Pastoring in the Digital Parish

We’re joined by Charles Vogl, author of “The Art of Community”. We discussed the need for intellectual, emotional, and action components in spiritual communities–no matter how they meet. Charles also emphasizes the importance of intimacy and vulnerability in creating meaningful digital experiences. We also look at the loneliness epidemic in America and how organizations can … Continue readin...

On this episode of Pastoring in the Digital Parish, we explore the intersection of gaming and ministry. Our guests shared insights on how playing games can build genuine community, especially in a digital-first culture. We heard from Joy Van Staalduinen and Laura Wittman about their experiences using games to engage young people and bridge the … Continue reading "Digital community-building t...

New series: “How it started vs How it’s going.” First up is Jate Earhart and the community around JateLIVE and LOVE CLAN. With Jate, we dive into the world of online ministry and planting churches with a focus on non-believers and gamers. Jate shares insights on the importance of prayer and honesty in building relationships, … Continue reading "How it started vs how it’s going with Jate Earh...

We’re talking with Lexi Hernandez, the founder of Growth Co, a young adult ministry that is changing the way people think about church. We go behind the scenes to learn about the inspiration behind the creation of subscription boxes for young adults, the idea of Growth Co, and the challenges of meeting the needs of … Continue reading "Digital parish, real community: Meeting the needs of youn...

We’re talking with Rev. Jessica Blackwood and Rev. Orlando Evans–a couple of the visionaries and planners behind Harbor United Methodist Church, a currently all-digital church plant located in Georgia (and across the expanse of the internet). They share about planning for digital community, engaging in digital outreach, building online community building and community rhythm. There … Continu...

We’ve got some history and some futurism for your digital ministry toolkit. One of the things we’ve witnessed through the stories shared on Pastoring in the Digital Parish is that digital ministry is not about replacement, it’s about accessibility and presence.

You’ve got a world-changing message. Let’s get that message out to people through a podcast. Millions of people are regularly listening to podcasts, and utilizing the medium helps our churches and ministries meet people where they are. Rev. Ryan Dunn shares his experiences and discoveries of starting and maintaining multiple podcasts–including Pastoring in the Digital … Continue reading "5 s...

Let’s explore digital pathways of discipleship while we hear the story of “The Chapel Online” and “Becoming More”–two vibrant all-digital ministries founded and coordinated by Anne Bosarge. Anne Bosarge works with the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church as the Director of Leadership Strategies and Local Church Resources where she provides leadership development … Continue...

How does a church move from a digital or online ministry to an in-person meeting group? What does it look like to plant a church in the midst of a pandemic? And what digital tools set up a new church for growth in the 2020s? Asking any of these questions? Curious about what that looks … Continue reading "Planting digital first, Substack and the story of Oikon"

An episode on TikTok strategy, going viral, and managing church vision with Katherine Mullen of First United Methodist Church of Birmingham. We’re providing tools for digital ministry and building relationships online. Katherine Mullen is First Church’s Minister of Community Engagement (and one of their worship leaders). Katherine is the point person for First Church’s TikTok … Continue read...

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. … Continue reading "Why does our church need a...

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 … Continue reading "Recommended books for digital ministry s...

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 … Continue reading "Doing digital ministry when resources are scarce"

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 … Continue reading "What Amazon, eCommerce and AI can teach the church"

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 … Continue reading "Virtual reality ministry an...

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 … Continue reading "Digital Ministry: New Wineskin...

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?

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.

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. … Continue reading "Digital ministry in the small and ru...

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 … Continue reading "Methodist Gaming: From local parish to...

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 … Continue reading "Evangelism through social listening"

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 … Continue reading "Church staffing and work for the digital age"

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. ​ … Continue reading "Navigating the Digital Reformation with Rya...

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, … Continue reading "Grace, dignity and tech...

In a culture that is obsessed with innovation and individuality, what is the place of the Church and the spiritual? That’s what we’re getting into with Andrew Root in this culturally-context-obsessed session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish. “The church must change or die…” These dire words get repeated about 100 times a day across … Continue reading "The Church in the age of innovation wi...