Say what you want about resolutions, but a new year brings a new energy to try new ideas. And so what better time to explore 24 digital ministry ideas for 2024.
I recently talked with three incredible digital ministers – Rev. Nathan Webb, Rev. Bethany Peerbolte, and Rev. Natalie Renee Perkins – about 24 digital ministry ideas. (Click here to watch all three webinars and hear all 24 ideas for $10!) But in this email, I want to share my favorite digital ministry idea that I will be implementing in 2024.
My favorite idea is the way we have started celebrating communion at The Riverside Church, specifically with our online congregation.
Up until last summer, a Communion Sunday at Riverside looked the same, especially for people worshiping online: you watch the livestream as people in the room line up, take communion, and return to their seats. Everyone worshiping online was invited to take communion on their own at home, but overall it was a very passive and voyeuristic experience.
Until we tried something new.
Now on a Communion Sunday, as the people in the room are lining up to receive communion, everyone online is invited to step away from the livestream on YouTube and join us on Zoom where we can all take communion together, seeing and hearing one another as we remember that “community” will always be central to communion.
This is a brief moment, 5-10 minutes total, and I offer a short liturgy and space together as we eat and drink whatever we have gathered, and pray together before returning to the livestream on YouTube. Because while you might worship online by yourself, you are not alone. And it is moments like this that remind us in such a necessary way.
What about you? What new ideas will you be trying out for your digital ministry in 2024? Reply to this email and let us know!
(And if you want to go even deeper with your digital ministry this year, join our newest cohort of Digital Ministry Fellows.)
