Timothy R. ButlerMar 5, 2024

I was thinking about @TomBuck's tweet I responded to last night about online church. I think the difference between what many (including his tweet) seem to have in view and what we see at @LittleHillsC is intentional community.

For many, especially those for whom "online community" sounds oxymoronic, the picture of online church is Televangelism 2.0. 1/🧵

Show threadTimothy R. ButlerMar 5, 2024
A service shows up on screen, there's an opportunity to perhaps give some money, and the amount of "community" is as non-existent as if you watched Dr. Schuller on the #HourOfPower back in the day. That’s not today's #HybridChurch. 2/
Show threadTimothy R. ButlerMar 5, 2024
I am a geek through and through and have dear friends I've never met in person that I know purely online ( @sombragris and @RealNameTBA come to mind). I didn't set out to plant a hybrid church, but I didn't set out to be a #ChurchPlanter either. God's funny like that. But the #COVID19 pandemic put our launch online and God did the rest. 3/
Show threadTimothy R. ButlerMar 5, 2024

We're coming up on meeting in-person for 2 years and online for 4 years. The in-person church is richer for the online that goes with it.

We have church family who faithfully participate in the full life of the church we wouldn't otherwise get to share in this community with. By embracing electronic, 2-way communication throughout the week, even those in-person on Sunday interact far more than I've seen in previous churches I've attended/ministered in. 4/

Show threadTimothy R. ButlerMar 5, 2024

This is the intentional community aspect that I believe turns online church from a consumer-driven #Televangelism 2.0 to an authentic, Biblical Christian fellowship:

1.) During services, we encourage our online members and in-person members who find themselves online for that particular service to interact in chat. We always have a few folks who are in person also interacting on chat, so it is all bridged together. This creates a very clear sense of fellowship during #LiveStreaming. 5/

Show threadTimothy R. ButlerMar 5, 2024
2.) We regularly have video recordings of online members sharing in Scripture readings and other parts of the services, so they can participate just like in-person members. 6/
Show threadTimothy R. ButlerMar 5, 2024
3.) We do hybrid #SundaySchool, reading the livestream chat questions and comments and bringing them just as much into the discussion as questions raised by those sitting in the church. 7/
Show threadTimothy R. ButlerMar 5, 2024
4.) We use #MicrosoftTeams or #Signal #VideoConferencing to do Bible study each week. This works great for everyone since it not only lets our online folks attend, it makes fitting a small group study into one's schedule feasible even if you have to work relatively late. 8/
Show threadTimothy R. Butler
5.) We've embraced @signalapp as a community meeting place, with several church group chats for prayer, general community and so on. This brings the online community in and keeps everyone much more involved in each other's day-to-day prayer needs, Scriptural musings and the like than we would be if we only saw each other once or twice a week (ala traditional, in-person fellowship). 9/
Mar 5, 2024 at 7:02pmWeb
Show threadTimothy R. ButlerMar 5, 2024
6.) We've embraced new opportunities for fellowship and outreach only possible online, such as an online #PrayerMinistry and semi-annual #OnlineCommunityPrayerWalks bringing genuine fellowship in prayer together around the globe. 10/
Show threadTimothy R. ButlerMar 5, 2024
A lot more could be said, but I think each of these points has a key aspect: intentionality. I'm sure there are plenty of online ministries that lack that intentionality and thus don't fit the Biblical picture of a church body. But, in-person or online, I think intentionality is key. You can have consumer driven, fellowship-lacking church either way. You can also have authentic, Spirit-guided fellowship either way. The key is being intentional about it. 11/end