FROM ANALOG NEIGHBORHOOD TO DIGITAL COMMUNITY

Photo from Unsplash.

Let’s talk evangelism. Get ready for an extended metaphor!

Think of the Internet like a city, with plenty of public transportation connecting people with where they want to go. 

We each have our favorite haunts; maybe we hang out with our friends on Twitter or Facebook; maybe we explore and discover a new baker on Instagram or a comedian on YouTube. There are plenty of digital spaces to work as a team, meet new people, and even fall in love; there are also places of solitude. Like any city, what we have is what we have built, and new neighborhoods emerge every day.

It’s common to think of social networks as a destination, but really, they’re transportation. When you take a certain bus line, it puts you within walking distance of certain places. Social networks provide those connections. On the Twitter line, you’ll find different faces, different places, different ideas than on the Facebook line. Along the YouTube line, you might attend a how-to workshop from historical costumers. Take the Instagram line to see friends from college or stumble upon a new shop and buy something from a craftsperson.

The social network lines connect us, but they also divide us. If you are on Facebook and your grandkid is on Twitter, you may never cross paths. Even when we ride on the same lines, we get off at different stops; your favorite vlogger is a long journey from your mother’s political pundit, even if they’re both on YouTube. 

So where is our church?

Well, in the analog world we might have a building. But that isn’t exactly the church, is it? Our services take place in one room, our Bible studies in another. Maybe we meet at Barb’s house for a potluck, and Joe’s for a small group. Wherever we go, in prayer and community, is where the church is. 

Okay, so where is the church online?

We’re in the midst of deciding that right now, so … nowhere? Wherever we want?

Let’s start with a different question and work our way back. How do people get to our church? In analog church world, lots of people drive. Local people walk. A few people take public transportation – but did we think about that when we built the church building? Are we near buses and trams? If we aren’t, why aren’t we?

So many of our brick-and-mortar buildings are accessible only to few, and in a certain neighborhood. By the very nature of geography, even if we try, we can only connect to so many thoroughfares and public transportation routes. We cannot be everywhere at once.

Online, though, geography is much nimbler. A place like Buzzfeed exists on every single social network thoroughfare, from Facebook to YouTube. Their articles and videos are like Starbucks, present on almost everyone’s commute. They even have their own app, a Buzzfeed bus system that takes you through a mall of Buzzfeed-only shops and information. 

We’re smaller than Buzzfeed, and we’re new to the Internet. Most other places have spent about two decades figuring out their space online. The good news is, since we’re new, we can learn from everyone else.

Instead of creating a space and waiting for people to arrive, we need to meet people on their highways and byways. Where there’s a bus stop, that’s where we need to build. Here’s how we do it.

We start with the busiest transportation line: Google. This is where we build our website, so when someone searches for us, we’re there. It’s our foundation, to which every other outpost will link. It displays our basic information, what to expect when you join us, our priorities, and what we believe. Most importantly, we emphasize ways to connect: contact information, events, an introduction form to submit, and groups to join. 

So, we have our main spot dressed up and ready for visitors. But it’s empty. How do people get there? They can take that Google path, but you have to be pretty determined and specific to find our church that way. At this point we ask, “what routes are people already taking?”

It’s easy here to take stock of our own Internet habits and build where we are. That is definitely a good place to start; but we have to remember that the Internet connects and divides. Building our presence on Facebook where we already are is important for reaching regulars, but it might not connect us to many new people. They are either travelling elsewhere on Facebook or, more likely, on other bus routes entirely. 

We can’t build a whole new church on every social network, nor should we. This isn’t a matter of constructing satellite campuses. Our building project is much less resource intensive. No, our job as digital architects is to build small spaces where people need them, where they already are. If our regulars use Facebook, we’ll be there; but we know more people use YouTube, so we should post our videos there too. Our youth group isn’t using Facebook, and there’s no need to build them a room they won’t use; create an Instagram or a Discord where they are. 

Our job is to stay curious and pay attention. Where are people moving through the Internet? Where are we moving in the future? How can we show up there? We need to stay excited and ready to learn new things, because the landscape of the Internet changes quickly, and when the traffic leaves the neighborhood we’re used to, we need to adapt.

Even on social media thoroughfares, it isn’t enough to say, “if we build it, they will come.” Our website connects to social media accounts that consistently invite people to more (more participation, more fellowship, more co-creation). If people see those invitations, they might come on in – but sometimes we end up in social media echo chambers, talking to the same people every day. Plenty of folks breeze past our social media outposts on their way to other interests, almost like passing a long driveway and never realizing it led to a farmer’s market. Unless we spend an incredible amount of advertising money, we’re off the beaten path. We need something special. Something like a sandwich board on the main street telling everyone the farmer’s market is open. Or better yet, like your friend who told you about the fabulous farmer’s market down the road. We need evangelists.

The heart of online community has nothing to do with social media or websites. Those are just tools we use. Like analog roads lead to church events, social media leads to formation, meeting spaces, and worship. Ultimately, no matter how digital we are, we’re here to pave an easier path to Christian community.

Most newcomers arrive at an analog church because they were personally invited; online community is the same! It has never been easier for friends to reach our doors, but they may as well not exist if we aren’t shouting from the rafters. Every forwarded email, shared Facebook event, regrammed Insta, and direct message is an invitation. At the heart of online welcome and evangelism, it’s the same as analog: given the tools, excited community members invite people to join them.