The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas takes a unique approach in considering their online campus as one of their multi-site venues. Rather than viewing the online venue a simply a website to stream sermons the goal is to treat viewers not as an audience, but as a congregation. November 2009, they appointed Andrew Conard as Pastor of Resurrection Online so that people who attend virtually have someone who cares for and responds to them.
As you might have guessed, there isn't exactly a seminary course on how to minister one-on-one to people you can't see.
"Right now connection is just via e-mail," Conard explains. "The website has a place where people can sign in and say that they are attending. I simply send a 'hello' e-mail asking how can I be helpful in their journey of faith."
The simple act of asking someone how he can help has produced a number of meaningful interactions and responses. Including interactions like these...
This was my first time attending your Church. I attended online partly because I was too intimidated to attend in person. It looks like a very large Church and I don't know anyone and I am by myself. I figured I would get lost and stick out...I have been looking for a Church home for about a year and truly was about to give up. I felt awful, like God did not want me to come into His home. I stuck out everywhere I went (or so it seemed). 2008 was the worst year of my life and I have been in so much pain (physically and emotionally) but this year, I can feel that I am beginning to heal! I felt like God directed me to your Church. Thank you for being there! I have not felt so encouraged in so very long.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for a fantastic sermon series. I fall into the range of the 18-24 who has fallen away from my church during college. My mother has always been a fantastic faith example to me but she was never able to bring me back. In your last sermon, Adam described how many people my age are making the most important life decisions without a strong faith foundation. In the past year, I've graduated from college and just recently got married. I'm lucky to have a wonderful life partner who also has a strong family faith foundation but we both realize we are not the Christians we should and want to be. Your sermon series has truly motivated me to turn myself around from a backseat Christian to a woman who actively lives out her faith through service.
"Everything we do on the main campus is to build community in non-religious people…knowing, loving and serving God. This is exactly what we want to do online, so all of our discussions center on how to connect and let them know what a Christian community is like," Conard elaborates. This focus on community is specifically about developing what the church calls "micro churches."
"A micro church is a faith community which seeks to worship, grow, give and serve. Micro churches may meet in homes, dormitories, independent living facilities or any location where people can gather to share life together. A micro church has local leadership who is equipped by and held accountable to a traditional congregation," Conard elaborates.
One of the challenges to achieving that goal is simply learning who is out there. Though the analytics report how many people are streaming online (about 1700 in February 2010), they can't tell who is there unless the person opts to sign in. At the moment, only 60% are doing so, and many of those are members of the current congregation who connect online. (Of course, it makes sense that people who are members would be more likely to sign in.)
Church of the Resurrection opted not to go for a "big launch" of the online campus. Instead, they decided on a kaizen approach of continuous updates. "The idea of making changes in iterations allows us see how people respond," shares Conard. "We see how people interact, then invest in what's fruitful.”
Recent updates include coordination with COR's Silver Link Ministry to launch simulcast worship experiences in additional care facilities and the development of curriculum for microchurch leaders.
When you are making your own maps, you get a mix of successes and challenges. For Conard the challenges include mixing audio for broadcast, an unproven micro church model and the never-ending need for web development resources. The successes include growth in worship attendance and the potential for developing micro church faith communities in places where people's lives are already connected. Of course, the biggest successes come in one at a time, like the e-mail received below…
Just as the service was beginning, our son called to tell us that we could watch online. He called at the end of the service and we talked about your church and how much we enjoyed the experience. This was a real blessing for us because we have not been in church with our son for years. It is a strained relationship. We have just recently begun to reconnect with him. Praise God for bringing your church into his life and please pray that his relationship with God, and us, would continue to grow.
