“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.”

                                                                                    Ecclesiastes 4:9

Hybrid cars . . . now a hybrid church?

I think it’s coming. For the last year churches have become creative in continuing the work of the kingdom, from how we worship to how we serve and do missionary work. And while we may think we have been limited in our work; the truth is many new avenues to reach people have been opened. We’ve gone from a mostly in-person presence to an online presence as well.

But anticipating a coming problem, we need to stop looking at this as an “either/or” scenario. That’s a false dichotomy that will limit us going forward. We need to stop thinking, “I can’t wait to get back to how things were” because this last year has proven that “the way things were” was limiting our outreach. Instead of “either/or”, it’s time to become “both/and”; in-person AND online.

Technology is great, but we don’t live in a purely online world. Face-to-face is great, but the way the world has learned to communicate and interact means we can’t live purely in a world where the only connection is in person. Somehow, we have to find a unique combination of the two that acknowledges and affirms both.

We need to broaden our view and methodology to think holistically about the way we “do” church and the people we’re trying to reach because over the last year many churches have grown by reaching people who before the pandemic never even considered coming to church because it was too “old fashioned”.

Our efforts now must address how we can capture the new demographic of people and keep them connected and in the process move them closer to God. In this we must also realize that churchgoers have changed. A person may attend Sunday morning worship at one church, engage in a Bible study online at another church, listen to worship music from another church, and participate in the mission of yet another church. We must learn to respect that and share information with them regarding not only our church, but other churches as well. (Remember, we’re not in competition with other churches; we all have the same end goal.)

To that end, we need to look to the future and dream up creative new ways to partner with other churches that will propel our ministries and their ministries forward; that will reach more people; and that will connect everyone with the central message of the church: The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Thank you, Father, for calling us to be Your witness in the world. Give us the wisdom to do that in whatever way it takes to reach others with the Good News. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”