Digital Ministry: Pastoring in a Pandemic by Myron Pierce ($3.99 for the Kindle edition on Amazon) is a quick and extremely short read. However, the book raises a number of thoughtful points about church and ministry during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Pierce is an author, pastor, and church planter who leads an inner city church in Omaha, NE. However, Pierce has been able to leverage his personal influence and multiply the influence of his church through social media and online engagement. Although his building seats only 300 people, his Mission Church Facebook Community has already grown to over 1,600 members.
Gone forever?
Pierce compares the impact of the pandemic on today’s church with the persecution experienced by the early church in Jerusalem. Just as the first century church was scattered and forever changed, he believes the 21st century church will be forever changed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The world, as we knew it is gone forever. This is a hard reality to face. This does not mean we are hopeless; it merely means that now is the time to discern what the Spirit of God is saying to the Church. . . . It’s time . . . to embrace the fact that in this digital age, we can become stewards of what God is doing. The harvest is plentiful, but God is looking for digital Hope Dealers who are unashamed of the Gospel, and excited about the possibility of leading people into a hope-filled life in Christ.
Start with WHY rather than how.
In spite of the book’s emphasis on digital ministry, Pierce urges his readers to start with the issues of calling, vision, and mission. Therefore, he cautions readers to avoid putting “digital ministry tools in place of the Great Commission.” He advises pastors to remember “why” they first entered pastoral ministry. “If we can go back to the why, then we can figure out how.”
Guiding principles for digital ministry
Some books dealing with digital ministry focus largely on technical issues such as cameras, video production software, video switchers, etc. However, Pierce highlights principles that should be considered whether you simply use an iPhone, or have a complete package of high-end studio equipment.
- Leverage new language. Pierce suggests we “rethink” the way we say things. However, he also cautions that our new language must first be “consistent with the New Testament.” Some of his examples include, “The church isn’t a place that we go to. It’s a family that we belong to . . . the Church is Jesus plus us.” He also suggests we introduce online ministry by saying, “Hey, we have a new location.”
- Capture social attention. To accomplish this, Pierce pushes you to be a church that helps people solve problems. Therefore, he is an advocate of proactive community service and intentional community engagement. He recommends creating a church Facebook page to “tell stories about what God is doing through your church.” To get people to frequent your page and create social attraction, “You have to tell stories, and not just any type of story; you have to tell stories of hope.”
- Think about your website in light of the user. “The front door of your church are the pages that you own socially and the website that you have.” Don’t create a website based on your preferences or those of church insiders. “To effectively reach people in the digital age . . . start thinking, breathing, acting, believing, and seeing the world through their eyes.” Pierce suggests easy-to-use, clean, and simple platforms such as Squarespace, Wix.com, GoDaddy, and WordPress. He insists, “Simple is better. Pictures are better, videos are better.”
- Learn from the underground church. How does the underground church flourish and grow in countries and cultures where following Christ is outlawed? Pierce writes, “One thing I know about the underground church is that things are simple. Discipleship is simple. Church is simple.” Therefore, he suggests we:
- “Number one . . . keep things simple in our digital world.”
- “Number two . . . make sure that we’ve identified the right audience.”
- “Number three . . . make sure that our content provokes curiosity.”
- Be ready to pivot and innovate. The recent pandemic is an example of how things happen beyond our control. Pierce explains,
That’s what digital ministry is all about. It’s about being able to pivot and innovate. We pivot because things happen that are outside of our control. We innovate because we have a God who is in control. Consequently, we ended up reaching 2,500 people because we decided to not allow our limitations to keep us from innovation.
You can pastor through any pandemic.
Early in the book it is clear that Myron Pierce considers himself a “digital Hope Dealer.” I love encouragers. Therefore, I love the positive thread of encouragement that runs throughout the entire book. Here is the author’s conclusion and final challenge:
We can pastor through any pandemic . . . our Early Church fathers had to do it. . . . I want to challenge you to rise . . . to the occasion, and to get innovative. To not think from a place of scarcity, but a place of abundance . . . How we can facilitate The Great Commission has shifted, and there’s nothing wrong with that because God has called us to reach our culture.
Thoughtful, recommended, and easy to read
At a mere 44 pages, Digital Ministry: Pastoring in a Pandemic is one of the shortest books I have reviewed and recommended. However, there is no fluff or padding, and very little repetition. Thoughtful simplicity and clarity are the key features of this brief book. It is well worth the modest $3.99 price.