Covid made us starved for community
From how many people can gather indoors to limits on where we can travel, Covid has changed how society operates. As church leaders many of us scrambled to put our services online with one weeks’ notice. We were forced outside our skillsets and comfort zone into the new reality of church online. A year and a half later the hype of church online has died down, and I think we have come to realize there are many positives to it as well as some things it just doesn’t do as well.
One of the things that online church does not do as well as in-person is the feeling that you get of when coming together physically. It just doesn’t feel the same, but I don’t think it needs to either. Many churches are simply trying to replicate what we do in-person and put that online and I think those churches will become frustrated and eventually stop doing it because that’s not what the internet is designed for. When is the last time you watched an hour-long YouTube or Facebook video? Those platforms were not made for that purpose.
As we start back again in-person service, many people are beginning to realize that what they missed was community. It’s not about the building, it’s about the people. We missed being together with each other. We have been starved of community for the past year and a half. The Future Church will find ways to capitalize on the fact that people want to be together, that people want to be in community.
When I asked people why they come to church I typically get two or three answers. The first is to grow closer to God. The second and third switch depending on who I am talking to. If I’m speaking to a single or marrieds with no kids, the second reason is always to make friends or find community. If I am speaking with parents, it’s normally something about raising their kids to know God, have good morals, or raise them the way they were raised.
If one of the main reasons people come to church is to find community and if the early church gathered together for fellowship according to Acts 2:42, then why do we as churches make no time dedicated towards or at least find creative ways in our services to allow people to meet each other? The way I’ve done church the past 20 to 30 years is a welcome, worship, announcements, sermon, and then maybe a closing song. There is no time built into our services for people to make friends other than if they come early or stay afterwards. What if we found a way to incorporate a time in our services that allowed people to get to know each other a little more? What would that look like?
One thing we are experimenting with at Mosaic is that we have reduced our sermon time to 20 minutes and then after the sermon we have people break up into groups and ask them a set of discussion questions. We think that group has the potential to do two things: Process what they just heard and internalize it and the second thing is that they might get along well with someone in that group and think to themselves they might be friends outside of church. It’s a win-win scenario. Another thing we are trying is to break up into groups after the sermon for prayer. People are more open in these times and some become vulnerable enough to share their personal struggles. This sharing creates a closer bond and maybe deeper and more close friendships.
The future church needs to capitalize on the fact that we have been starved of community for a year and a half. People can get the best preachers from around the world online and on demand 24/7. But what they can’t get online as well is the feeling of being with close friends and community. Let’s find ways to give people the opportunity to experience that, and then once they feel that and make friends they will definitely stay for the message of Jesus.