Counting people in the pews is no longer a viable way of recording worship numbers. With some joining online, how does a church measure attendance trends?
Since the advent of virtual worship, the question on the minds of session members across the country is how to welcome online viewers as full-fledged members. For the Rev. Monica Thompson Smith, stated supply pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Luling, Texas, a small church whose dwindling numbers have slowly been reversing thanks to Zoom worship, the answer is easy: Welcome virtual members the same as you would any other member.
The First Presbyterian Church of Dunbar, West Virginia, was the first church in the Presbytery of West Virginia to answer the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s call in 2019 to become a Matthew 25 church, focusing on ministries that dismantle structural racism, eradicate systemic poverty and build congregational vitality.
Excited about what God is going to do through the new Theology, Formation & Evangelism Ministry Leader Formation Cohorts, Alicia Demartra-Pressley is looking forward to Presbyterians participating in spiritual formation and transformation work together.
An Oklahoma husband-and-wife pastor team uses a love for theater to share the Good News with the congregation, providing sermons as plays that often feature modern and humorous takes on biblical stories.
On Sunday at 10:15 a.m., we gathered for worship in the Sanctuary of LoveJoy United Presbyterian Church. It was one of the first beautiful spring weekends of the year. The church service was entirely ordinary, save that I asked the congregation to refrain from shaking hands during the passing of the peace. It was March 8, 2020, and it was the last time that we would worship together in the sanctuary for more than a year.
Thanks to the Rev. John Ruehl and a handful of other faith leaders in Savannah, Georgia, about 150 students in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System began virtual learning for the 2020-21 school yearin person in a place they might know well — their local church.
During the first week of COVID-19 quarantine and canceled in-person worship services, the Revs. Liz and Dexter Kearny performed a wedding via Zoom.
The Kearnys have served as co-pastors of Longview Presbyterian Church (LPC) in Longview, Washington, since 2016. It’s their first call following their studies at Princeton Theological Seminary and definitely their first virtual wedding.
During a fast-paced two-hour Zoom conversation this week, the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow led more than 100 participants in a discussion on “The Scattered Church: Pastoring in a Time of Pandemic.”
Sunday morning has become a stressful time for so many pastors who never imagined that their job would involve being an AV tech. “Hallelujah!” is the cry when the internet connection stays up and Zoom properly connects to Facebook Live. After weeks of working on this, many churches are finally thinking, “We’ve got this down.” And now that it’s working,
it’s time to go to the next step. Here’s what you need to consider.
