For the majority of churches that live-stream, the people who attend in-person vastly out number the people who do so online. For some, though, the roles are reversed. What happens when more people watch online than attend in person? Should you do things differently? Should the online congregation take precedence or should you change the way you do things in order to encourage their attendance in person?
While this isn’t likely for all churches, you should have an idea about what would happen if it were the case with your church. Whether you are based in an area that doesn’t have a lot of population, so your in-person congregation is naturally limited, or your church is well-known and people who are already part of other churches are supplementing the teaching they get at their own churches with teaching from yours, the results and implications are the same.
Address objections
Let’s start with the questions you’re likely to hear in this situation.
Some in your church might view this blessing as a curse. They might ask, “Why aren’t they attending in person?” or “Are people leaving our church and just watching on their computers because they’re lazy?”
We’ve explored this idea before (https://www.churchproduction.com/education/attendance-is-down.-blame-the-live-stream/), so let’s not dwell on it. Your analytics will tell you if most of your online viewers are local, or watch from outside a reasonable driving distance from your church.
If a couple of hundred people attend your church in-person, but a couple of thousand watch online, it can be difficult to imagine that your “small church” is really a “mega church.”
So, it might not be the case that shutting down the live-stream could have a positive impact on your attendance in-person. However, it could also have a negative impact on potential growth, as local people may use it as a way to try it before they start attending.
The invisibility of those online might also cause another problem for the pastor. It’s harder to connect with people you don’t see. If a couple of hundred people attend your church in-person, but a couple of thousand watch online, it can be difficult to imagine that your “small church” is really a “mega church.” It could be even more difficult if the in-person numbers are declining while the remote ones are increasing.
Financial barriers
While the online campus is a ministry, for most churches, it doesn’t “pay for itself.” However, in the case where it’s larger than the in-person congregation, may it should.
Some people do experience genuine community online. Others who are gone temporarily, like deployed service members or those who live part of the year in a warmer area, might consider giving their tithe at your church, especially if they’re not going to join another. Others, for whom attending another church isn’t an option (shut-ins) might consider it as well. Make sure you address the subject of tithing with people who are online just like you do for those who attend in-person.
While church should never be about “getting rich,” it shouldn’t be a drain on a smaller in-person congregation to make it possible for a much larger online campus to watch a live-stream either.
This might bring another set of challenges, though. Imagine that more than half of your church’s budget comes from contributions from people who aren’t local. Should their voices be ignored? Should the people who are attending in person be more important than those who are located elsewhere?
The first step in this process is to shift your mindset. It can be difficult to equate someone you can’t see with someone you can, but they’re both people. They both have needs. Someone who is loud and in your face can be hard to ignore, but you might have to be the voice of the people who can’t respond because they’re serving over seas or live in a place where Christianity is outlawed.
Reconsider how you serve both groups
With the shift in mindset about how you value your online viewers, you may consider a shift in how you do church, too.
Of course, you shouldn’t ignore the people who are at your facility. That’s moving too far the other direction. Instead, ask how you can maximize your use of space and equipment to serve both your online and local congregations.
Look at other examples of when a remote audience is larger than an in-person one and see what you can learn. For example, the Super Bowl doesn’t stick all their cameras behind the spectators at the stadium. They place the cameras in strategic locations that don’t block the view of those in attendance, despite the fact that the online or broadcast audience is exponentially larger.
Stadiums are built with both audiences in mind. So, while you probably won’t rebuild your sanctuary any time soon, think about how you could best use the space so that people watching from elsewhere can get both context (in wide shots) and details (in close-ups) from the live-steam.
The shots you take and the way you use your space aren’t the only things that might need a makeover, either. What about serving?
Should you rethink how you engage people so that they can experience church in all its aspects? Ask “what are some things that people online can do to use their gifts?”
Serving doesn’t need to just be picking up the trash on the playground or handing out bulletins. In today’s global economy, businesses often outsource around the world. Why should churches be any different?
Having online small groups led by people who aren’t actually attending in-person, is a good starting point. Don’t stop there, though. You could also enlist the help of those who aren’t local to do administrative work for your church, too. Maybe someone who is a musician could write and arrange music. Coders from elsewhere could certainly help with your website and video editors could cut out chunks of the service for use in social media, too.
When you start to think of these possibilities for involving your online viewers, the list of things that you might have hoped to do, but couldn’t before, begins to shrink.
Today, most people are not living the majority of their lives in a virtual world, like we see in science fiction movies, but relationships (see Facebook), entertainment (YouTube), and even work (sites like Upwork) are all moving there.
Maybe your church won’t have large online numbers any time soon, but it may. One thing that hasn’t changed is that people are people. They still need to connect with each other and with God. As a result, the church should still be there to help, whether in person or online, even if it means that the in-person congregation becomes the minority, and how you do ministry changes.
