25 Creative Church Ministry Ideas during COVID-19 (Part 1)

25 Creative Church Ministry Ideas during COVID-19

If there was ever a time that the old adage “the Church is not a building” rings true, it’s now.

In most cases, no one in any congregation is even allowed into their church building because of work-at-home mandates and social distancing. It’s helpful to remember that Christians before us were dispersed because of persecution, resulting in the spread of the Gospel far and wide. Perhaps our current forced dispersion will awaken the church to new ways to share God’s love.

This is the church’s moment to shine, and to use every means possible to share the Good News and meet needs innovatively.

The first big challenge facing most churches has been how to effectively take our services online. Many churches have little or no experience with this. The average size of the Protestant congregation in Nigeria is less than 200, and many have had little need for video recording capabilities. Churches over 500 people account for less than 10% of congregations.

But even larger churches with years of video and tech experience are wrestling with how to connect with people in more intimate and interactive ways.

So before we get to our list of creative ideas for outreach, connection with the congregation, and children’s and youth ministry, here are some tips for streaming services online in our new reality:

Start Streaming

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1. Buy a Good Mic: If you are new to this, the quickest way to raise your production quality is to improve your audio. Get a lavalier mic—even an inexpensive wired one—or a directional shotgun mic and hook it to your camera (whether it’s a phone, computer, etc.).

2. Come Closer: Keep camera shots closer—not wide—to create connection.

3. Focus on the Viewer: Look into the camera, not your image on the computer screen. You are addressing people at home, not in your sanctuary.

4. Use Imagery: If you don’t have graphic integration capabilities, create a PowerPoint of your graphics and run that on a large TV behind you. You’ll need to test for glare beforehand.

5. Go Acoustic: Try keeping the worship set acoustic as this can connect better. If you decide to do popular worship songs make sure you get the proper CCLI license for streaming.

6. Get Expert Tips: Take advantage of free technical tips from resources like 1230 Media, who offers an excellent live-streaming guide.

Imperfection is the norm in the beginning stages, and that’s perfectly fine. Authenticity is more important than a slick online presentation. Still, while taking what you normally do in a service and moving it online may be an acceptable stopgap, you’ll want to grow into this new medium quickly to connect with your people effectively.

In no particular order of priority, The next post gives a clue on 25 creative ideas for church ministry during COVID-19: