The Church Digital Podcast

Stadia has group of churches we call the “Futurists”. These churches are focused on experimenting phygitally. Understanding the heart of disciple-making, what does it look like to multiply our churches physically, as well as, digitally? To most, the idea of a Virtual Reality Multisite Campus seems like a crazy idea. Do people really want to attend church in virtual reality? To answer this question...

One of the most under-utilized tools online, Facebook Groups allows for incredible engagement digitally. In this COVID season (and beyond), how can churches use Facebook Groups to build better relationships online? We’re asking three seasoned experts (Katie Allred, Jeanette Yates, and Julie Harris) this question live, answering your questions on how your church can better utilize Facebook Groups t...

Check your tech brains at the door for this conversation. We’re wrapping up 2020 not talking about anything tech as much as a core component of what a church multiplying movement actually looks like. Enter No Place Left, a Global Organic Church movement that is making a difference in the world, one disciple-maker at a time. Through their intentional (yet organic) approach NPL has a vision of being...

I love conversations with DJ Soto. DJ challenges me, regularly, and this conversation once again pushes the limits. As Lead Pastor of VR Church, DJ is stretching the boundaries of Avatar Church. Yes, Avatar Church. Here at The Church Digital Podcast, we talk Physical/Phygital church all the time. We talk Digital-Only Churches like Jate Earhart's Love Clan... now we really do a deep dive here talki...

Christmastime is here. Time for love and cheer, and CHRISTMAS MOVIES. THERE ARE SO MANY CHRISTMAS MOVIES. Time to GEEK OUT about the greatness of CHRISTMAS MOVIES like Muppet Christmas Carol, Batman Returns, and Die Hard. Yes, Die Hard is a Christmas Movie. Are you a geek? Do you love Christmas? Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? If "Yes", you will definitely want to watch the Unofficial Geek Ranking...

It’s the most difficult part of Church Online. You’ll have hundreds, maybe thousands of viewers online. But who are these people? How can your church serve them spiritually? Church is more than that one-hour on Sunday. How can we get these people engaged in the rest of your church? The Connection Card can do it. You beg for those connection cards to get filled out... and unfortunately no matter wh...

For most Online Ministry people, Twitch is probably not on your radar. For Jate Earhart, broadcasting has become a regular event. Jate streams on Twitch for hours a day, connecting/engaging/building relationships with people. And his digital church, Love Clan, is growing as a result. Who’s he reaching? Some of these stories are borderline unbelievable, but give testimony to the fact that to reach...

Can you relate to this question by a church volunteer? “I talked my church leadership into trying a live, viewer-interactive service this Dec 20. I’m a volunteer tasked with creating the format; staff will execute logistics. How can I start small and set us up for hopeful success to build on?” Join us here as we talk about how to support a culture of iteration within the church. (Side note: LOVE t...

We got Episode 106 here and have brought in Professor Steve Lowe from Liberty University to have a great conversation around the theological implications of Church Online. Liberty is starting an online track where you can eventually get your MDiv with an emphasis in Online Ministry. We've also got Seminary student, Dan Tebo, joining us as we unpack what Liberty is doing to get into this space and...

2020 has been crazy, so we’re taking a break from trying to solve the world’s problems and instead focusing on more important things. THECHURCH.DIGITAL is giving you permission to start the holiday early and jump on with us while we debate holiday crises like “do we really want giblets in our gravy?” Join us to see the Ultimate Thanksgiving Smackdown. Complete Show Notes and Online Video Available...

As church leaders in the midst of this COVID season, there are certainly questions on this whole Digital Church thing. Is this effective? Is it working? Chances are your church leadership thinks they have an idea of what’s happening. There are even “experts” like me to tell you what we think is happening. But has anyone actually taken the time to ask the actual people attending (or not attending)...

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had this conversation: “Leadership doesn’t understand. They’re wanting to play it safe. How do I get them to see things from my perspective?” COVID has certainly changed the rules. How can you help your church wrestle with bigger, bolder ideas? Answering Your Questions: THE BETA SHOW We are launching a new show over here at THECHURCH.DIGITAL. But we need your...

Remember back when churches met in large gatherings. Those physical services were so powerful, you could just feel the spirit of God moving across the room. It was always interesting to me that people received that feeling differently. Some people report a warmth. Others (including myself) often feel a chill. Has anyone experienced anything like this online? An odd conversation of sorts, how does...

It’s easy to feel underwater with this whole phygital thing. Physical strategy is one thing... now a digital strategy is complicating things greatly. Let’s look at some practical, small steps that can help your church get on top of this whole phygital approach. Answering Your Questions: THE BETA SHOW We are launching a new show over here at THECHURCH.DIGITAL. But we need your help. Text your quest...

I love talking with people who get it. People that you don’t have to convince of a good idea. People that are usually already running down the road about the time you say “hey, look over there!” Jason has been another one of the COVID contacts that is changing the way he looks at Church. Jason is Lead Pastor of Cornerstone Church, and you can hear his story in the podcast, but I’m pretty sure Corn...

We got past Halloween. It's not even Turkey-time yet, and here in America we may not even know who the President is, but dang it, it's Christmas-time. Crank out the Christmas Playlist. Put on your favorite Christmas Sweater, and let's start to figure out how in the world we are doing Christmas in this mid/post-COVID 2020 season... Like the BETA SHOW? Check out more episodes here. Answering Your Qu...

We’ve talked a lot here about the idea of multiplying church, which can be difficult to understand sometimes since the idea of multiplication is so, well, rare in the US church world. Even pre-2020, we’re lucky if we’re growing, most likely we’re flatlining, or even trending down. Even now in the foreseeable post-COVID future we are trending away, where Barna predicts 20% of churches shut down in...

Jim’s words kinda shocked me. Having worked with Jim Tomberlin at Christ Fellowship Miami, and studied his multisite movement materials over the years, I kinda felt like I had a solid grounding on the mindset of Jim Tomberlin. So, when he casually dropped the line, I didn’t quite know how to respond. It’s not, “Get as big as you can.” It should be, “Get as big as you need to be in order to multipl...

Couple questions on the docket this week on BETA SHOW: Jeff, can you talk about ways that your attendees can engage that’s outside/beyond a physical location? // Really, THE biggie in light of seeing churches come back with 50% attendance is this: How can we reach new people while not meeting in person? I’m thinking we need to more than double, or it will feel too discouraging to come to a very sm...

Well, we got here quicker than we thought. Episode 100 of The Church Digital Podcast launches this week, and we’ve got a solid podcast for you. We’re going old school this week for the podcast, bringing in guys who have been doing online ministry for years… decades… If you’re a regular listener to the podcast, you’ve probably heard me tell the story of Disneyland Starbucks. Rey De Armas and I are...

We’re going back to the building, right? But we’re not supposed to go back to February 2020. How exactly are we supposed to do that again? Lay the groundwork for your digital strategy to complement your phygital church. Answering Your Questions: THE BETA SHOW We are launching a new show over here at THECHURCH.DIGITAL. But we need your help. Text your questions to 4THECHURCH (484/324-8724) and we'l...

How do we pastor people phygitally? How do we care for people in digital space? Great question, and I honestly thought I had an answer to that until I heard from Korey in a Facebook Group. “Well, 25 people in my church have died as a result of COVID.” Korey, from Grace Community Church, has experienced a whole other perspective than I (and most of you) probably have had in this COVID season. As a...

Wrestling with your church's PHYGITAL approach to online + physical services? Jeff & Rey are diving in, answering YOUR QUESTIONS on how to get more impact on your PHYGITAL church services. Got questions? Text them to 484/324-8724. Answering Your Questions: THE BETA SHOW We are launching a new show over here at THECHURCH.DIGITAL. But we need your help. Text your questions to 4THECHURCH (484/324...

Episode 97 was incredible! We did a deep dive into Creative Online Services with lead creative Craig Dockery at Crossroads Church. Incredible conversation, but man, Crossroads has a ton of resources and staffing to make their incredibly creative worship services happen. Most churches today don’t have large creative teams or financial resources to do creative services. So while there are applicable...

You got questions. You're new to this whole digital church thing, and you need some help. You're heading back to the building, but 50-70% of your attenders are staying home. What are you going to do? That's the topic on the inaugural episode of The Church Digital's BETA Show. Pre-COVID we were doing the whole physical church service thing. COVID hit, physical shut down, and we poured all our resou...