In certain circles I have heard a pining for “shutting off the livestream” so folks will come back in-person to worship. The reality is that strategy is faulty and rejects the amazing new things we have learned in our current time.
This article points also to another reason for continuing online/hybrid church options. Accessibility is a significant problem for the church as worship is not accessible to individuals for a number of different reasons. If online ministry helps us connect, to make accessible that which has been inaccessible, it is evangelical and gospel ministry. I like what they say here…
“My personal preference will always include in-person engagement with the people I call my church, usually in the building we also call church. I understand other people have their own preferences, and I see no benefit in weighing whose disabilities or circumstances justify each choice. As with other accommodations for disabled people, abled people will benefit as well: Shift workers and single parents and displaced individuals, be it by choice or necessity, can all benefit from worship models including online possibilities.”
Don’t turn off the stream NT-NL Synod, ELCA, grow into the hybrid future before us and connect, even if it is just one. #NTNL #InMissionTogether