worship should feel as close to him as if you were kissing his feet. I call it "face-to-foot encounters." The Hebrew word for worship means to come close and bow at God's feet as if to kiss them. That denotes a closeness we should be seeking to experience during our worship services, whether they are online or onsite.

Prepare for online worship as much as you do for onsite worship.

I am often struck by how much churches invest their money, talent, facilities and energy into Sunday worship services. I'm also struck with how little preparation, money, people and person-power is spent on the onlineworship expression. And yet, the online worship format has the potential to reach a much bigger audience across the globe and in the church's own home town.

Therefore, it is necessary to record your online worship service in advance to help people feel close to God. If you pre-record it, you can add a graphics, fix things, make the message clearer and eliminate distractions in worship. By doing it beforehand, people can better connect with it.

Emphasize online small groups as much as much as face-to-face groups.

A healthy church needs a healthy online community of small groups. Most churches pay lip-service to small groups and even less regard to online groups. Yet, in my 30+ years of consulting, I repeatedly hear people tell me that they want to be involved in a smaller group in the church, not just the larger gatherings.

Jesus discipled through the format of a small group. In a small group Jesus answered His disciples' questions about theology, history and the future (Matthew 24:1-3), modeled for them healing and how to pray for those in need (Matthew 10:5-10) and rebuked the disciples' willful attitudes and ideas (Luke 16:13).

When I interview people, they usually say they would like to be in a smaller group within the congregation. But they also tell me the biggest drawback is they don't have time. And I say, you don't have an hour? And they often reply, "Hey, it's not an hour. It's three to four hours. Because I've got to find a sitter. I've got to drive there. I've got to chit-chat with people. And then finally we get down to the real spiritual essence of a smaller group."

But with online groups you can sit down at your computer, connect with seven or 10 of your friends and share your heart. And it doesn't require a building. It doesn't require refreshments. It is the essence of a smaller group without all of the time wasters.

Share the Good News through people instead of through programs or only preaching.

Another key area is sharing the Good News. People want to know what Jesus stands for today. They have friends who are sick, possibly dying during pandemics and afterwards. And they want to ask questions about eternity, why bad things happen, etc.

Too often we organize an evangelism program. And it falls flat, because it is not contextualized to the different people with whom we are sharing.

But most of the time, congregants just rely upon the pastor to preach the Good News. Using an agricultural metaphor, we let the preacher be the farmer and we are just hired hands to help with the harvest.

Rather, because online communication means more conversations will be between friends and less between speaker and audience, the online church of the future will equip its congregants to share the basics of their faith.

This interview is excerpted from the eBook Growing the Post-Pandemic Church, available as a free resource from BiblicalLeadership.com.

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Bob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a foresight coach, professor, and award-winning author of 14 books. For over 30 years, he has guided leaders and churches to pivot and engage what’s next. He holds two earned doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary and teaches on leadership foresight, church health, and organizational change. His website is www.ChurchForesight.com. Learn More »

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