Addressing the Difference Between Streaming Services Online and Having an Online Campus
Does your church really have an online campus? Or are you just streaming services online? There is a difference, and understanding it can shape the future of your church. If you’re looking to build interest in physical attendance and participation, streaming your service online is a great way to do so. In fact, when looking for a local church, many people use online services to assist in their decision-making.
However, streaming your services online isn’t enough if you want to build community online. If you wish to host believers who are dedicated to being active participants in your church’s mission and vision, you need a real online campus. Building an online church requires dedication, attention, and intentionality to execute well. The easiest way to accomplish this is to treat your online campus the same way you would a physical one. If you believe your church is ready to build a community that “clicks”, here are a few things you should consider:
Every [Online] Campus Needs a Pastor
Yes, even an online campus needs a pastor. When a multi-site church launches a new campus, it employs a campus pastor whose primary role is to plant the church culture into a new space and multiply it. This isn’t just a management or “overseer” role, and this is where many churches fail when taking their church into the online space.
The pastor of an online campus should partner closely with the senior leaders of the church. They need to cast vision, raise leaders, and build genuine relationships with (and pastor!) the online community (just like any other campus pastor).
Every [Online] Campus Needs a Team
There are many roles and responsibilities to be shared within online church teams. While the worship and the word will likely be sourced from your main campus, everything else falls with the online team. Hosting, A/V production, creative/media, outreach, and small group leadership are all key parts of what make a successful online campus.
It is possible to share these roles within your current teams. However, if you want to see growth and consistency, it’s advisable to grow a team that’s dedicated to the online campus specifically. As current contributors and leaders in our local church across multiple campuses, we’ve experienced the challenge of splitting teams between campuses first-hand. Volunteers are unable to build depth in their space and take real ownership or responsibility for culture-building when split between campuses. When they have the opportunity to be grounded in one campus, they develop a heart for their community and a better understanding of their needs. And that’s exactly what you need to create an intentional and consistent experience for your online campus.
Every [Online] Campus Needs a Culture
Creating an online campus isn’t just a copy-and-paste process. You first need to define how building an online community fits into the mission and vision of your church. The next step is to develop a plan for how you’ll engage with and shepherd this community. A few questions you should ask yourself and your team:
- How do I format our Sunday service experience online?
- What is the experience going to be like before and after the service?
- How do we maintain a connection with those from the online community?
- What do we need to establish as the next steps for online believers? (See “Can You Find God Online” for ideas!)
- How can we take practices such as communion, baptism, and fellowship into the online space?
Answering these questions will begin the process of figuring out what your online campus actually looks like. From there, you can start defining the difference between the physical and online experience of your church. Once you accept that it may not look or feel the same (and rid yourself of “cannibalization” concerns with attendance), you can give your online church an identity that draws real people to the Gospel!
There’s so much more to building an online campus; this is just to help develop a framework for what an online church campus should look like. Before you dive deep into this venture, give it serious thought and prayer. Building an online church is very costly in time, effort, and attention. It’s also extremely rewarding to be entrusted with a community of believers who may not have otherwise found themselves at a physical church. Real transformation and breakthroughs can happen online. It isn’t a second-tier or a backup plan. It’s a digital front door to people God is already drawing in.
Think you’re ready to take the next step in building your online campus? Let us help! Hit the Let’s Talk button!