The power of online

When you’re about to go on holiday or buy a book, it’s normal to turn to the internet to find out more. So really, it’s no surprise that this is the same for people looking at church and faith. 

Alongside some partners, Hope did some research during the pandemic that looked at the impact of the church's mass move online during COVID-19 restrictions. We found that it was an amazing time for reaching new people!

In fact, 4% of the population who didn’t attend church prior to the pandemic joined us online - many of these for the first time! Over half of these were under the age of 35.

This research was undertaken by Savanta, on behalf of Hope Together, the Church of England and the Methodist Church. It shows that the pandemic prompted the younger generations to think about spiritual things and to look for a community to join. What an opportunity to connect them with the great news of Jesus!

Tapping into Hybrid Church

Watch our webinar on Mission in a Hybrid World and our webinar on Edging into Hybrid Church.

Have a listen to our interview with Matt Smith, who has ten years experience of hybrid church.

The future of guests online

Hope has been working with futurologist Patrick Dixon, who is urging churches to take steps to ensure that we have contact details for the anonymous guests who have watched our online services during the past year. 

Churches have been amazing at getting online: 23% of adults in England are still connected to us online – we need urgently to get contact details for those people who have joined us anonymously and could disappear as the impact of the pandemic lifts.

This is from recent research undertaken by Savanta, on behalf of Hope Together, the Church of England and the Methodist Church, which shows that over half of these new anonymous visitors are under 35.

The research shows that the pandemic prompted the younger generations to think about spiritual things and created this opportunity to connect with the great news of Jesus.

We need to think about the following: 

• Do online church with young non-Christians in mind
• Offer online connection in the first few seconds of any online church experience
• Offer and talk about ways to connect frequently during the service
• Online chat box
• Online prayer request
• Online sign-up for a group, e.g. The Wellbeing Journey or Alpha
• Online sign-up for a copy of the life of Jesus (Mark’s Gospel, they won’t know what a gospel is!)
• Online sign-up for an Easter goody bag including chocolate!

The sign-up for a group, a book on the life of Jesus, or a goody bag would give us their details to stay in touch!

"This research is so encouraging. It shows the incredible impact of the church going online for the mission of the church. We may only have a few weeks left, so now is the time we need to reach out and connect."

Rachel Jordan-Wolf, Hope Executive Director.