When churches were in lockdown during the initial phase of the pandemic, many pastors turned to livestreaming as a temporary stand-in for in-person worship services. Churches began delivering disembodied gatherings to congregants’ homes. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It was certainly better than nothing.
But here’s the rub: What most of us assumed would be a few weeks morphed into months, then traversed well beyond a year. What began as a provisional alternative became a comfy habit.
Livestreaming certainly has benefits: It’s convenient, far-reaching, and accessible. So even after gathering in person became feasible again, many pastors retained the online service option. But livestreamed church has a shortcoming that far outweighs its benefits: It is pseudo-fellowship. It provides the appearance of relationship without the genuine depth that comes from proximity. It encourages the notion that nearness is nonessential.
I do believe livestreaming has value in some contexts, such as ministering to homebound congregants or those who may be immunocompromised. But today, many Christians who do not have such concerns have grown so accustomed to livestreaming church that they view it as a viable alternative to a weekly trek to the sanctuary.
As my ministry colleagues and I have debated different views on livestreaming Sunday services, we’ve narrowed our focus to a single question: Why does the local church need to assemble in person? I believe Luke provides a four-fold answer in his description of the first-century church: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). These four practices suffer when live-streaming permanently replaces the proximate fellowship of the saints. Do believers choosing online services realize what they’re missing?
The Apostles’ Teaching
Treating the study of God’s Word as an academic exercise—like viewing an online lecture or TED Talk—is a disservice to divine revelation. Believers are participants in Scripture’s proclamation during a Sunday service. This act is communal; it does not occur in isolation. And though only one person is speaking, sermons are meant to be conversations; ideally, they provoke dialogue and reflection within the body. Receiving the “apostles’ teaching” is not merely viewing a good speaker online; it is opening our hearts to God’s self-disclosure. Watching sermons in isolation should be only a temporary fix. We need to directly encourage our church members not to neglect the corporate context in which God’s Word thrives. As God’s people, we are disciples in community who together listen to and relish in what God has said.
Fellowship
Analyst Marshall McLuhan coined the adage “The medium is the message.” The internet has redefined relationships; we’ve grown accustomed to calling utter strangers “friends” and neglecting the unique value of proximate community. For the early church, the meaning of fellowship was clear: the gathering of an encouraging community in which one could be truly known (Heb. 10:25). Every week at church, I welcome individual congregants. We speak to each other, and I see their facial expressions and body language. These nonverbal messages are nearly invisible in an online medium. But when Christians gather in person, we see what is unspoken. It’s harder to hide heartache or suppress joy. In-person nearness enables fellow believers to see you and participate in your seasons of mourning or rejoicing (Rom. 12:15). This need is best met in proximate community.
The Breaking of Bread
The passage of time has not been kind to “the breaking of bread.” Efficient Communion services have normalized wafers and plastic thimbles of grape juice. But in the first century, Communion occurred as part of a meal. Eating together was cherished and intimate. While our churches certainly value the symbols of Christ’s broken body and shed blood, the importance of our participation in this remembrance is often obscured. When church members reduce the Lord’s Table to a mere formality, it is no surprise that in-person gatherings lose out to online simulcasts. But recognizing Communion as an act of grace that repeatedly embodies the assault on Christ’s body, which he endured for us, helps our congregants understand the significance of gathering to receive it together. We are gathering not to observe a legalistic formality; we are gathering to exemplify Jesus’ sacrifice.
Prayer
On the day of my conversion, I was asked, “Will you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?” I appreciate this sentiment, but individualizing salvation in this way can diminish our sense of communal identity. Scripture repeatedly emphasizes prayer in community, such as corporate pleas and repentence (2 Chron. 7:14). The early church recognized the need to partake in this sacred act together. When believers assemble, prayer empowers us in a unique way. Through corporate prayer, the local church can seek God’s direction, surrender to his sovereignty, and jointly lean on the power of the Holy Spirit. To be sure, there is an important personal component to prayer, but it should never come at the expense of the Sunday gathering that knits praying believers together.
Missing Out
I’m not suggesting churches need to abandon online services altogether, but pastors must think strategically about how to offer this ministry without promoting it as a replacement for attending church. One strategy we’ve used is to post the service video during the week rather than streaming it live. Another approach is to run the previous week’s service during the Sunday time slot; viewers still have a Sunday morning option but also realize they’re missing out on participating in the assembly. Feeling like they’re missing out can nurture virtuous jealousy.
Though livestreaming was a godsend early in the pandemic, this stopgap measure cannot fully replace the assembled local church. As pastors, we know this—but many of our people need to hear us say it. We minister to our online viewers if we urge them to attend in person.
We gather for the apostles’ teaching, the breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayer; these are the biblical characteristics of corporate worship. Rather than encouraging believers to “go to church” via screens, may we directly and repeatedly invite them to the gathering where they can embody the church.
Brandon Washington is the pastor of preaching and vision at The Embassy Church in Denver. He is the author of A Burning House (Zondervan, 2023).
This article is a part of our fall CT Pastors issue. You can find the full issue here.
