The New Normal
Pivoting to Virtual Worship During the Pandemic
Project Role: Script Writer, Video Producer
Tech Used: Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro
The Situation
It was March 11, 2020, and I was sitting at my desk, scrolling through news and social media posts about the rapidly evolving situation with the coronavirus. As I read about businesses shutting down, employees working from home, and churches going fully virtual for their weekend worship services, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.
Being part of the staff at Georgetown Church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas, I knew that we faced a unique challenge. Our congregation consisted mostly of members above the age of 55, and we needed to find a way to not only livestream our worship service but also ensure that our members could engage with it and maintain a sense of community despite the physical distance.
I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, set a timer for 10 minutes, and began jotting down every thought, idea, and plan that came to mind. I knew that we needed to find a way to pivot to virtual worship and make it accessible and engaging for our congregation, many of whom were not familiar with online technology.
When the timer went off, I had a rough plan in front of me. It was going to be a challenging task, but I was determined to find a solution that would meet the needs of our church community during this unprecedented time. Little did I know that this would mark the beginning of an incredible journey of adaptation, innovation, and faith.
An empty auditorium.
A gaggle of screens.
A plan.
The Task
As I embarked on the challenge of pivoting our church to virtual worship, I knew that I had a unique advantage - I would be overseeing every aspect of the video production process, as well as the content strategy, marketing, and data analytics. It was a daunting task, but I was determined to make it work for our congregation.
The first step was to create a simple and accessible path for our members to join in our virtual worship experience. We primarily used Facebook as our main social media platform, sharing links to our live streams and ensuring that followers and fans of our Facebook page would receive automatic notifications when we went live. We also created a YouTube account where we could upload the videos for on-demand viewing and live-stream to our website via vimeo.com which was the main platform we directed our email correspondence to.
These different placements allowed me to gather valuable data analytics, including information on who was watching, from where, and for how long. This data helped me make informed decisions about our content strategy, marketing efforts, and overall engagement with our congregation. It was a direct connection between the content we produced and what the data was telling us about what worked and what didn't.
The Action
With the logistics in place, we got to work. The first few weeks were sort of a testing ground. We were able to test lengths of segments, order of segments, what segments to include, and how people engaged and in what ways. Our small team worked tirelessly to film, edit, and produce the virtual worship videos each week. We focused on creating engaging and meaningful worship experiences that could be accessed from the comfort of our members' homes. It was a new and exciting challenge, but it was also incredibly rewarding to see our church community come together in this new format.
At first, the data suggested that people were simply viewing the live content on Facebook. However, a deeper dive into the data suggested that many families were actually viewing in multiple ways simultaneously. For instance, several families would have the Youtube video on their TV in their living room while both parents were watching on their silent phones so they could type comments throughout the experience. This suggested that kids were not easily engaging with the content nor their parents during the live stream. Once we learned this, we included a segment specifically for kids to engage with their parents about a topic. Then the parents could type in the comments how it went. This allowed many other possitiblies as well. First of all, viewers without kids were able to see exactly how long the segment would be, so they could go and get their communion elements ready without missing anything major. We also followed the kid’s segment with a congregational song that allowed the families with kids to prepare their communion elements while singing together as a family. Of course, this whole move also provided a brief break in the video before the sermon, which allowed the viewer to focus more during the last half of the video.
The Adjustment
As the weeks turned into months, we realized that virtual worship was here to stay for the foreseeable future. With this realization came the need to make adjustments to our approach to ensure continued engagement and participation from our congregation.
One challenge we encountered was that some members were only tuning in for part of the virtual worship service, such as skipping the sermon or joining in late. To address this issue, we turned to the wealth of data analytics we had gathered to develop a more strategic plan.
One of the adjustments we made was to change the order of segments in our virtual worship service. Instead of following a rigid structure, we focused on creating a seamless flow between each element of content. For example, we would strategically place a song about gathering together right before communion, or include families doing a communion talk instead of just one person. This allowed more members of our congregation to be seen on the screen, beyond just the regular speakers and singers.
We also paid attention to the pacing and timing of our virtual worship service. We made sure to keep the momentum going by minimizing lulls or dead space, and incorporating interactive elements such as polls, chat features, and Q&A sessions to keep our members engaged and involved.
In addition, we continued to experiment with different types of content to keep things fresh and interesting. This included guest speakers, special performances, and testimonies from our members. We also encouraged feedback and input from our congregation, listening to their preferences and making adjustments accordingly.
The adjustment process was not without its challenges, but with the data-driven approach and constant innovation, we were able to maintain a high level of engagement and participation in our virtual worship services. It was an opportunity for us to learn, adapt, and continue to find creative ways to connect with our congregation during this unprecedented time.
As we moved forward with virtual worship, we were constantly reminded of the importance of staying flexible and open to change. We learned that being intentional and strategic in our approach, while also being responsive to feedback, was key to keeping our virtual worship experience meaningful and relevant for our congregation.
The Result
After making the difficult decision to continue with virtual worship due to the ongoing safety concerns in our community, we were faced with the challenge of creating a meaningful and engaging experience for both our in-person and online members. We knew that the two experiences would be vastly different, and we had to be strategic in our approach.
We paid careful attention to the timing, pacing, and length of different sections of the worship service to ensure that both in-person and virtual attendees could fully participate and connect with the content. We were also sensitive to the habits that many had developed during the months of virtual worship and incorporated those into our live services.
One key aspect was having live announcements that went on at the same time as pre-recorded virtual announcements, ensuring that both sets of attendees received the same information. This allowed us to create a seamless and inclusive experience for each viewing situation.
The results were astonishing. Over the months, we saw an increase in engagement from multiple churches across the country and around the world who chose to tune in to our live worship instead of creating their own. We welcomed new church members from different parts of the globe, allowing our existing members to connect and engage with them. We even had members who were tithing and participating in Bible classes from as far away as New York, California, and Idaho.
The power of virtual worship was evident in the way it transcended geographical boundaries and brought our community closer together, despite being physically apart. It opened up new opportunities for connection and engagement that we had not anticipated before.
As we reflected on the journey of virtual worship, we realized that while it presented its own set of challenges, it also brought about unexpected blessings. It allowed us to expand our reach and connect with a wider audience, fostering a sense of community beyond our local congregation.
While we eventually returned to live worship in August, we carried forward the lessons and innovations from our virtual worship experience, incorporating them into our regular services. We continued to embrace the flexibility and adaptability that we had learned during this time, and it enriched our worship experience in meaningful ways.
In conclusion, the results of our virtual worship experience were beyond our expectations. It brought our congregation closer together, fostered new connections, and opened up opportunities for engagement from near and far. It was a season of learning, growth, and innovation, and we are grateful for the ways in which it has enriched our community.
