This episode we’re honored to talk with the organization who essentially created Church Online. Life.Church is one of the pioneering churches out there creating a movement in digital church. Having watched the Life.Church movement grow over the years, I was almost closet fanboy in this conversation, geeking out over methods and systems that Life.Church utilizes. That being said, the thing that surprised me the most was how this megachurch, really this gigachurch, was grounded in reality of the i...
Sep 09, 2019•46 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Church Online definitely has strengths and weaknesses, but the power to train and to equip someone is unparalleled. But why do we struggle with the concept of equipping and discipling someone using Online Technologies? Enter personal friend, Ken Schafer, into the conversation. Ken works with churches around the country helping create equipping scenarios in physical environments, as well as, online… and I (Jeff) credit Ken as being one of those guys who years ago told me, “Jeff, you’re wrong” but...
Sep 03, 2019•40 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Before my wife and I got married, we were praying about becoming missionaries. Challenges like learning new languages, adapting to new cultures and new food came to mind. We quickly realized that we would be on separate hemispheres from our collective families. And while God didn’t call my wife and I to move to another continent 20+ years ago, we’ve eventually become a missionary in a different context… In EP023, we dig in with Tom Pounder, Online Pastor at New Life Christian Church and creator ...
Aug 26, 2019•51 min•Season 1Ep. 23
I love hearing stories from people who have been impacted by Church Online. Sometimes it feels like the stuffy shirts and the academics argue about what “church” can and can’t be, meanwhile normal people are just doing it. Thus the point of this week’s podcast. Linda has been leading online small groups for about three years now. While we’ve been sitting around whether Church Online is legitimate on this podcast, Linda’s been busy creating Biblical Community each week, Online. Oh, did I mention ...
Aug 19, 2019•45 min•Season 1Ep. 22
The challenge before Church Online is that it is guilty of being church in isolation, allowing people to abandon biblical communities. These views are often short-sighted, not realizing that technology is capable of allowing biblical community to still happen using digital platforms, but larger than that Church Online is capable of creating communities. Potentially leaving one community to start another physical community utilizing Church Online. This is the conversation of today. Enter Danielle...
Aug 12, 2019•49 min•Ep. 21
We’ve talked a lot about Church Online and the potential power that it has to be a strategic force for the church. Today’s church online has many obstacles to overcome. Arguably, in today’s culture, so does the church. The church has an opportunity to create a new ministry model tapping into some biblical truths. After all, there’s nothing new under the sun, right? The issues of today’s Church Online, and largely the Church overall, were written a couple thousand years ago in the Bible. Create D...
Aug 05, 2019•54 min•Ep. 20
We’re in Week 3 of this deep dive into the Online Ministry at First Capital Christian Church. Church Anywhere, as it’s called, utilizes its Church Online broadcasts as a way to cluster people together into communities and disciple their members and attenders away from just consuming content towards literally “being” the church in the community. Honestly, is this not the biggest challenge facing the church today? How do we move our attenders away from being consumers and get them to the place whe...
Jul 29, 2019•44 min•Ep. 19
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Jul 22, 2019•50 min•Ep. 18
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Jul 15, 2019•59 min•Ep. 16
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Jul 08, 2019•45 min•Ep. 16
The world is changing. It’s time for the church to as well. Like it or not, we’re moving into a post-christian society. As a church, we can lament what was, or we can adjust our strategy to better work with the world around us. Church, this digital disruption we’re experiencing is a huge opportunity for us to reach beyond our walls digitally and start assisting people in their personal mission to reach their coworkers for Christ. COMPLETE SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT THECHURCH.DIGITAL ....
Jul 01, 2019•34 min•Ep. 15
Here's my question: "Can 'church' work in virtual reality?" To be honest, I (Jeff) went in a skeptic. To find out the truth, we interviewed DJ Soto, the first Church Planter in Virtual Reality, for a conversation on the theology of Virtual Reality. Midway thru the interview, I realized that this was completely the wrong question to be asking. God moves in virtual reality, and DJ's got the stories... the testimonies... to show it! So, seriously, how can Virtual Reality create disciples? Listen to...
Jun 24, 2019•52 min•Ep. 14
Love video games? Love discipleship? Sharing your faith? Thinking outside the box? This is your episode. Until Jate Earhart, I (Jeff) don't think I've ever seen the words "discipleship" and "video game" in a sentence together. Jate, in his 20s, runs a video game ministry called Love Clan that disciples those involved to share their faith, encouraging those engaged to not only evangelize, but to disciple, on-going relationships for Christ. Powerful stuff right? My favorite part of the episode is ...
Jun 17, 2019•56 min•Ep. 13
You've been broadcasting your church services for a while now, but for one reason or another you feel stuck. How do you improve quality? How do you increase engagement? How do expand your reach? In this episode of The Church Digital Podcast, Jeff is joined by Steve Kaminsky from Portable Church Industries as well as Paul Martel & Collin Jones from Living As One discuss in greater detail the production details involved in improving the church's live video broadcast each week. Complete with ph...
Jun 10, 2019•53 min•Ep. 12
As we've discussed, there's more to Church Online than broadcasting services online, but broadcasting services is a necessary piece. And while technology has become simpler in recent years, most churches out there have no place to start. In this episode of The Church Digital Podcast, Jeff and guest Steve Kaminsky from Portable Church Industries review many of the top technologies for small and medium size churches to begin broadcasting services online. ACCESS SHOW NOTES AT THECHURCH.DIGITAL...
Jun 03, 2019•39 min•Ep. 11
Plenty of people can see the positives of Church Online, and how Church Online can complement their church's ministry at physical campuses. Some can see of Church Online can even expand their church's influence to disciple a whole new group of people. But while many see the positives, many do not. In 2019, most churches do not have a purpose, or see the why, behind Church Online. We've discussed this in the past: some of Pastors may have theological issues, while others may have practical concer...
May 28, 2019•31 min•Ep. 10
What started as a simple podcast with the goal of a strategic conversation on Omnichannel Communication and Unified Commerce quickly went another (and far more interesting) direction. On the podcast Eric Geiger, Lead Pastor at Mariners Church, transitioned quickly to the theological role of Ekklesia biblically, and some of the perceived challenges that Church Online faces. A fascinating insight from one of the Church's thought leaders, this podcast is definitely not one to be missed. ACCESS SHOW...
May 20, 2019•30 min•Ep. 9
The strength of Online Technology (and Church Online) is in our ability to communicate. But are we communicating effectively? Throughout the service portion of Church Online there are several key positions that communicate volumes to the audience: 1) Teaching Pastor, 2) On-Screen Host, and 3) Chat Hosts. All three positions have VITAL communication that Church Online needs to know in order to effectively help attenders be discipled. Listen to the podcast as Jeff and Ben Stapley, Weekend Experien...
May 13, 2019•55 min•Ep. 8
The number one argument we hear about why Church Online isn't Church is that it causes the abandonment of Ekklesia, the gathering together of Church. But what if Church Online isn't the abandoning of Ekklesia... what if it's the birthing of Ekklesia. On the podcast today Kevin Lee, Online Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback, talks about the training Saddleback does for their online volunteers to create Ekklesia opportunities in micro-locations. Communion? Baptism? Pastoral Care? Find out how these...
May 06, 2019•45 min•Ep. 7
What does it mean to disciple someone Online? Let's back up and ask another question first... what does it mean to disciple someone? In this Episode we talk with Westside Family Church's Global Innovations Pastor, Jason Morris, in what is one of the most biblically refreshing podcast conversations we've had to date. Westside Family is an incredibly innovative church, but in ways that will certainly surprise you. Through the episode, Jason, Jeff, and Rey will talk about what a Discipleship Pathwa...
Apr 29, 2019•49 min•Ep. 6
What exactly does an Online Pastor do? This episode explores in greater detail the life and ministry of Online Pastors, people who wrestle with pastoring, shepherding people in different spaces. The skills to properly manage a fully-functioning Church Online is broad... but the goal of an Online Pastor is not creating a church sub-culture for Online, but inviting the entire church to benefit from the Church Service, from Discipleship Online. COMPLETE SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE ON THECHURCH.DIGITAL...
Apr 22, 2019•48 min•Ep. 5
I (Jeff) first heard of Church Anywhere about a year ago, meeting Tyler on Facebook. I immediately fell in love with his Church. First Capital Christian is many things. Big is not one of them. Cordon, Indiana is a town of about 3000 people, yet the church is reaching 800-900 a week in "an old building on the wrong side of town". Almost 30% of the town attends church. Scary stat right there... How did this happen? According to Tyler Sansom, a digital strategy empowering people with the Gospel thr...
Apr 11, 2019•39 min•Ep. 4
Can Biblical Community exist in Church Online? We sit down with Jay Kranda, Online Pastor at Saddleback, and asked him that question. He may be a little biased, as Saddleback currently has over 2400 Online Groups meeting regularly meeting is both digital and physical spaces. We had some really interesting dialogue discussing everything from Online Groups meeting in homes, following church leadership while leading your area, working alongside other ministries, and why Lebron James is the GOAT. We...
Apr 11, 2019•56 min•Ep. 3
There's no way around it... Church Online is a new concept. With the newness comes uneasiness and doubt, especially from people carrying organizational responsibility. How is this going to hurt attendance? Giving? Things right now are good with our church. Are we sure we want to try a massive paradigm shift like Church Online can be? To that end, Rey and I got together and compiled a simple list. Six Things We Wish Pastors Knew About Church Online . Maybe you want to take notes and have this con...
Apr 11, 2019•34 min•Ep. 2
Welcome to The Church Digital Podcast! We'll be hosting an ongoing dialogue here on Church Online, sharing stories and challenges surrounding doing ministry in digital spaces. What is the strength of Church Online? What the Church today perceives at its strength may not be the best use case. Meet Jeff & Rey and join in the conversation as they explore the positive uses for Church Online in your church. The strength of Church Online isn't the big, it's the small. It's not the masses, it's the...
Apr 11, 2019•32 min•Ep. 1
