In late 2021, October 28, 2021 to be exact, Meta changed the game in virtual reality. The company formerly known as Facebook changed it's name company to Meta and made a bold investment in creating their own Virtual Reality called the Metaverse. They were not the first company to invest in virtual reality but the money invested and priority they made it, it was a huge statement.
Now, over a year and a half later, there still seems to be some confusion over what the Metaverse is. In fact, Tim Cooke, CEO of Apple, recently said, "I’m really not sure the average person can tell you what the metaverse is.” And this is coming from a man who has billions of dollars invested in creating a VR headset.
So, where do we stand with the metaverse and, more importantly, where do we stand with ministry in the Metaverse?
Worlds are consolidating. While there are a lot of VR and Metaverse worlds available for your ministry to engage in, some of those worlds are now leaving the space. Just recently AltSpace, a premier world for years, decided to close. While there are many start ups and closes for every new development, there are still plenty of great worlds to check out. For instance, RecRoom, Meta's Horizon World, BigScreen, and VR Chat are all very popular and viable worlds for your Metaverse and VR Ministry to start exploring.
More businesses are investing in the Metaverse. While there is still uncertainty into what exactly is happening in the Metaverse, one thing is clear. More businesses are investing in the metaverse. Walmart, Roblex, Apple, Google and Amazon are among some of the bigger companies making significant investments in the metaverse.
Counseling is happening. In a recent podcast episode of the Metaverse Church podcast, Stunami and Goose talk about how you can actually provide counseling for people. They talk through the criticisms against and how it has been possible to provide Biblical counseling in VR.
Discipleship is happening. While people are hearing about Jesus in the Metaverse, it is not ending there. People are actually being discipled and growing in their faith. See how discipleship can and does happen in the Metaverse from this blog from Jeff Reed.
Conclusion
While people are still trying to understand what ministry in the Metaverse looks like, there is no doubt that ministry is happening. People are hearing about Jesus, they are being discipled and there is Biblical counseling happening in the metaverse currently, In addition, businesses continue to make investments in this space which provides lots of opportunities for Churches to begin to explore and engage in this space. Ministry is happening there and lives are being changed. Start exploring today and see what God does.
What do you think? What are your thoughts about the metaverse and how Churches should respond? Share your ideas below or on social media.
Through the Digital Church Network we are helping physical and digital churches better understand the discipleship process, and helping churches and church planters understand this and other decentralized mindset shifts. Joining the DCN is free and be encouraged!
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