We all got a taste of remote learning these last few months. If you have kids, you saw schools adapt their classrooms and school work into digital platforms. Many of us moved our youth nights into virtual chat rooms using similar formats to what we would do in-person. The last few months have been insane, and as some of us find reprieve, there is the looming question, “What do we do this fall?” There is a lot of reluctance about going 100% virtual, even to some point where people are saying, “No matter what we’re meeting in person.”
Our strategy for the fall doesn’t have to be an either-or approach. If COVID-19 disappeared tomorrow, I believe it would be better for us to design a comprehensive remote ministry. When we think remotely, it encourages us to get off the campus and into the community. If we focus on remote (Whether that’s in person or online), it enables us to reach people who have previously been unreachable.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 is still around, and we have to embrace the reality of remote ministry by taking into consideration:
When shelter-in-place first occurred, our natural response was to dump resources on families. We have to be careful when we share resources with our families. We cannot assume that they know how to use them or are equipped to do so. If your ministry is going remote, you need to make sure you are spending time getting to know the entire family. Get a sense of the dynamics, ask questions like:
When you ask the right questions, you gain the knowledge you need to assist the domestic churches. The resources you offer with be relevant and increase your presence. If the domestic church sees your ministry as something that can help them, they’ll further engage in the opportunities you offer them.
Right now, you should be reaching out to families and asking them about their situation. Get a sense of what they are facing so that you can adjust your ministry to meet their reality. The last thing you would want is to create a ministry that they can’t embrace because they don’t have the ability or resources to make that happen.
Before quarantine, we simply needed people to show up. While we wanted our volunteers to do more, for many of us, it was good enough if they could grab chairs or serve pizza. Since meeting in person is up in the air, we’re going to have to change expectations for volunteers. Instead of giving them a workbook or a pdf to read questions, we’re going to have to:
It might seem like a lot to take on the needs of your volunteers in edition to parents and teens, and that is why you need to build a leadership team that focuses on volunteer care. Before you recruit more virtual or in-person catechists, find men and women to help you care for the ones you have. Their main job is to check-in and develops an accountability system. Having them by your side can take away the pressure of having to do it all.
We are learning that just because something is opening up that people aren’t coming back. Some of their decisions are driven by fear, while others have lost their desire to return. While we want our regulars to return, we also have to know that when we go remote, we are going to encounter others who left long ago or never even considered your church as a part of their lives.
The difference between remote learning for school versus remote ministry is that people feel, know, and see the value of education. They will prioritize school and work before ministry, especially if they do not see the importance of what you do. The reason value is lost because sometimes all we offer is a program instead of a partnership, relationship, and accompaniment.
The church can no longer embrace the mindset, “Let’s open the doors wide, and people will return.” We still need to make phone calls and remind people of the ways they can connect with us. It’s even more vital that we build relationships so that they’ll open their doors so that we can be a part of their lives.
What will remote ministry look like in the fall? That’s a great question, and I don’t know if we’ll have the answer. But, I do believe it requires us to be more present and accessible in the homes and spaces that surround the church campus.