Kent recently released a list of the Top 16 Largest Churches in America and one thing that was noted near the top was that “Internet Campuses were not counted.”
But I can imagine that in the very near future ministries are going to start taking into account their virtual members.
4 questions or thoughts that pop into my mind:
- How does one count internet membership?
- Is this even possible to be accurate?
- Is it “legitimate”?
- Does this change one’s view of “duties” and “responsibilities” of being a member of a church?
What do you think?
[Image from Multiget]
GodsMac says
Seems to me that before a church gets to the point of "internet / virtual membership" that they would want to apply the same methods they use for the church itself. Things like discipleship, volunteering, small groups, etc. That's where the virtual church gets confusing for me. How do people become a part of it, or at least enough to think they can be a member?
human3rror says
Gabe,
yes, great thoughts here. great questions too.
AussieSim says
And there are the tricky points of how many attend more than one Internet Campus, or attend both the physical and virtual campuses.
You'll have situations where 1 person ends up on a half dozen different church statistics reports.
However I do feel that it will be possible to develop Church Online members. But I have no idea how… at least right now. 🙂
Morehart says
I just wonder if the start of the Virtual Church was the churches way of "staying up with the times"…You can watch live TV online…so why not watch our service? I agree that it should not be the only outlet for church b/c you don't get stretched…You don't get to take part in the "community" aspect that draws us all together. You can just sit back in your undies with a bag of cheetos and worship…that just seems odd to picture. I'm stumped at the fact that people actually pay to find out who the top 100 churches are. Is it really that important?
human3rror says
eh. you're right. that's interesting. priorities…?
Graham Brenna says
I'm with GodsMac… kinda confusing unless you can get them to give to the church on a regular basis. You can also create online small groups. (We're trying that in a blog and kinda failing right now but it's our first crack at it).
1. I think there has to be a way to have them become "virtual members"… I'm sure someone more creative than I can come up with a better term. They could sign up and you can probably track their "attendance".
2. Accuracy is important. Again, I think this just comes with tracking "who" showed up. Can there be a virtual "sign-in" sheet as they log on?
3. Of course it's legitimate! If it weren't then we're calling the whole online church experience illegitimate.
4. Perhaps. Of course I feel that anyone within range of a church they like should physically show up on Sunday morning but of course there are people that simply don't like the churches near them or they just can't get to one. So they attend online church. We have to give them some way to interact outside the "live" shows. Small group forums, pledging money, organize a "retreat" where they are invited to come together once a year or so and actually meet face-to-face. The possibilities are endless.
Andy L says
I think the first question that needs to be asked is why do people join a virtual church? Is it because there is no physical location near them or are they unable to attend for a scheduling or other reason? I think we need to reach out to folks where they are (in this case – online) but let’s not forget that Christ walked about with real people, face to face.
I spent two years working remotely for a company and the one thing I missed was that human interaction. Don’t count that out when it comes to a church – I agree with Morehart that it is the “community” aspect that draws us all together.
stephenbateman says
There are obviously hugely varying philosophies on how to count members.
@ my old church there were 1500 on the roll and 600 showed up.
@ my new church there are 400 "on roll" and 900 show up.
So even once we decide whether they *should* count, there's the question of *how* to count them. But ultimately I think there could be an effective method to count regular attenders.
klreed189 says
I guess they could count it like blogs count visitors.
I still think it could be a little skewed, but in all honesty church attendance numbers are skewed as well.
I go to a church that says it has 3500 members, but in all reality have about 2700.
I think the same can be said about visitors to blogs. Do you count the regular readers or someone who stops by one time and never returns?
human3rror says
ah, interesting connection. good point kyle.
Jay says
As much much good as I think the virtual church can do, I do not think it can ever become a true "church" in the sense that a brick and mortar one can. The church is a body of people. Real people. Not virtual people.
That being said, there is a place for the virtual church. I know that I have taken advantage of it over the last month and a half because I've been traveling to Tampa each weekend to be with my mother. As such, I haven't been able to attend my own church so I've been checking out Lifechurch.tv or North Point Online.
The biggest question is this: How is it possible to take the virtual church outside? One of the things the church strives (should be striving to do anyway) is to take the church outside the walls of the building and attempting to fulfill The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). How does one accomplish that with the virtual church?
@jameseaton says
I don't see why you could not have virtual members. I know people that attend "online church" that are more involved than physical members. While they may not always be part of the "physical" community, they are part of an online community, and the gap between these two is getting smaller every day. Younger generations do not see the divide, they just see their life that is lived on and off line. There are small groups that meet online; they spend time with each other, pray for each other, and keep in touch as they study the bible.
So, I think Godsmac is right when he said we need to define membership better. And, figure out what being a virtual member means in relation to being a physical member.
Kevin Cooper says
One of the great things about attending church in-person is the ability to have live human interaction. Now, I absolutely love the interwebs and what NP & Lifechurch are doing in the online space–so don’t get me wrong. But I think online interaction isn’t a REPLACEMENT for in-person interaction but an ENHANCEMENT to relationships & community. “Virtual” or online churches are a great way to peer into where your physical campuses can add other locations–then you can count them 🙂
Mary says
While a virtual church can reach many people for Christ how will they then connect to the body of believers? To whom do they then give an account ? How will they grow spiritually and who will know the accuracy of what they will teach others? Where then do they tythe? How will this effect their walk and their talk on and off line? human Interaction is essential. Sometimes more is just more…Consider growth in terms of quality of relationship not quantity…
@jameseaton says
Most churches have online giving, so tithing is not that difficult. Most churches with web campuses have pastors and volunteers, so they would get connected just like anyone else would that wanted to get involved locally.
They would be held accountable just like anyone else. I know people who's accountability person is connected through email, every time they meet they get all the sites the other person has been too (XXX church has a free program like this).
I don't think that online is the only way, but I do think that we should not overlook it because it is different. I totally agree that quality is where it's at. But the beauty of internet is you can get quality and quantity together, but it does/will take some time to figure out, just like the mode of discipleship we have now took time (and is still being tweaked)