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In today's rapidly advancing digital age, the way we perceive and practice religion is undergoing a significant transformation. "Digital church" is a term we hear more often, but what does it mean? And how does stewardship, an age-old concept, fit into this digital realm?
What does it even mean to attend a digital church?
A digital church isn't just a live-streamed service. It's a complete and immersive online community that caters to the spiritual needs of its congregation, just as a physical church does. It offers worship, teachings, connection, and fellowship–an immersive journey of discipleship within the Body of Christ spread throughout cyberspace.
Nothing New Under The Sun
If you’re looking to support your digital church, then this article full of helpful ideas. And don’t worry, support for a digital faith community really shouldn’t look that different. While the medium has changed, the core principles of stewardship remain intact:
Digital Churches still serve the community around them.
The secret of the digital church is that it has to be more specific than any other type of church in the people that it is trying to reach. The Internet is so massive that we don’t have the luxury of folks just driving by our building and choosing to check it out.Digital churches have to hone in on who they want to reach. And it’s this necessity that drives a fantastic mission field for the digital church. Because the digital church must be specific, they have a built-in place to serve.
For Checkpoint Church, my digital church plant, we know that we must serve the nerds, geeks, and gamers that we want to reach with the love of Jesus. So we are tackling issues like mental health, loneliness, and self-care for those who truly need it. Everyone who stewards to Checkpoint should be able to see that they are supporting a church that is reaching exactly who they strive to reach.
Digital Churches still need finances to be sustained.
Just like traditional churches, digital churches have overheads: Website maintenance, software subscriptions, and other digital tools necessary for their function. Not to mention that if the goal of the community is to become a chartered religious organization, there will be a need to pay the salary of a pastor, including benefits and insurance.
Admittedly, the numbers will look drastically different for a digital church. There is a dramatically lessened cost for a building, considering that the bulk of the community won’t even live in the same country, let alone state. But the lessened overhead doesn’t mean we ought to allow the need for sustainability to be overlooked. The goal should always be sustainability so that the work of the Church might be pursued fervently.
Digital Churches still need volunteers.
Despite the myth, stewardship isn’t inherently financial. Christians are called to be good stewards of their tithe but also of their time and talent. Safety is essential in the digital realm, especially for churches tasked with protecting children and vulnerable adults.
Moderators for chats during live streams, tech support, or digital outreach coordinators are just a few roles that have emerged in the digital church ecosystem. We’ll look at more instances of needed volunteers in the next section.
Adapting to a New Norm
As you can see, much of the heart of stewardship remains unchanged. What will likely feel different as you pursue supporting your digital church will be the methods used. As we navigate this new terrain, there are unique aspects of stewardship that we must consider:
Digital Churches need you to steward your 'like'.
It simply cannot be overstated how important it is that you support your digital church with your social elements. The Internet and social media, in particular, are nothing more than complex systems of codes. Most of these systems are free to use because the product they are selling is the user.
While this sentiment can feel fatalistic, it also means that the user has the most power available to them online. Whenever one sees a video by their digital church and doesn’t click the like button, or thumbs up, or interact in the comments, then the harm caused to that post is impartially noted by the algorithm that will then make that post available to fewer people online.
On the contrary, your 'like', 'share', or 'comment' can make a significant difference. You can directly and tangibly push content that edifies and uplifts many more people in their feeds. It has never been important that the member of the church be a vocal supporter of the social media presence of a digital church.
Digital Churches need you to steward in various methods.
While the church still needs financial assistance, the method by which it receives financial support has changed. Rather than a plate that is passed around each week, digital churches are adapting to a multi-source income feed.
At Checkpoint, we offer a tithing option via several different platforms, but we also collect funds from those who desire to subscribe to our various platforms for a myriad of perks.
Stewardship Remains Vital
Jack Conte's recent announcement regarding Patreon is a testament to this. By revamping Patreon, creators can now focus on making genuine, impactful art rather than content that merely appeases the algorithm. Similarly, churches should aim for true stewardship, ensuring that the digital church can create life-changing content rather than that which is merely algorithm-friendly.
Perhaps, in this digital age, the Widow's Offering story (Mark 12:41–44, Luke 21:1–4) might translate to the Widow's 'Like'. It may seem small, but your contribution to the digital realm can have a lasting and profound impact. We have more methods than ever to support the Church, but the fatigue from the options is real. Even still, I implore you to embrace stewardship in the online world, understanding its similarities, differences, and immense significance.
Nathan Webb is a major nerd in just about every way. He loves video games, anime, cartoons, comic books, tech, and his fellow nerds. Hoping to provide a spiritual community for people with similar interests, he founded Checkpoint Church--"the church for nerds, geeks and gamers." Nathan can be found lurking on some visual novel subreddit, reading the latest shōnen entry, or playing the newest Farm Sim. Nathan is an ordained provisional elder in the United Methodist Church in the Western North Carolina Conference. He hosts a weekly newsletter podcast: To The Point.
