MULTITRACKS
DOES STREAMING STILL MATTER? | Kristian Ponsford
A LifeWay Research study conducted last year
surveyed 1,000 pastors and found 41% of them
said they don’t put any portion of their church
service online for people to view. What happens
if, let’s say, a global pandemic ensues forcing
people to stay home rather than gathering
together? You meet people in the ways they
can be met. You bring the church to them!
If you found yourself relating to that 41%, being
thrown into this ‘new normal’ could have been
very stretching, trying and painful for you and
your staff. It’s not an easy task to quickly pivot
and bring entire services into people’s homes,
but it seems many churches did just that. On
Sunday, March 8 th , The Church Online platform
reported users streamed services to more than
4.7 million devices. That’s more than four times
their typical reach before quarantine.
Many church teams worked hard to give their
community members every opportunity to hear
and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as
many times as possible. Streaming services
online does just that. It bridges the gap between
a constantly-in-hand phone and its owner’s
heart to your church and its message.
So now, more than six months from when
this all started, some are yet to embrace
the moment.
My colleague KJ Perdomo writes, “If it's
important to you you'll find a way, if not, you'll
find an excuse. This time should be important
to us. How we share the message of hope,
peace and redemption Jesus has to offer
should be important to us. As humans, I think
we often package up insecurities and doubt
in valid excuses and allow ourselves to forego
what's best for us and others around us for
what’s easiest. Please don’t take the easy road,
take the best road.”
So why are some still reluctant to engage with
online church?
“WE DON’T NEED TO STREAM SINCE THE POPULAR
CHURCHES ARE DOING IT.”
Your voice has never been more important for
your community than it is right now. In a time
when our news outlets are full of fear and anxiety
and of confusion, we have a message of hope
of a God that loves us - and that message has
never been more important than it is right now.
People online are listening to hear what your
church community has to say. Avoid the
temptation to think that you don't have to
stream because the big churches with the big
budgets and the big gear are doing it so well.
Believe that your community and your people
need your voice at this time because they do.
People in your community need to hear your
church’s message. When quarantine has lifted,
where will people around you go? Not to a
church miles away. They’ll want to go to yours.
“QUARANTINE MIGHT BE OVER SOON. WHY START
NOW FOR SOMETHING ABOUT TO END?”
This pandemic was an extremely rare time in
which humans across the globe underwent a
shared, collective experience. It very well may
end soon, but people’s struggles in life won’t.
Everyone will always have a problem and
36 August 2020
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