Category: Pastoring in the Digital Parish

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Maybe your congregation isn’t all that digital. How does online ministry help them grow? Jay Kranda shares his story of becoming an online pastor and growing the digital ministry of Saddleback Church.

Jay Kranda is the Online Community Pastor at Saddleback Church, overseeing an online community of online groups and homes groups around the globe. Graduate of Biola University and Talbot School of Theology. Jay loves the NBA and cold coffee.

(00:00) Introduction
(04:00) Getting started as a digital minister
(09:10) Learning to be an online pastor
(13:25) Online ministry evolution
(20:32) Multi-state ministry
(25:36) Relationships in digital space
(31:22) Why do we need an online pastor?
(38:15) What kind of training do digital ministers need?

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Has there been a book or two that has informed your practice of digital ministry?  In this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish, we share nine recommended books for digital and online ministry.

Let’s get reading with these books to add to your digital ministry toolkit.

(00:00) Introduction

(01:52) The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay

(03:35) God Can’t by Thomas Oord

(04:45) Master Content Strategy by Pamela Wilsom

(06:06) The Art of Community by Charles Vogl

(07:32) Contagious by Jonah Berger

(08:16) How to Handle a Crowd by Anika Gupta

(09:35) Another Way by Stephen Lewis, Matthew Wesley Williams and Dori Grinenko Baker

(11:03) Viral by Leonard Sweet

(12:52) The Startup Community Way by Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway

See the notes and other recommended reads, PLUS more episodes: www.resourceumc.org/digital-parish

 

 

 

 

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What kind of tech demands are there for digital ministry? How should you staff for it?

Let’s face it. Many of us hear those questions and assume we can’t start in online ministry because resources are a bit too scarce. In this session, we’re chatting with Shane Russo about some resource-saving tips and practices to put into our digital ministry toolkit.

Shane Russo is the curator/creator of the Stained Glass Rebel blog… stainedglassrebel.com. He’s a local pastor of the United Methodist Church, a dad, a husband… and fellow digital ministry pioneer…

Let’s get to talking!

(00:00) Introduction

(08:00) Tools for repurposing content

(10:17) Saving time with AI and ChatGPT

(18:56) Using Canva in digital ministry

(21:57) Go with being cozy

(26:08) Utilizing older tech

(33:58) The mission of digital ministry

(37:54) Engaging the congregation in digital mission

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What does the church have to learn from Amazon? E-commerce might have a bit more to do with digital ministry than we might have previously assumed. So in this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish we’re talking with Jason Caston about what our churches can learn from Amazon, how we can utilize AI tech like Alexa, and some of the ideas and technologies we might consider putting in our digital ministry toolkits as we prepare for the future of the church in the digital age.

Jason Caston is a digital marketing specialist for Amazon. He has over 19 years of experience in web and content development. He’s made the rounds as a speaker and presenter. And Jason is a person of faith, who has written several books about ministry in digital spaces, including “The iChurch Method” and most recently “Digital Connections”.

(00:00) Welcome
(01:56) What the church can learn from Amazon
(06:32) The church and Alexa/Smart Speakers
(08:10) What is an Alexa skill?
(09:52) Ministry consistency across platforms
(12:38) What are metrics to use in digital ministry?
(16:42) Creating a user experience for digital ministry
(22:12) What needs to be on your church’s website
(26:02) Where the church still needs to act in digital ministry
(33:19) Where to contact Jason Caston

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Barbara Caneiro of the Accidental Church Communicator introduces us to the possibilities and opportunities of the metaverse and virtual reality church.

What are other possibilities beyond the virtual church service? This episode is an intro to VR, exploring how virtual reality is changing our world and the ways we relate, as well as exploring a few of the pros and cons of VR church. 

Our adjunct professor for this session is Barabara Carneiro. She’s going to share her story of getting into church, getting started in the metaverse and virtual reality, and getting started in virtual reality church.

Barbara Carneiro is a mentor and a communications director as well as the owner of a branding agency for churches and Christian ministries. She founded The Accidental Church Communicator which can be visited at accidentalchurchcommunicator.com. She’s taking part in leading a church communicators conference in February 2023… and it will be a virtual reality conference.

In this episode about church, virtual reality and the metaverse:

(oo:00) Introduction
(01:56) Why “Accidental Church Communicator”?
(05:01) Church and “marketing”
(06:20) Where to begin in exploring virtual reality and the metaverse
(09:17) Why do a conference in the metaverse or virtual reality?
(13:30) Where do churches or faith communities gather in virtual reality?
(19:14) New ways of gathering in virtual reality
(25:48) New opportunities for churches in the metaverse or virtual reality
(30:07) Changing relationships in digital spaces
(32:00) Virtual reality resources for church leaders
(33:50) Information on Barabara Carneiro

Find more resources for your digital ministry toolkit and other episodes at www.resourceumc.org/digital-parish

Pastoring in the Digital Parish is a production of Resource UMC, your online resource for leaders across the United Methodist connection.

 

 

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Ready to add some time-tested tips to your digital ministry toolkit? Rev. Joe Webb shares the story of New Wineskins–a community of faith that found itself moving into the new wineskin of all-digital ministry when 2020 struck.

As Joe shares New Wineskins’ story of moving into online ministry, we’ll get some clarifying ideas about formulating a digital ministry strategy, a richer perspective for answering questions like “what is digital ministry?”, and some ideas about why congregations or faith communities need digital ministry.

Rev. Joe Webb is an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church and hosts Accidental Tomatoes, as well as coordinates the New Wineskins network. As a writer, interviewer, and public theologian, Joe seeks out the holy in the midst of the mundane. Joe’s work is centered in living life on the edge of the inside, seeking to reform and redeem the broken institutional systems that continue to colonize and oppress the imago dei inherent in us all.

(00:00) Introduction
(03:14) Meet Joe Webb
(04:02) How did New Wineskins start?
(08:57) Becoming an online faith community
(13:11) The rhythm of online community
(16:06) Creating safe spaces online
(20:31) Digital worship
(28:43) Thinking about the future of digital ministry
(34:05) The people of New Wineskins
(36:25) Contacting Joe Webb and New Wineskins
(37:48) Contacting Pastoring in the Digital Parish

Pastoring in the Digital Parish is made possible by ResourceUMC.org,  the online destination for leaders throughout The United Methodist Church. And of course, they host our website: pastoringinthedigitalparish.com, where you can find more online resources for ministry.

If you want to connect: check out our Pastoring in the Digital Parish group on Facebook. You can also send questions and ideas for future sessions at digitalparish@umcom.org.

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We’re wrapping up season 4 of Pastoring in the Digital Parish by looking towards the future of church in the digital age. Our guests this season all painted some pictures about what will happen and what needs to happen in ministry to continue our mission of transforming the world. What are you predictions?

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Branding is a form of marketing in which we represent who we are. It’s how people get to know us. It is an invitation to relationship.

In this session, Ryan Dunn provides several ideas for how we can cultivate our personal brands in digital spaces for the advancement of ministry.

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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.