Marrying the Offline and Online in Church Ministry

Having an effective vision-strategy for parish digital ministry in post-corona times

By Fr Joshan Rodrigues –

The pandemic lockdown coupled with the explosion of online religious content may have significantly altered conceptions of the parish church. Territorial boundaries have blurred in the online space. A survey conducted in Mumbai at the end of May indicated that 55 per cent of people whose parish streamed a Sunday service preferred to participate in another parish’s service (church surfing is a new trend for some). Of course, considerations of audio-visual quality, quality of content offered, etc. all weigh in when people make their decisions.

While people consuming religious and spiritual content online is always heartening and encouraging at a time when people are being overloaded with high-quality and eye-grabbing secular content, there is a slow shift from the local to the universal, in terms of the religious programming that people are now watching. However, what cannot be denied is that Eucharistic worship, the grace of the Sacraments, being a Christian neighbour, acts of service and charity, and so much more happens at the local level. It is therefore essential that churches learn to make effective and successful transitions into the digital space, to maintain the local community centred around the parish church. In the current scenario, though it may be a ‘no brainer’ that churches do need to adopt digital communications and reach out to parishioners through the virtual space, the question remains if there exists a compelling and convincing philosophy, vision and long-term strategy in place before beginning to do so.

Foundational Pillars of Digital Ministry

A fundamental vision of the “what and why” of doing pastoral ministry online is important before you launch and establish your parish in the virtual space. Here are three basic points that should shape and guide your virtual ministry:

1. It wasn’t about a building before, and it’s not about a live stream now. Many of us may fall into the trap of believing that just live-streaming what usually happened in the church building will be a successful mantra. It won’t. The rules of the online space are different. The virtual space lacks an essential ingredient of the offline space – physical proximity. Going to church on Sundays is far more than just participating in the Eucharistic celebration; it involves socialising after Mass, the meet and greets, ministry meetings, Sunday School, parish events and special celebrations, talking to your priest after Mass, and so much more. Will just streaming a non-interactive Mass suffice? It’s a good first step, but it’s definitely not enough.
2. Consider how to “not only survive, but thrive.” If you plan to use the virtual space only so long as the church doors are closed, and then abandon it when normal church services resume, you need to think again. 2020 has fundamentally altered the dynamics of ‘being’ Church, and digital ministry will continue to be an essential part of Church ministry long after the pandemic is over. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a large number of adults wish to see online Church services being continued for the sake of the sick, infirm and the homebound. This is just one example. Online meetings, retreats and training programmes may just as well continue online due to popular demand and convenience. It would therefore be worthwhile to invest in digital technology for your parish for the long run.
3. What do my parishioners miss the most? There may be different answers to this question, depending on the context and place. Being able to receive Holy Communion tops the list, but a close second is experiencing the feeling of Community! Celebrating our faith together as one Body is irreplaceable. And hence, online programmes must be planned which help parishioners interact with one another and share their joy of being disciples of Christ. This could include prayer and fellowship. Organising competitions, sermons, prayer services are certainly good and beneficial, but they still lack the interactive component. For example, conducting live catechism classes for children on ZOOM or Google Meet is far more engaging than watching recorded videos. However, the latter would have to suffice when there are difficulties regarding technology and connectivity.

A good principle would be to ensure that my virtual parish ministry has all the three components of Faith, Fellowship and Service (Outreach).

4-M Model

1. Messaging – How can we get in touch and communicate with our parishioners? A parish may have started many online initiatives; at the same time, there is also community news which includes births, weddings and deaths. The parish may also be engaged in many outreach services during the pandemic; finally, there is also the informal connection where parishioners quite often desire to know how their priests and sisters are doing. Ensuring that this communication happens is very important to the life of the Church. Just look at your family – do you communicate only when there is some work to be done? Does a family not share their joys and simple daily routines with each other on a regular basis? Don’t they exchange videos, pictures and phone calls? Isn’t the Church a family?

Messaging can be done using the multiple tools available to us – website, messaging apps, social media, graphics, print, video conferencing (ZOOM, Google Meet) and even the humble phone call. Putting in announcements after your Eucharistic celebration (as on Sundays) is a good idea. The priest could also record a short video after Mass on Sundays, where he informally apprises his parishioners of the important developments during the week.

2. Meeting – How can we gather while practising social distancing? Think of ways to get your community together on online platforms for social interaction, prayer and fellowship. These sessions could be held community-wise for larger parishes or simultaneously for the whole parish (for smaller ones). These gatherings could include interactive games, quizzes, housie, sharings and testimonies, interceding for one another, live music, a group building exercise and a small informative capsule.

It is also essential to meet with different age groups such as youth, children, young parents, senior citizens etc. Neighbours can be roped in to connect senior citizens and the homebound to this virtual interaction, so that they may also experience the warmth and closeness of the parish community. Cells and Associations too need to connect virtually during these times, and think of ways to conduct their core charisms. The Parish Media Cell can be tasked with setting up virtual meetings for these groups

3. Ministry – As parishes establish new norms for communicating and meeting with one another, it’s important to pay attention to the needs around them. What are you doing to meet the real-life needs of people within your parish and within your community? The current situation is creating opportunities to love our neighbours in tangible and noticeable ways. Just as you have multiple ministries in-house, develop a plan to have those same ministries through virtual platforms. Let your community know that you’re not only a source for spiritual growth, but you’re also a source for community connection and empowerment. The pandemic has taken a huge economic toll on people’s livelihoods, and parish communities can come together to help support small businesses, extend micro-credit, etc. Create a list of local medical services, job opportunities, educational and medical subsidies offered by government programmes and local charitable trusts. Encourage parishioners with diverse talents to come together and begin entrepreneurial endeavours.

4. Money – The elephant in the room is the fact that church donations have come down to almost zero. While parishes need to prioritise spending on one hand, their ability to reach out to the needy also suffers. Rather than depending on occasional and unpredictable donations, parishes need to have a long term financial plan in place that identifies sources of funds for the future, so that they can also support needy and deserving families for many months down the line. Parishioners need to be encouraged to give consistently in small amounts according to their giving capacity, so that a long term ‘Strategy Fund’ can be formed.

With social distancing still in place, traditional methods of giving are now ineffective. Churches need to offer online giving solutions to their parishioners through PayPal, Google Pay, Paytm, NEFT transfer and other such options. Let’s remember that communicating regularly with people on how their money is being spent on outreach efforts encourages them to loosen their purse strings still further.

In conclusion, digital ministry is not just about offering top-notch and the most entertaining content. In the age of Google, there will always be better preaching and better worship music just a click away. But good-quality programming can never replace the local parish church and community. And therefore an important question for pastors to ask is, “What can my parish provide to my people at this time that Google cannot?” Offering compelling, attractive answers to this question is one of the most urgent priorities for the Church.

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Fr Joshan Rodrigues is the Managing Editor of The Examiner, Catholic Newsweekly of the Archdiocese of Bombay. He is an alumnus of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome in Institutional and Social Communications. He has done brief stints with the DeSales Media Group in Brooklyn, New York and Communications Office of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, London. He frequently blogs on faith and culture in ‘Musings in Catholic Land’