During the recent pandemic, congregations all over the country turned to online worship in order to stay connected. Now two United Methodist annual conferences are applying the lessons learned during that time and using new digital ministries to connect people all across their conferences.
The Tennessee Western Kentucky conference started The Vine, a new ministry offering online worship and initiating new small groups in local areas. Four ordained elders were appointed to lead The Vine together. The Kentucky conference launched its own service called Whenever Wherever Worship, led by the conference’s Director of New Church Development, The Rev. Kimberly Pope-Seiberling.
These new ministries have proven effective in connecting loyal United Methodists who are feeling isolated in wake of church disaffiliations. Both annual conferences saw many congregations disaffiliate, which left some areas bereft of a United Methodist presence. Even so, many are still home to persons faithful to The UMC who no longer have a church to attend. But these new digital ministries are providing safe spaces for them to worship, connect and heal.
If your congregation or annual conference is considering launching digital ministries to committed United Methodists affected by disaffiliations, here are some tips from these two examples.
Know your audience
Most online ministries that exist today are tailored to reach new people without any prior religious commitments (the unchurched). Serving committed United Methodists will be little different. These persons loved their old church and love The UMC even more. They will be looking for something that feels familiar and is proud of its Methodist heritage.
“It’s important [in your worship service and online marketing] to emphasize and celebrate who you are and what you believe in. I’ve been a United Methodist my whole life and believe the theology of love and grace I’ve experienced is worth sharing. This is a new reality for all of us. What does it look like to care for people who are not physically in one place?” said The Vine co-pastor Jefferson M. Furtado.
Plan ahead
It goes without saying that any great ministry requires advancing planning. Your conference leadership will need to be fully committed to this ministry’s success and work together collaboratively for it to succeed.
“Before we did anything else, we held a meeting with the Bishop and the Cabinet to get their buy-in. The district superintendents were really helpful in connecting us to the orphaned United Methodists in their district. The conference communications director helped us figure out the best ways to promote this ministry and provided us with the necessary technical expertise,” said The Rev. Kimberly Pope-Seiberling.
Advanced planning is also essential to the worship services themselves. Both The Vine and Whenever Wherever Worship agree that services should be recorded in advance rather than broadcast live since anything can go wrong in live broadcast. You should also give your pastors and other worship leaders plenty of time to plan their sermons.
“We plan and shoot our services for Whenever Wherever Worship weeks or even months in advance. We especially try to recruit volunteer preachers ahead of time and plan around their schedules during holidays or vacations. We also have back-up preachers who can step up in the event of an emergency,” said Pope-Seiberling.
Rotate leadership and model diversity
One thing these ministries do well is rotate who is leading the services online, both to avoid burnout and to ensure diversity. The Vine rotates its worship leaders among a diverse team of four pastors.
“Each of us have different strengths and our internal diversity has been a welcomed sight to United Methodists across the conference who tell me how rare it is to see such a diverse pastoral staff. I’m very grateful that we’ve been able to model that kind of leadership,” said The Vine co-pastor Erin Beasley.
Whenever Wherever Worship recruits pastors across the entire Kentucky Conference who each commit to preaching a series of sermons (usually over 3 to 4 weeks).
“People who join our services come from many different places and circumstances. It’s important for us to be inclusive in terms of gender, race, age and geographic diversity when recruiting preachers. Some of our volunteers are full-time elders, while others may be lay pastors, deacons or retirees,” said Pope Seiberling.
Encourage community outside of online worship
The intent of these online ministries is similar to that of a lighthouse congregation in providing a safe space and community for committed United Methodists as they process their grief and discern what to do next. For some your ministry might be a whole new beginning, for others a welcomed spiritual retreat as they plan for the future or a catalyst for new opportunities they might never have imagined before.
“We don’t see it as our job to tell people what to do, but rather help them in their own discernment process. Whenever Wherever Worship can serve as a beacon for finding scattered United Methodists without a church and helping them connect to each other and the conference,” said Pope-Seiberling.
The Vine is facilitating the creation of new small groups of committed United Methodists across the conference. Currently, it has twelve identified “branch” communities that meet outside of online worship in-person for events such as Bible studies, group dinners, prayer meetings, etc.
“We look for and recruit local people with past leadership experience within the church to lead these small groups. We call these individuals branch managers. Our team gets to know them and provides them with the necessary tools and training to lead,” said The Vine co-pastor Sean Stanfield.
This model of ordained pastors establishing new local fellowships in different places and then training local people to lead them in their absence has its roots back into very earliest days of Methodism under John Wesley. Now these practices are being adapted to the digital age.
“We see ourselves as a movement of living love. We say movement because it harkens back to the early Methodists under Wesley that inspire us. But we’re also a movement in the sense that we’re fluid and nimble, and willing to try new things,” said The Vine co-pastor Erin Racine.
Conclusion
Disaffiliation has created a situation where some regions of the country no longer have any “official” UM congregations or on-the-ground ministries, but still many committed United Methodists who feel isolated and homeless. Technology now offers an opportunity to connect these persons in ways John Wesley might never have imagined, but are still fully in tune with his unique “methods” of ministry and leadership.
Philip J. Brooks is a writer and content developer on the leader communications team at United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.