Page 12 - Digital Church in a Lonely World

I view in-person community as

the ideal, while maintaining the
need to boldly innovate in digital
solutions

convenience and invited new generations into a sense of community that truly means something
special? And instead of wanting to walk away from something that feels shallow or inauthentic, what if
the longer they were in church, the richer their sense of community and relationships became?

We simply cannot do this without thinking very deeply about what we mean by community. It
must mean more than three-second views, likes, social media engagement or even in-person Sunday
attendance. These are points of connection, no doubt, but where do these points of connection lead?

I am suggesting that we need to lead people toward a new idea of community that, while being
challenging and inconvenient, is also deeply meaningful. Kind of like family, right? We need a version
of community that causes people to aspire to a higher ideal—an aspirational community. I like the sound
of that.

I want to state my thesis upfront: I view in-person community as the ideal, while maintaining the need
to boldly innovate in digital solutions.

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