Some churches did livestream worship prior to covid but not many. Then COVID hit and ALL of us jumped into the livestream arena. Pastors, worship leaders, musicians and tech folks all hit the ground running trying to figure out how to broadcast our services. But then once we could come back into worship we started to wonder – what should we do now? We saw a huge possibility of reaching out that we did not want to end just because it was safer to come back inside again. So we researched and researched, and talked, and praying and researched some more. The ways people worship, how often and how they connect have changed dramatically since 2020! At Williamson’s Chapel online worship is not just an offering for those of us on vacation who want to log in. That’s always a good thing but more importantly we are using our online worship as a way to connect with the community at large. We want to share what we LOVE about Williamson’s – the life, love, heart of being in connection with God’s people. And that’s hard to do over technology. You can’t ever really have the same feel as being in the building for worship – but we are trying, tweaking and changing as we go. There may be some things you have wondered about and so I want to share them here.

• The 9:30 Modern worship service begins and ends with an invite from Pastor Monica – sharing the theme of the day, inviting people into relationship, connecting with our online community. This is intentional. She is our Pastor of Engagement. We want her to be the first and last face our online friends see so that WHEN they decide to come visit they will connect with her in person and find their way to being actively involved.
• The 9:30 Modern service is aimed primarily toward visitors and new folks whom we are looking to connect with. We have learned again and again that online worshippers connect for only about 40 minutes max. Our in-house worship service lasts longer than that so we edit it down to give the elements that will connect the most before they disconnect.
• Our worship services often include things that make sense and mean a lot in house but not as much online. Watching us take communion for example…watching us sit in silent prayer…new members joining. Those things are very meaningful in person. Online it looks a lot like watching football from the last highest seat in the stadium without any jumbo screens! Like a bunch of ants running around!
• People looking for modern worship ALWAYS check online before actually coming to a house of worship. Traditional folks are more likely to just come. We play the whole traditional worship service online because at that hour and style more are likely to be our own friends and family logging in from home. Shut ins, when you are sick, on vacation etc.

I hope that helps some in understanding why we do the things we do. In general the 9:30 service has the primary goal of reaching new folks – it’s evangelism which is why it’s shorter and tighter. NOW – we do still have a lot of work to do. Tech stuff is hard. It never ALWAYS works but we are getting better and better at trouble shooting. Sometimes it’s internet, sometimes it’s a computer issue, and lots of times just learning curves because our team is made up of volunteers! And we are so very grateful for the time they give. If you find yourself longing to help with one piece or another – come join us! We would love more helpers anytime!

Got more questions about livestream still? Contact me anytime and Carter or I will help think it through with you. Pastor Carrie, cwright@willchapumc.org