Articles for tag: Facebook Live

March 1, 2022

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

Authentic Online Church

By Kent E. Fillinger Yogi Berra famously said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Since the pandemic started two years ago, there have been an endless number of “experts” making countless predictions about the future of everything—including the church. Plenty of churches offered an online campus or church online on various platforms before COVID-19. Broadcast methods varied by church; the main options were livestreaming, on-demand full service (worship and message), on-demand message only, and rebroadcast (simulated live). A 2018 survey by Vanderbloeman and Jay Kranda revealed the top three broadcast platforms were Churchonlineplatform.com, Facebook Live, and YouTube.

January 1, 2021

Dee Ann Billings

God Didn’t Stop When the Pandemic Started

When We Decided to Teach People in Our Community How to Study the Bible, God Provided Everything We Needed When COVID-19 first hit and life ground to a halt, I didn’t know what I would do with myself. As a volunteer outreach coordinator at Copper Creek Christian Church in Maryville, Illinois, as well as a leader with several independent outreach opportunities in the community, I was devastated when all events were unexpectedly and indefinitely canceled. Suddenly my involvement in two to three outreach events per month dropped to zero. No more events. No more kids’ activities. No more social gatherings.

October 24, 2020

Christian Standard

Job 1 Is Still Job 1

A global pandemic brought many changes to how we carry out our international ministry, but it hasn’t changed our mission. By Jeff Metzger The international mission sending agency I lead had lots of crisis plans. We prepared for many emergencies. We had a plan for hurricanes. We had a plan for kidnappings and political unrest. We had a plan for emergency evacuation. We had a plan for sudden illness or death. But we didn’t have a plan for a global pandemic or its ongoing consequences. Now we do! Our plan continues to grow and evolve. By God’s grace, we are

September 22, 2020

Christian Standard

Different Environments, Different Approaches (Ministering in the Midst of COVID-19)

Urban, Suburban, and Rural Church Leaders Share Their Experiences of Leading Through a Pandemic By Chris Moon No two churches are the same, even in how they have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, the virus has left a mark on Restoration Movement congregations and pastors across the country. For some churches and pastors, especially in rural, conservative areas of the country, the pandemic seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The major difficulty was figuring out how to get the internet to cooperate during a brief closure. “There’s a lot of things you face like that

June 10, 2020

Christian Standard

Crossroads Resumes In-Person Services, Formally Launches Online Campus (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon Crossroads Christian Church, Washington Court House, Ohio, formally launched an online campus on Sunday, the church’s first weekend back with in-person services after shutting down their building in mid-March due to the coronavirus. “We did an online poll and found 35 percent of our people said they will not return to in-person church until the fall,” explained Adam Lynch, lead pastor of the church, which has been sharing recorded services online for several weeks. “Knowing that almost half of our growing church is going to be watching online, we decided to livestream and

March 19, 2020

Christian Standard

Ohio Church’s Effort to Feed Schoolchildren Exceeds Expectations

By Chris Moon This past weekend, Christ’s Church in Mason, Ohio, gathered enough food to pack 6,400 meals for students in the local school district who are on free and reduced-price lunches. Schools are closed in the community for three weeks because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Starting Monday, families were welcomed at the church to pick up bags containing a five-day supply of food. The church collected much more food than anticipated, so it was able to pack several thousand more meals for others in need. “I think people are inherently good people,” said Trevor DeVage, the church’s lead pastor.

March 18, 2020

Tyler McKenzie

Pastors Focused on Serving Communities, Improving Online Abilities as Pandemic Continues

By Chris Moon After a weekend of large-scale cancellations of in-person worship services—the result of the COVID-19 pandemic—many Restoration Movement churches are spending this week plotting their next moves. Pastors say they are looking both inward at how their online programming was received and outward at how best to serve their communities in a time of need. They say they are recognizing the way in which “social distancing” recommendations are affecting vulnerable communities, from the elderly to those in poverty. Tyler McKenzie, lead pastor of Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, said his church put together both a weekend service plan

February 22, 2020

Justin Horey

Can Online Churches Create Offline Connections?

Three Churches Share Stories from the “Wild West”of Worship on the World Wide Web By Justin Horey From smartphones to social media, Facebook to FaceTime, the Internet and the tools we use to access it are often advertised as ways to help people relate to one another. Dating apps and websites aim to bring people together in person, while social media platforms and videoconferencing were created to help people stay in touch when they can’t be together in the same room. Technology experts and ordinary people alike love to debate the effectiveness of relating with online tools, but these tools

February 19, 2020

Rusty George

How to Develop an Online Church Campus

By Rusty George “Church online isn’t church.” Yep, that’s what I used to say. Of course, I also thought texting would never last and Facebook was a fad. But hey, what do I know? I guess you might call me a late adopter. Needless to say, starting an online campus wasn’t at the top of my list. But six years ago we decided to add an online option at our church, and I’ve changed my mind about its importance. The First Question: Why Mess with It? It sounds like a lot of work when a simple website with service times

February 19, 2020

Justin Horey

Can Online Churches Create Offline Connections?

Three Churches Share Stories from the “Wild West” of Worship on the World Wide Web By Justin Horey From smartphones to social media, Facebook to FaceTime, the Internet and the tools we use to access it are often advertised as ways to help people relate to one another. Dating apps and websites aim to bring people together in person, while social media platforms and videoconferencing were created to help people stay in touch when they can’t be together in the same room. Technology experts and ordinary people alike love to debate the effectiveness of relating with online tools, but these

April 3, 2019

Christian Standard

Church Bridges the Gap Between Sundays with Facebook Live

By Jim Nieman Plainfield (Ind.) Christian Church is “bridging the gap” between Sundays and working to connect with people who might otherwise never enter their church through its Weekday Chat on Facebook Live at noon every Wednesday. “We recognized that the front door of the church is no longer the front door of the church,” says Kyle Ferguson, director of media arts with Plainfield, whose team proposed the program to the church’s leaders. The show serves multiple purposes, including allowing two of the church’s ministers to sit down weekly to “dig deeper” into the topic they covered the previous Sunday

September 19, 2018

Christian Standard

Salty Church Rescue Station a ‘Symbol of Hope’ (Plus News Briefs)

Salty Church in Ormond Beach, Fla., has opened a “rescue station” in the historic Ormond Beach firehouse that is a place where people in the community can receive a helping hand. “Ultimately, this place is a symbol of hope and help for the city,” said lead pastor Robbie O’Brien during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the rescue station, the Ormond Beach Observer reported. The church is hoping the rescue station will help prevent people from becoming homeless, entering the foster system, or landing in jail. The ministry helps people connect with governmental services and local ministries. The church renovated an old

August 28, 2017

Christian Standard

Church Riding Out Storm in Katy, Texas

Here are two updates to this story (as of 5 p.m. Tuesday): Current””A Christian Church has set up a relief page on its website where people can make financial donations for relief efforts. Go to www.currentchristian.org/harveyrelief. Of the money collected, 100 percent will go to relief efforts. Also, the church already has teams out doing construction work, and removing damaged carpet and drywall. Other teams are working to meet a variety of community needs, such as helping with supplies at schools and shelters. x x x By Chris Moon Nathan Rymer, executive pastor at Current””A Christian Church in Katy, Texas, was

June 2, 2017

Christian Standard

CIY Uses Social Media to Take Message to Teens

By Jennifer Johnson Christ In Youth (CIY) is well known among the Christian churches””and beyond””for high-quality programs specifically geared to teens and preteens. Many of these events take place during the summer months, but last November CIY launched a new program””and it was all online. “We”re constantly trying to keep a pulse on the next generation so we can speak to them with the gospel message,” says Chris Roberts, communications director. “They are digital natives. They don”t know a world without social media or mobile phones. So, we began talking about how we can use those tools to point them

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