Author: Ryan Dunn

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Digital ministry is not just for large, urban (or suburban) churches. All churches have a calling to occupy digital space, in a sense. And this is because such a large portion of our population spends significant time in digital space.

But it’s definitely easier for large churches with multi-person staffs to engage in digital ministry. There are peculiar challenges for small churches and rural ministries when it comes to digital ministry. 

Charlotte Elia knows all about these peculiar challenges since she’s been forced to navigate them. And it just so happens that she is our adjunct professor on this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish.

Charlotte Elia is an elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has served congregations as a pastor, educator, and music director. She currently hosts The Heavenly Banquet podcast AND the How We Do Digital Ministry podcast. 

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We’re struggling right now to describe how digital ministry links together with the local, analog church. Are they separate campuses? Does one exist to serve the other? Is the digital ministry a kind of sub-ministry like youth ministry or is it a support system for all ministries?

Methodist Gaming is an online gathering and ministry of presence within the Twitch community and throughout social media. That sounds like a ministry independent of the local church right? Well, the really curious thing about Methodist Gaming is that it’s run by two pastors serving the same church–the senior pastor and an associate. 

There’s a lot we can learn about using digital space to get the local church to think evangelistically and how it can benefit a movement of discipleship in the local parish.

Revs. Adam Sowder and Hannah Bryn are both on the pastoral staff at Discovery UMC in Richmond, VA and utilize the aliases of CircuitRider and DeaconHavoc in their digital ministry: Methodist Gaming.

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Social Listening is one way that we can put our fingers on the pulse of what issues and ideas we can engage with our valuable spiritual perspectives.

Nelson Musonda felt this kind of empty space between the words of the church and the needs of the people. With a background in user experience and digital marketing, he developed Delmethod.com–a really helpful resource for thinking about evangelism and outreach through digital means.

Nelson is our adjunct professor for this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish–your resource and connection for ministry in the digital realm.

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John Wimberly reminds us: work is changing. Church is changing. And it’s changing largely because our culture is shifting towards a digital mindset. 

So what do these cultural shifts in work mean for our work in the church? And how do we align our workflow and staffing decisions to reflect the importance of ministry in the digital realm?

John Wimberly is going to help us answer some of those questions in this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish.

John served congregations for 38 years. John’s quest for continuing personal, spiritual and professional growth led him to complete a PhD in systematic theology and an Executive MBA program. The latter program generated a sense of call to highlight the need for good business practices in the business side of a congregation’s life. He wrote and leads seminars on his highly praised book, The Business of the Church: The Uncomfortable Truth that Faithful Ministry Requires Effective Management. He has also penned “Managing Congregations in a Virtual Age.”

02:55 What’s driving the demand for church staff consulting services?

04:02 How are churches staffing differently?

05:54 Losing the war for Sunday mornings

07:13 From staffing to content

09:00 How do we measure staff effectiveness?

11:07 What’s surprising churches today?

19:27 How does a hybrid model affect work?

24:15 How do we fight Zoom fatigue and get people participating?

27:49 What training should we look for?

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Ryan Panzer has formerly worked at innovative companies like Google and Zendesk, while also staying heavily involved in the church and faith development. He has brought these two spheres together as he pursues a call to build a bridge between tech and church, exploring what it means to do effective ministry in digital culture. ​

In this session, we’re going to explore the digital reformation that is overtaking our culture and, uh, infiltrating our churches. Ryan shares how the church can bridge the analog and the digital. As well as offers some speculation on the church of the future.

Ryan Panzer is also the author of “Grace and Gigabytes” and the upcoming “The Holy and the Hybrid”.

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Technology is scary–even for those of us knee-deep in digital ministry.

Shamika Klassen kept running up against tech anxieties and fears, too. And she saw them as opportunities to offer grace and spiritual nourishment. So she created the Tech Chaplaincy Institute.

Shamika is our adjunct professor on this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish, and she’s going to share her story of becoming a Tech Chaplain while helping us see the ways in which we, too, can utilize conversations around technology to offer grace and raise people up in dignity.