Month: June 2020

In a virus impacted world where we travel less and click more, how does a relationship that may begin as an on-line connection develop into an in-person disciple-maker? In answering this question, our starting point must surely be to believe that Jesus hasn’t put the great commission on hold during COVID-19 (ref Matthew 28:19). Uncertainty may still be here, and talk may still persist of a second wave of infection. But we still have a mission, and we must pivot to find ways to be effective within our current environment.

SURVEY RESULTS PART 2

This blog post is the second in a series that unpacks some key findings from our recent Hive church survey, and discusses how we believe this feeds into our future.

Conducted earlier this month, we wanted to learn how our community felt about on-line and in-person church experiences; listen to what was working and not working so well; and also to gauge the appetite for change as we prepare for life after pandemic.

FEEDBACK REGARDING CONNECT GROUPS

According to the survey, we can do better with connect groups:

• Less than half of people (42%) have joined every Connect Group, 29% had never tried.
• Although most people who participated in online Connect Groups say they feel as connected (53%) and as comfortable (60%) online as in person, most people (76%) would often or always recommend in-person Connect Groups (even among people who’ve attended every online group, everybody was at least neutral), but many people (42%) had mixed feelings about recommending online Connect Groups.

FEEDBACK REGARDING CONNECTION TO THE BROADER HIVE COMMUNITY

The survey also asked church on-line participants to describe how connected they felt to the broader Hive community. There’s room for improvement here too:

• Many people (43%) said they had little opportunity to interact with the broader Hive community during services, but some people (19%) said they had very much opportunity
• Most people (56%) said they felt much or very much a part of the broader Hive community
• Some people (24%) said they felt not much or only minimally part of the broader Hive community

FEEDBACK REGARDING ON-LINE OR IN-PERSON PREFERENCES FOR CONNECT GROUPS

When asked about on-line or in-person preferences for connect groups this is what the survey revealed:

• Most people (56%) say they’re likely or very likely to attend an in-person Connect Group, and the majority (71%) say the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine wouldn’t affect their decision.
• Many people (42%) say they’d attend a mixture of online and in-person Connect Groups; only 14% were in-person-only, and nobody was online-only.

HOW WE PROPOSE TO RESPOND AND GO FORWARD

1. On-line or in-person connect groups? Rather than an either/or choice, we see this as both/and. We plan to experiment with both options. This week we will re-introduce in-person groups, and we’re keen for your feedback. Let’s see how it goes.
2. Re-focus on discipleship. Regardless of how, or even where we meet, the bigger question for connect groups is WHY meet in the first place? A disciple of Jesus is a multiplier: one who reproduces followers of Jesus. Do you think of yourself as a disciple? Can you identify a person in your life who is prompting and helping you in obedience of Jesus commandments (Matthew 28:19)? And do you have someone who you are helping and encouraging? This is a good reason to belong to a connect group. Be a giver, not just a taker.
3. Love deeply. At the heart of every effective discipling relationship is a love that compels (2 Corinthians 5:14). This is the love with which Jesus first loved us. This is the agape love that is so unique, the New Testament Greek language had to invent a new word for it.

agape (love) denotes an undefeatable benevolence and unconquerable goodwill that always seeks the highest good of the other person, no matter what they do. It is the self-giving love that gives freely without asking anything in return, and does not consider the worth of its object. Agape describes the unconditional love that God has for the world.

Study notes; NKJV, Word Wealth

This is what it means to engage relationally.

This is how we are called to live as a community of faith.

We have been loved like this (Romans 5:5).

And this is how a relationship that may begin as an on-line connection develops into an in-person disciple-maker.

LOVE.

This is the first of a series of blog-posts that unpacks some key findings from our recent Hive church survey, and discusses how this feeds into our future.

Conducted earlier this month, we wanted to learn how our community felt about on-line and in-person church experiences; listen to what was working and not working so well; and also to gauge the appetite for change as we prepare for life after the pandemic.

FEEDBACK REGARDING ON-LINE CHURCH

We’re doing Sunday services pretty well:

• Most people (81%) have watched the Sunday service every week
• Everybody watched at least two services
• Most people (56%) enjoyed or really enjoyed worship
• Most people (71%) said the worship helped them feel much or very much closer to God
• Most people (80%) said the content of the services was relevant or very relevant to their needs
• Somebody said the service “feels and sounds genuine”

FEEDBACK REGARDING IN-PERSON CHURCH

Very obviously, we’re not doing in-person Sunday services.

• Most people (52%) say they’re very likely to attend an in-person service, and the majority (71%) say the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine wouldn’t affect their decision
• Many people (42%) say they’d attend a mixture of online and in-person services; only 14% were in-person-only, and nobody was online-only

So clearly, whilst our sudden transition to an on-line format has been moderately successful, the survey confirms that there’s still an appetite for in-person options.

HOW WE PROPOSE TO RESPOND AND GO FORWARD

COVID-19 restrictions forced us to rapidly find on-line alternatives for activities which once upon a time we personally assumed only worked within in-person environments.

We (Yve & I) were wrong.

Whilst in-person may still be preferable to some extent, we now have a new paradigm from which to consider our future.

We don’t have all the answers, nor do we have complete freedom from the point of view of the easing of restrictions. That said, here’s our leadership response for the immediate future:

RE-OPENING BUILDINGS FOR SUNDAY GATHERINGS

Here are some of the issues we are processing:

• to be frank, it was challenging enough getting people to come to church buildings before lock down
• and in our previous set-up / pack-down scenario at PCYC, it was a lot of work – by a few – for a few
• the problem is that now, as churches re-open across the globe, attendances are reported to be 10-40% of what they were pre-pandemic
• and that’s not just in the USA
• an established church in our area re-opened last weekend and had 9 people came in the doors (with just 4 the week before that)
• whilst a maximum of 50 people can now attend a religious service at a place of worship, a Government ban on communal singing is still in place
• attendance limits are also in force community venues such as PCYC
• so if we chose to go back now, it would be to a triple negative: even less people, experiencing less, and therefore a yet lower return for the effort and cost involved

If we chose to go back to a building now, it would be to a triple negative: even less people, experiencing less, and therefore a yet lower return for the effort and the cost. To re-open in a building under these circumstances would be demoralising, un-satisfying, and poor stewardship.

Whether these are temporary trends or something more permanent remains to be seen. The reality is, we have to make plans for the immediate future and keep an open mind for what’s to come.

WHAT’S THE GOOD NEWS?

Here’s some of the things we’ve learnt in our short history as an on-line community.

On-line church by some measures provides a way we can reach more people for less effort. The R.O.I. (return on investment) when compared to our previous in-person scenario is trending in the right direction.

Our Hive experience during this on-line season, is an increase in attendances by an average of 60%.

on-line church is more accessible and therefore more people can be reached

Here’s some reasons why:

• not limited by geographical location
• less limited by time-zone
• on-line church is less threatening to 1st time attenders who are new to a church environment
• your own lounge room will always be the most comfortable place to experience the unfamiliar, and this is also true for someone from a different church culture or denominational background
• on-line church also obviously asks less of attendees in terms of travel, time, cost and navigating traffic

THE HIVE STUDIO

We thank God for His provision of our current Hive Studio. It ticks lots of boxes for us in that:

• it’s in Hornsby
• it’s very generously provided at no cost
• we leave it set up from Sunday to Sunday, so our team is released from the set up / pack down load
• we can likely keep using it till October 2020
• it provides a ‘real-time’ location to mix with team, one-off contributors, and guests
• all of this is an enormous blessing

WHAT OF THE FUTURE?

Again we must say, it’s too early to predict with certainty the future of church in a global environment that is still so volatile.

That said, we offer the following thoughts & observations:

• on-line church is here to stay
• the majority of the people we want to reach are already on line, so why would we not want to be there too?
• the future of church is not a binary choice of either in-person OR on-line
• it will be both / and
• the future church will therefore be both a mix of physical and digital expressions

IS THERE STILL A PLACE FOR IN-PERSON CHURCH?

Yes.

I’ve just had a text from a young disabled man we’ve got to know pre-pandemic, asking me when we are opening up again at PCYC.

My heart goes out to him and to others like him in our community who are needy and looking for support and relationship.

There has to be a way to provide in-person connection for people like this young man – in fact for all of us! It’s just a question of what this looks like and where.

We’ve given our lives, and so have many in our Hive Community, to the vision of doing all that it takes to reach needy people with the message of the love of Jesus.

THREE STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES

Whilst the vision doesn’t change, our methods must be flexible. For reasons already outlined above, we don’t believe it makes any sense to ‘re-open’ at PCYC right now.

So here’s what it looks like:

we will continue for the next few months to gather on-line from our studio, and we will wait on God for what it looks like after that. Meanwhile, let’s be the church in our families, in our workplaces, and in our communities

The Holy Spirit is at work, empowering the Church to strive with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in us (Colossians 1:29).

Whether on-line or in-person, here are three strategic goals we believe to go after:

1. Engaging
2. Equipping
3. Evangelising

In coming weeks we will unpack what this means and how we propose to focus on these three strategies as a church community.

You can share your thoughts and comments by emailing info@thehivechurch.com

Sometimes all it takes is to stop.

Breathe.

And look at the horizon.

So how far can you see?

To take a ‘helicopter view’ is as the name suggests, to rise above the detail of a situation and look at the big picture. It is literally an overview.

However an overview is quite different to a long view.

How far is the horizon?

For an observer standing on the ground, the horizon is at a distance of 5 kilometres. For an observer standing on a hill 30 metres above sea level, the horizon is at a distance of 19.6 kilometres [Horizon-Wikipedia].

The restoration of all things

Therefore the higher the elevation the more distant the horizon becomes. Increased height increases long range vision.

Consider Jesus

He went to the highest heights in order to make the most distant horizon point of impossibility possible.

The same one who descended is also the one who ascended above the heights of heaven, in order to begin the restoration and fulfillment of all things.

Ephesians 4:10 The Passion Translation

What’s the point

Jesus is qualified to go further in His restoring power than you can imagine because He has first gone higher in His resurrection power than you can conceive.

Is there a vanishing point on the horizon of your faith today?

Sometimes all it takes is to stop.

Breathe.

But before you look at the horizon: look UP.

Then: look at the horizon.

SpaceX has got nothing on this!

The horizon of your hope is determined by first stopping to consider just how high the name of Jesus Christ really is.

If you’ve run out of hope, perhaps that’s because you’re in elevation deficit.

Beyond beyond

So if you take your seat with Jesus (Ephesians 2:6,7) then you will be high enough to see what Jesus sees.

The scope of this vision is astounding.

Jesus has ascended that He might fill all things.

And restore all things.

And … He is accomplishing this through His Body: The Church!

Now that’s a Horizon!