The Time is Now for Non-Geographical Faith Communities!

COVID 19 has accelerated changes that were already in the pipeline. The volume of Zoom meetings has erased the need for travel to xyz locations. Weather is no longer a hindrance to meetings and incredible amounts of time are saved by not having to leave one’s home, find a parking space, enter/exit the building, and the list goes on! COVID 19 has accelerated changes that were moving at a snail’s pace.

Worship has been reformatted due to COVID. Sure, there were some congregations who had an established “online presence”. The Pandemic forced nearly all to transform the sanctuary into a studio, pre-package a service, and make it available via YouTube, Facebook or on their own website.

Congregations discovered that people were connecting to their worship service beyond the normal bounds of their unique communities. One church reported IP Addresses from over 33 states and seven countries! That would never have happened with only in-person worship! In addition, other clergy who tried to replicated Sunday worship on Zoom without any adjustments witnessed dismal failure. Sharing Joys and Concerns via Zoom to a wider congregation fell flat. Responsive readings became a new irritant. People experienced BYOC (Bring Your Own Communion) and Pastors slowly learned that folks watching from home now had a new gadget in their worship arsenal besides their Bible….they had a remote!

When morning announcements went too long….too bad!! Let’s see what’s happening at First Church in the next state! When the Pastors leading worship exchanged an inside joke, the people watching went outside to another service online. When the livestream experienced technical difficulties, people jumped offline and went somewhere else! And for the first time, parishioners on Zoom could look into the home of where their fellow members and friends live.

Now, when people move from the east coast to the west coast or even overseas, they can remain connected to their congregation. It may be a time difference, yet people remain connected. AND, if the hour for worship doesn’t work, they can be part of the service later on at time which is more conduce to their personal schedule.

This pandemic now provides the possibility for the establishment of a non-geographical church or house of worship. The monies spent to maintain a building, expand a parking lot, fix the furnace can now be used for mission. There is no need for structures that suck the life out of giving. And, a congregation can call a pastor to serve their non-geographic congregation from anywhere in the world.

We have entered a new era of ministry that is here to stay!!!