When someone says the word church, most people think of a physical building - perhaps their own parish church or maybe St Paul’s Cathedral if they live in London.
If I think of a church building St Olave Hart Street or St Katharine Cree in the City of London come to mind. I also think of San Gines in Madrid, Spain, St Peters in Rome, St Mark’s in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, St Timothy’s in Agincourt, Canada or St Mathew’s in Brandon, Canada and tens if not hundreds of others.
However, a church is just an assembly of people. As Jesus said in Matthew 18:20 KJV
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
In the early days of Christianity. Jesus’ followers met in each other's homes as they were persecuted for their faith They were perceived as a threat to the established order in many spheres of life.
Many will remember that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. What few will remember is to distract attention from his role in setting the fire, he ordered that Christians should be rounded up and killed. That meant being burnt alive, torn apart by dogs or any other forms of murder that the blood thirsty tyrant and his followers could think of. How ironic nearly three centuries later, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and did the Roman Empire, albeit more slowly.
In the Middle Ages, the church was the centre of the community serving as a place for plays and festivities, meetings, elections, debates etc as well as a place for worship. In fact, many served as a courtroom, school and library. Going to church did not necessarily mean going to worship.
Today, churches are more than ever a place for communities to meet. Some are other faith groups but many are secular, needing a space to meet. Given the historic importance of Christianity in many communities, church buildings are usually ideally suited in a village, town or city. And given the upkeep required for many of these buildings, especially the older ones, it is not surprising the church welcomes the additional revenue that comes from others using their facilities.
However, the visibility of the community is usually dependent on a notice board in the church or amongst members of a specific group who are meeting at the church. And for those who want to review the facilities, their is always the concern is it really open to other groups or faiths?
And with the current coronavirus covid-19 pandemic causing church buildings to be opening and closing there is even less visibility and awareness of what is happening at the church.
The Digital Church Platform® provides church leaders with a digital presence that provides for an online church and online ministry. It provides all the digital tools necessary for live streamed services.
Most importantly, the home page highlights the most relevant “What’s On” events and there is one page dedicated to all of the events happening through or with the Church.
These events are digital, physical or share important events happening in the local community and beyond. It is a place to feature initiatives such as the Church of England’s Thy Kingdom Come initiative or a place to offer a 12 step addiction recovery programme or a musical concert.
The Digital Church Platform® provides visibility of your church in the community. Although we all hope with vaccines we can meet again in person, there has been a permanent shift in digital engagement. Mixed mode, physical and digital will become the norm.
This transformation is an opportunity to re-invigorate your church and show actually what an important part of the community it is. It will no longer be only those in the know who know the vibrancy and role of the church but the wider community will know as well.
The events feature is easy to use. As simple as writing an email and it is easy to re-order in seconds the events featured on the home page. Just like everything else in the Digital Church Platform®.
And just like your church there is a lot more going on behind the public facing website such as a repository for safe document management, easy social media sharing links and a new role compliance module.
