Grace Alliance Church streamed our first worship service on Facebook almost two years ago. It was on Easter Sunday, April 21st. The COVID-19 pandemic was beginning, and indoor gatherings we shut down. So, we decided to hold our Easter service in the church’s parking lot. We set up loudspeakers and used an old mini-DV camera that hadn’t been turned on in over a decade. Everyone stayed in their car. After each speaker spoke, the microphone was thoroughly doused with Lysol. All went well until Pastor Gabe encouraged everyone to “shout an alleluia” by honking their car’s horn. The loud volume overloaded the computer and kicked us off Facebook.
For the next several months, we worked to improve our streaming broadcasts, but every week something went wrong. We would solve one issue, and another completely different one would pop up the following week. It wasn’t until mid-July before we made it through a completely online service without a problem. But eventually, we worked out all the bugs. Dozens watched as we streamed live on Facebook and YouTube. And every week, our archived broadcasts were viewed by hundreds from all around the world.
But as the pandemic finally eased and we could meet in person again, the number of people watching fell sharply. Of course, we expected that. People were back in church on Sunday mornings. But the unexpected thing was that almost 30% of those who stopped watching online did not return to church. And it’s not just our congregation. That is the case nationwide. People got used to not having the fellowship that a church family brings.
Is that you? Were you once a regular church attender but no longer? This year, Easter is on Sunday, April 22nd. Please join us in our special Resurrection Sunday celebration at 11:00 am. Don’t be a part of the missing 30%. It’s time to come back to church.
