As you look out over your members on Sunday morning, you might feel discouraged to see fewer members in attendance.
It’s not always the church itself that’s the problem, though. Many of your members have had to change their schedules for their jobs, their kids’ activities and caring for aging parents.
This makes it difficult for them to attend traditional services. Sunday worship is starting to change to accommodate more people and better engage members. Getting on board might just help your church grow faster.
Offer Live Streaming
Your members can’t always attend, but that shouldn’t mean they can’t worship on Sundays just like their fellow members. Offering live streaming gives members who can’t attend due to illness or an injury the ability to grow their faith on Sunday morning too.
If you do this every Sunday, you might discover you have more members than you thought still in attendance. By offering an alternative to traditional Sunday worship, you show your members that you care about their schedules and needs. After all, it’s much easier to live stream services than it is to try and get ready after working 3rd shift on Sunday morning. Capterra takes you step-by-step on getting started live streaming in your own church.
The great thing is non-members may discover your church’s live streaming feed and start attending virtually every week. If you offer online tithing options, they may even help support your church in exchange for giving them a chance to worship with your church.
Video Conferencing
For smaller churches, video conferencing often works as an alternative to traditional Sunday worship. Plus, it’s cheap to implement. By using a video chat software like Skype, members who can’t attend are able to video conference to view services and even ask questions. It’s important to offer anyone who is attending via phone the opportunity to speak up at different times during services.
While they might not be physically there, they still get all the benefits of seeing their fellow members, singing along and studying their Bible during your sermon.
Post Sermons & Meetings Online
One of the most popular alternatives to Sunday worship is posting your services and even meetings online. All you have to do is film your services and post them when you’re done. It’s easier to implement than live streaming and works well for members who can’t view your live stream.
This is also a great way to show potential new members what your services are like. If they’re on the fence about trying your church, this could be what persuades them to attend.
Create An Online Church
This one might sound impossible. After all, Sunday worship is about people coming together under the same roof. However, more people are coming together digitally than ever before. Just think about how social media helps connect people who live hundreds or even thousands of miles apart.
While some are skeptical about the effectiveness of online churches, others fully support the idea. It does take work to engage members when you don’t actually see them in person each week. However, online churches offer live chats, live streaming sermons, prayer groups and even volunteer opportunities.
If you’re curious how they work, check out these popular online churches:
Engage With Q&A Sessions On Social Media
While a Q&A session isn’t going to replace traditional Sunday worship, it’s an engaging way to better connect with your members and help them explore their faith on their schedule. Ask members (both in church and online) when they’d be able to participate in hour-long Q&A sessions on social media or your website.
Schedule two or three of these each week for members to connect with each other and ask questions. This also makes it easier to see what’s on your members’ minds and what your sermons should focus on. Encourage your members to invite others to participate. Even if they don’t attend your church, you’re still reaching a wider audience.
Are you ready to start offering alternatives to traditional Sunday worship? Let us analyze your website to see if it’s ready for online services.
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