Page 32 - Digital Church in a Lonely World
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Institutional Physicality
Instituted physical traditions and sacraments include things like water baptism, communion, prayer
with laying on of hands and the corporate singing of hymns. These things have been practiced by
generations of Jesus followers. Interestingly, according to research conducted by the Barna Group,
taking communion was the number one thing churchgoers missed when they could not attend
in-person services because of COVID-19. 14
It is likely that Millennials and Gen Z, who have lived so much of their lives online, will crave the
physicality of in-person services. We should be looking for the intersection of offline and online, not
replacing one with the other.
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