I was talking with a Church Online staff person recently. He is new in his role, and wanted to talk about how to take some next steps for his Church Online. I asked him a basic question that has unfortunately confounded many churches lately.
What is your church’s win for Church Online?
I love asking this question of churches. The majority of the time the question for this isn’t clear… Remember, there are three different types of people who watch Church Online. Who specifically are you trying to reach?
Oftentimes there’s division. Differentiating ideas. Who would have thought that Church Online would be so subversive to the current vision of a local church? Lead Pastor wants his message broadcast across the world for people to see. Executive Pastor doesn’t see purpose behind it and wants to focus on ministry at physical campuses. And, in the middle, the lone Church Online guy desires to create small group/discipleship opportunities online.
Bringing clarity is important. In this story, none of the people are wrong. They are driven by different motives. It’s understanding those motives, and finding the common ground, is how we solve this problem.
We all are driven by motives… by defaults. The leader is one who can navigate through those defaults to find solutions that make all parties happy, or make difficult decisions when no happy solution is possible. In the midst of seasons of blurry, take the opportunity to gain clarity.
Friends of Church Online, right now this is the space we minister in. Ask your leadership what is the win for Church Online, and use that to facilitate a conversation. Explain to them the three different types of people who engage with Church Online. Don’t be surprised if your ideas don’t align to theirs, yet. Take the opportunity to cast vision and come to an agreement on the “why”.
Church Online person, it’s on you to bring clarity to blurry situations. Discover the why, then go after the established vision with all you have!
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