The Church Digital Podcast

80 days and counting until Easter 2021 is upon us. If your church is like most, you’re currently avoiding thinking about the massive stress that is a Phygital Easter Service. It doesn’t have to be that way, and through …

Stadia has group of churches we call the “Futurists”. These churches are focused on experimenting phygitally. Understanding the heart of …

One of the most under-utilized tools online, Facebook Groups allows for incredible engagement digitally. In this COVID season (and beyond), how can …

2020 huh. Painful doesn’t even start to describe. COVID brought a run of painful, culture changing events. The church, the country, the world may …

Check your tech brains at the door for this conversation. We’re wrapping up 2020 not talking about anything tech as much as a core component of what …

I love conversations with DJ Soto. DJ challenges me, regularly, and this conversation once again pushes the limits. As Lead Pastor of VR Church, DJ …

Christmastime is here. Time for love and cheer, and CHRISTMAS MOVIES. THERE ARE SO MANY CHRISTMAS MOVIES. Time to GEEK OUT about the greatness of …

It’s the most difficult part of Church Online. You’ll have hundreds, maybe thousands of viewers online. But who are these people? How can your church …

For most Online Ministry people, Twitch is probably not on your radar. For Jate Earhart, broadcasting has become a regular event. Jate streams on …

Can you relate to this question by a church volunteer? “I talked my church leadership into trying a live, viewer-interactive service this Dec 20. I’m …

We got Episode 106 here and have brought in Professor Steve Lowe from Liberty University to have a great conversation around the theological …

2020 has been crazy, so we’re taking a break from trying to solve the world’s problems and instead focusing on more important things. …

As church leaders in the midst of this COVID season, there are certainly questions on this whole Digital Church thing. Is this effective? Is it …

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had this conversation: “Leadership doesn’t understand. They’re wanting to play it safe. How do I get them to …

Remember back when churches met in large gatherings. Those physical services were so powerful, you could just feel the spirit of God moving across …

It’s easy to feel underwater with this whole phygital thing. Physical strategy is one thing... now a digital strategy is complicating things greatly. …

I love talking with people who get it. People that you don’t have to convince of a good idea. People that are usually already running down the road about the time you say “hey, look over there!”

Jason has been another …

We got past Halloween. It's not even Turkey-time yet, and here in America we may not even know who the President is, but dang it, it's Christmas-time. Crank out the Christmas Playlist. Put on your favorite Christmas …

We’ve talked a lot here about the idea of multiplying church, which can be difficult to understand sometimes since the idea of multiplication is so, …

Jim’s words kinda shocked me. Having worked with Jim Tomberlin at Christ Fellowship Miami, and studied his multisite movement materials over the …

Couple questions on the docket this week on BETA SHOW: Jeff, can you talk about ways that your attendees can engage that’s outside/beyond a physical location? // Really, THE biggie in light of seeing churches come back …

Well, we got here quicker than we thought. Episode 100 of The Church Digital Podcast launches this week, and we’ve got a solid podcast for you. We’re …

We’re going back to the building, right? But we’re not supposed to go back to February 2020. How exactly are we supposed to do that again? Lay the groundwork for your digital strategy to complement your phygital church.

How do we pastor people phygitally? How do we care for people in digital space? Great question, and I honestly thought I had an answer to that until I heard from Korey in a Facebook Group. “Well, 25 people in my church …

Wrestling with your church's PHYGITAL approach to online + physical services? Jeff & Rey are diving in, answering YOUR QUESTIONS on how to get more impact on your PHYGITAL church services. Got questions? Text them …

Episode 97 was incredible! We did a deep dive into Creative Online Services with lead creative Craig Dockery at Crossroads Church. Incredible conversation, but man, Crossroads has a ton of resources and staffing to make …

You got questions. You're new to this whole digital church thing, and you need some help. You're heading back to the building, but 50-70% of your …

As churches start to head back into their buildings, Pastor, we have the opportunity to continue to blur the lines of Phygital. We have an incredible resource available to us. Creatively, what if we embraced the idea of …

Pre-COVID I don’t think I heard much about the idea of a church becoming the “Christian Netflix”… but thank you very much Coronavirus for once again providing Your Church opportunities that it didn’t have before?

So is …

COVID is teaching us, the church, many lessons. Obviously, there are many lessons about the value of Church Online or Discipleship Online. But why stop there? Church Communications Directors have been working overtime …

This is not going to be your typical The Church Digital Podcast. What does church discipline look like at your church? I want to be clear with the question. I’m not necessarily talking about spiritual disciplines here. …

The idea of Church as Platform has been resonating for a while here at The Church Digital. Through recent blogs & podcasts we’ve been unpacking this idea of the church (not providing a service, but instead finding …

Most churches shut down for the summer… global pandemic and all. Weekend services are “essential” operations, but the majority of churches have struggled to anything otherwise.

This is what makes the story of SOFLO camp …

To do digital ministry you need to think outside the box. What works in the building won’t necessarily work online. We know this. But oftentimes our ministry digitally looks a lot like our physical ministry.

But, what …

Hey, it’s my birthday podcast! And for the second year in a row, we’re bringing in a special guest to celebrate my birthday. Last year it was my mom, talking about how she leads her two online small groups. Mom wasn’t …

As we get further and further into this COVID season, how are we finding new people? It’s so easy to default back to our 99s and to forget about our …

Thank you very much, COVID. That long-term vision? That playbook? Your church’s strategy? It’s all trash. Every church is in startup mode, and we’re reimagining the idea of church moving forward. Reimagining is going to …

Thanks to COVID, lots of churches are operating digitally. They’re broadcasting their services online. Trying to start up Online Small Groups. As a …

I’ve talked with hundreds of Pastors in this COVID season. Easily. Not an exaggeration. If I count emails, texts, social media, direct messages, pings… geez, may be over a thousand. Never, never, NEVER have I heard a …

What can we, the Church, learn from Uber? AirBNB?

We’re 100+ days into this COVID thing. Our buildings aren’t getting much usage. In some areas (like where I am in Florida) we’re actually worse now than ever. In that …

What does the future hold for Virtual Reality?... for Artificial Intelligence? Talk to the business world and they're chomping at the bit to take …

YouTube is powerful. Incredibly powerful... if you use it right. In this COVID-19 season, churches have been jumping onboard the YouTube bandwagon. …

As reports show COVID-19 is spiking, churches are starting to engage more and more with the idea of micro-locations as a short-term solution. It's …

How do you start a church movement? Sure, there's probably different ways we can answer that question. If we looked at Christ's example, well, he started with 12 guys. Not a massive movement. He started with individuals …

The idea of a Digital-Only Church was quite controversial pre-COVID. Truthfully, it's still controversial today. What we're discovering, though, is …

I love the Internet.

Dave Ferguson, Leader of the Exponential Conference/Movement and Lead Pastor at Community Christian Church in Chicago... over the years I've been influenced by Dave. Hero Maker had a big impact in …

Church, we are content beasts... I actually had a friend of mine tell me once, "The only people that create more content than Churches is the Porn." …

Church, why do we do this? Why do we do 'church'? I don't mean physical church, or digital church. I don't mean weekend services, or small groups. I simply mean, why is it that we do what we do?

Our buildings, our …

So, who are these people who are watching our Churches Online and what are we supposed to do with them? COVID-19 has brought us tons of traffic, and maybe for the first time we, as a church, are understanding the …

Depending on your location, gathering restrictions are starting to loosen, and churches are considering meeting together again. Some restrictions remain in place limiting size of gathering, wearing of masks, and …

Pastor, if there's one thing you've learned in this COVID-19 season, it's that you want to have influence online. For most churches, that means putting your sermons online. For Scot Mendenhall, though, that means …

Well, we're going back into the building. Or at least a small percentage of us are. Many, though, are opting to take a slower approach heading back into the space. Is there a different approach?

Churches like Saddleback …

If there's a lesson the church needs to learn in this Global Pandemic: Physical Church & Church Online need to learn to play together nicely. In the pre-COVID season of our life (that was merely two months ago) …

In the midst of this pandemic, we're taking a moment to talk with one of the pioneers of the Church Online movement. Nils Smith was there from practically day one, diving into Church Online when the social media …

COVID-19 has brought a lot of confusion into the church. It's hard enough to be an existing church navigating this season. Try being a church that hasn't even launched yet.

That's where Ray Hudson found himself. A …

When we look at the idea of a Phygital Church, one that truly utilizes digital and physical, there is going to be a tension of who is priority? The …

What does a church look like in Virtual Reality? Greg Nettle, President of Stadia Church Planting and DJ Soto, Lead Pastor of VR Church... who's discipling and shepherding people in the digital community of Altspace VR …

In the hectic-ness to build a Church Online, we often forget the biggest part... okay, Jesus is the biggest part. Didn't mean to Jesus juke you there. So let's call it the second biggest part, and no I'm not talking …

We're wrapping up here on our our 3rd part of the Biblical Functions of a Digital Church. We've covered the easy stuff coming into this episode. What's left is the hard stuff.
Justice. Compassion. Mission. Body Ministry. …

What is a Digital-Only Church? Well, thanks to COVID-19 we've got maybe a couple hundred thousand of them right now in America. Pre COVID-19, though, the idea was quite controversial.

Stadia is passionate about planting …

The hardest thing in Church Online is meeting people. I recently had an online pastor tell me that he had over 500,000 people attend Easter services …

Covid-19 is challenging, stretching the Church. As we've discussed... the Church has responded well, but at what cost? Our newfound love of Digital Church in this season of Coronavirus has churches growing at incredible …

Church, you should be celebrated. You survived Easter 2020 Church Online. A month ago most of you weren't even broadcasting online, and now you just …

Don't forget about the Kids & Students. In the midst of the Coronavirus season, with the pressure of Easter looming, what are we doing with Kids and Student ministry? Like everything else in the church world today, …

My favorite part of this podcast episode is that it is everything I expected it to be, and I had set the standard very, very high.. Larry Walkmeeyer is the Lead Pastor of Light and Life Christian Fellowship in Long …

You know that playbook you had? The strategy that you built for your church? For the foreseeable future it's trash. Not to mention, when the dust settles on this COVID-19 season, I don't think we'll recognize the world …

What is the role of the Church? In this Coronavirus season, that is a difficult question.

How do we broadcast our church service online? By far this …

Evidently, even the Easter Bunny has to worry about Social Distancing.

So, have you come to the realization yet that Easter is only going to be …

Need a break from coronavirus? I hear you. Hopefully this podcast is what you're looking for.

My favorite book so far in 2020 has been Daniel Im's No …

The Church [Office] has left the building as well. But how do we office, how do we as a church staff function digitally? This is the heart of today's conversation. And we brought in experts: Janie Mehaffey and Heidy …

Well, church, we survived. Coronavirus took its shot at us, and we made it. We survived. We figured out how to stream the service. How awesome. We did it!

Wait, so it's not just one week? We have to do this again? Two …

"Reducing large gatherings." - President Trump said it in his broadcast Wednesday night. Whether Coronavirus gets to a full-fledge pandemic here in …

Whether coronavirus is a legitimate fear or not is not the topic of conversation here. Fact is, we face all sorts of city-wide emergencies on a …

What makes a successful Digital Church? Church Online? Church overall? What is it? I'll tell you what it's not: our Sunday morning attendance …

Can a digital-only expression of church hold up to the Biblical standard of a church? This is the question that we, here at The Church Digital and …

The hardest lesson I've learned in my technology-based ministry life can be boiled down into five simple words: it's not about the tech. What is it …

What if we ran Church Online not like a Pastor would run a church, but like a missionary would run a missional movement. Crazy idea, I know. But …

It’s 2020. Do churches really need a mobile app? Isn’t my website good enough on mobile devices? The answer for many churches today is, unfortunately, yes. Many churches don’t have an effective strategy for how to …

Can a mobile app create community? Most people would accuse the mobile app of tearing down community, at least physical community. But can the mobile …

Sometimes innovation is overly complicated and very costly. Sometimes innovation is just looking at what you have differently.

What you’ll discover here in this episode of The Church Digital Podcast is two churches that …

This Episode of The Church Digital Podcast may challenge some established norms. If so, that’s cool. They probably need to be challenged. A small, …

One of the greatest untapped resources in Church Online, I believe, is the Kids Church Online. There’s huge potential here to reach kids in unique ways. Several years ago, while I was Online Pastor, we briefly …

One of the things that I (Jeff) love about Church Online is that we are basically learning about all of this, together. Big churches, small churches, traditional churches, charismatic churches… we’re all exploring this …

2019 has come and gone, and with it, 40 podcasts recorded on the many different facets of Church Online. Each podcast offering many lessons and insights into how to utilize Church Online more effectively for your church.

I (Jeff) used to consider myself innovative. Then I met Daniel. While most kids were running away from church, Daniel at age 11 was trying to figure out how to plant a church in a video game platform known as Roblox, …

Hey Church! This is your podcast. Two incredible organizations… Living As One and Leadership Network… got together and created a survey to discover how churches like yours are utilizing Church Online.

For churches …

One of the pioneers of Church Online jumps on the podcast here, Jay Kranda, from a small little SoCal Church called Saddleback. No stranger to the podcast, Jay goes into detail here talking about Saddleback’s relaunch …

Stat time, are you ready? Here we go. The average church in America has 73 people attending a week. 80% of churches in America today are under 200 in weekly attendance. These are shocking stats for me. As a guy who …

I’m (Jeff) going to be honest here. I’ve never really enjoyed chat hosting. Maybe I never did it right. Recently, I had a conversation with Evan …

I’ve been hearing whispers of this new concept in church. Jeff, you got to talk to these guys. They’re doing Pop-Up Church. Honestly, I had no idea …

The idea of the multisite church was born in the 1990s as church attendance was growing faster than the church buildings could sustain. Even in those …

I (Jeff) believe this to be true: In the future, bigger churches will continue to get bigger; but smaller churches will continue to get smaller. And that may not be a bad thing.

The mega churches will find a way to …

Why do we do Church Online? I’m willing to bet that you’ve asked this question of yourself, and of your church’s leadership… maybe even asking some …

How do you market Church Online? I used to think SEO, SEM, SMM. Gotta love acronyms! All of these are valid, and helpful in ministry, but at the end …

I love a church that takes a risk. That’s what Bay Hope Church has done. Evidently, there’s this thing called TikTok. It’s currently the #1 app downloaded from the iOS App Store, and with over 80% of teens currently …

One of my favorite podcasts to date, Mark Venti from Churchome lays it out. “We’re experimenting…” “We’re following the Holy Spirit, but learning …

Engagement is one of those words that no longer has meaning. It’s been used and misused so often in recent years that the heart of the word has been …

Working on a Church Staff has been one of the greatest joys and greatest burdens in my life. Confession: I spent many years on staff feeling alone and frustrated. While I was friends with the people I worked with, my …

Remember when Apple was an innovative company? Steve Jobs would be speaking at a keynote, flash that sly grin, and then say to the audience: “Oh, one …

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 …

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 …

Before my wife and I got married, we were praying about becoming missionaries. Challenges like learning new languages, adapting to new cultures and …

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 …

The challenge before Church Online is that it is guilty of being church in isolation, allowing people to abandon biblical communities. These views …

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 …

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 …

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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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

As we've discussed, there's more to Church Online than broadcasting services online, but broadcasting services is a necessary piece. And while …

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 …

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 …

The strength of Online Technology (and Church Online) is in our ability to communicate. But are we communicating effectively?  Throughout the service …

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 …

 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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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? …

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? …