Visiting Online Church: A Journey Exploring Effective Digital Christian Community

by Peter DeHaan

Online church is the new front door to visitors. Is your church connecting effectively with people behind the screen?

When the pandemic forced congregations to set up online services in record time, people thought it would be temporary. But for too many, online church has become a staple, the new front door for visitors.

But what does this mean for congregations who struggle to effectively reach online guests? Is it possible to create a connected virtual experience that fosters Christian community and enhances our faith?

In Visiting Online Church: A Journey Exploring Effective Digital Christian Community, Peter DeHaan spent months attending thirty online churches when the pandemic hit, documenting the challenges, approaches, and successes of each one. With fresh eyes, he sought to understand what made for a dynamic online service, while evaluating the limitations and giving practical tips to maximize the virtual experience. If you want a primer on the vast creativity and diversity in online churches, this book details dozens of examples for you to learn from.

Through Visiting Online Church, you’ll discover:
• why virtual church should be part of your outreach strategy
• how online church reaches forgotten people who can’t attend in person
• the necessity of online church in the digital age, even when it’s not your personal preference
• three dozen key principles illustrated through real-world examples that help you engage with your online congregation in fresh ways
• what online attendees really think about virtual church ministry—what they like and what they don’t

Visiting Online Church will help you discover new ways to effectively reach people for Christ while holding firm to your church’s distinctive values and traditions.

An advocate for significant church experiences, Peter DeHaan, PhD champions meaningful Christian community recognizing the importance of both in person gatherings and online ones.

The need to create a dynamic online church is vital to today’s spiritual seekers. As you journey through Visiting Online Church, you’ll uncover how a life-giving virtual church not only is an essential tool in today’s digital world, but a growing necessity to bring together congregations during turbulent times.

Get a copy and discover how your church can effectively engage with visitors through the digital church experience.

Genres: Technology

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2021

About the author

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity. He urges Christians to push past status quo faith and reexamine their spiritual practices.

Many people feel church let them down. Peter seeks to encourage them as they search for a place to belong.

He’s not afraid to ask tough questions. This sometimes makes religious people squirm, but he does this out of love to encourage them to become more of who God intends them to be.

Peter earned his doctorate from Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary, awarded with high distinction.

Read more at https://www.peterdehaan.com/

Reviews

[Jeanetta Chrystie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter DeHann’s book presents a well-rounded examination of reasons for providing and attending online church as well as many ideas for a variety of activities to help online attendees (and churches) benefit from online church activities. He also presents ways to help online church members and visitors develop connections and community with each other. In addressing the challenges of online church worship and other activities, his compassionate treatment of people’s expectations amid isolation uses example from his own church as the leaders grappled with the best ways to respond to the needs of online church attendees. As many churches have discovered, online church also opens new doors for people to “visit” and potentially become members as churches are able to again host in-person worship services and other meetings. I especially enjoyed his description of well-organized and professional online worship services. This book will not outdate after the pandemic ends because the methods and ideas presented remain useful.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

While a slight deviation from the previous books in the series, "Visiting Online Church" takes a look into a microcosm at how the world responded to the sudden shift of coping with a pandemic. In early installments in the series, Peter explores different churches every week. In "Visiting Online Church," Peter explores how his home church responded to the changing needs of the world, as well as supplementing his church diet with some other local churches. He offers refreshing, optimistic observations from his experience as opposed to judging how the situation was handled. Even though there is light at the end of pandemic tunnel, the wisdom offered through this book will be applicable for quite some time to come!

[John Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

DeHaan tracks some of his church visits/activities during the pandemic and provides some insights on what online church may look like moving forward. It was interesting to see how different churches approached church during the pandemic. And good to know that the church I help lead has already implemented many of the things he has mentioned.

A quick read with some nuggets. But nothing in-depth if you're looking for a complete how-to guide on effective digital Christian community.