by: Rev. Jim Keat
“That’s not real community!”
Has anyone else heard that said about the ways we connect in online spaces? (Or maybe you’ve even said it?!)
It’s easy to dismiss online community, calling it a step down from “real” community, as if sharing the same physical space and breathing the same air is essential for community. (And don’t get me wrong, there is something incredibly rich and valuable about sharing physical space together, but we all know that it isn’t always possible!)
I think there are two essential elements to community, be it online or onsite: The first is a shared experience. And the second is consistency.
A shared experience can be almost anything, from watching the halftime show a couple weeks ago to reading the same book or watching the same press conference or listening to the same music or holding a shared worldview or ideological perspective or a Sunday morning worship service or an online community (like The Commons!)
But it’s not just the shared experience that makes community happen. We also need consistency.
Consistency means we keep showing up, again and again and again. And it means the same people keep showing up. You’re new for a minute and then you are quickly a regular. Consistency is essential to cultivate a place where everybody knows your name. (And yes, I hope you found yourself singing that last sentence.)
I believe that consistency, combined with a shared experience, will inevitably lead to a real community.
And this is why online community is real community, sometimes even more real than the community we experience in physical spaces.
Think about what’s possible on a Sunday morning:
We spend an hour together on Zoom for Bible study, seeing and hearing one another as we explore the scripture we will hear later in worship. We learn, we ask questions, we share ideas, we get to know the text and one another.
Then we spend the next 90 minutes watching the same Sunday morning worship livestream, shifting from Zoom to Youtube, a different modality but an ongoing connection, knowing we are participating in the same digital space and online experience. We fill the live chat with “good morning” and “that’ll preach” and “peace be with you” and more.
And we end our Sunday with another hour on Zoom for Virtual Coffee Hour. We connect with one another, share updates from our lives and the ministries we are involved in, dissect and discuss the worship service, and talk with Sunday’s preacher.
We are spending three and a half hours together every Sunday (not to mention other online spaces and groups throughout the week). Add it up over a year and that’s 182 hours — over a week!
This is more than just turning on church in the background. These are real people connecting in real community.
These shared experiences become opportunities to share our lives. The consistency deepens our connection exponentially.
Yes, this can (and should) happen in our churches. And it is also happening over at The Commons! If you haven’t already, visit GatherAtTheCommons.com and join this online space where we can connect with others and participate as a Community of Practice for the work we are called to in the world around us.