The COVID-19 Pandemic has forced church congregations into a virtual environment.  For many congregations, this is the first time they have actively managed a remote worship service.  The Here I Am team is very impressed by the amount of creativity congregations display as they adapt their worship experience.  The holy spirit can help develop new solutions quickly!  Change enables new ideas to emerge in a rapid manner.  Applying new concepts continues to improve our ability to worship. 

One positive experience in an online environment is the ability to see a record of who is present for the service.  A number of worship experiences have active sharing boards.  It is rewarding to scroll through the long list of people who say Hello in the virtual chat room.   Some users share their latest prayers or praises with fellow churchgoers.  Whether it is during the service or upon conclusion, seeing who is present along with their thoughts for the day is a strong tool to build engagement.  Social Media networks effectively use this technique to keep engagement high. 

Bring this type of experience into the physical building as well!  With mobile devices, a simple way exists to register attendance and share one’s thoughts for others to see will build the connectedness of the group – just like virtual social media.   As congregations begin to meet in person again, social distancing restrictions will remain for a while.  Shaking everyone’s hand and coming together in large groups will be more difficult.  In these new physical environments, wouldn’t it be great to quickly check your smartphone to see who was in worship with you and how they’re doing?  

Learning from online experiences can indeed to make our future physical interactions more powerful.  Keep innovating! 

-Tom