Seven Reasons Watching Online Is Not Going to Church
Article by Justin Nash
Church attendance metrics were drastically changed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic that forced most churches to cease gathered worship for an extended season. In an effort to minister to their people during this time, many churches developed online options for viewing sermons or entire worship services. The advent of inexpensive and easy digital platforms like Facebook Live made this kind of digital presence accessible to virtually any church in America.
This came with both benefits and unintended consequences. That people were able to hear from their pastor and still be ministered was no doubt a great blessing of these online services, and continues to be so for shut-ins. Also, unbelievers and those disconnected from any church life have been able to hear the gospel and the truth of God’s Word.
However, online broadcasts have also created some issues of serious concern. While the pandemic is certainly not over, and many people have not returned to church because of understandable health concerns or governmental restrictions, only six percent of churches have returned to their pre-pandemic attendance levels. Further, conservative estimates are that 20 percent to 30 percent of church attenders will never return.
Anecdotal data suggests that many of these people will not return to in-person attendance in lieu of “online attendance.” They have found “online church” more palatable and convenient for them. These non-returners see “online church” as no different than attending in real life. But is this true? Here are seven reasons that “online church” is not the same as physically attending a worship service.
It reduces worship to hearing a sermon
The preaching of God’s Word is an essential element of a worship service, but preaching is not the totality of the experience. There is singing, prayer and fellowship (Acts 2:42; Ephesians 5:18-20; Colossians 3:16). Music is not a part of many “online churches” for technical or legal reasons, so most “online services” are the preaching portion of the service. This reductionism causes us to miss other critical means of grace that God uses to grow and mature our faith.
It's all about you
Online services individualize the worship experience and removes it from the community of faith. Worship becomes all about you and your preferences. You can watch at the time, place and situation most convenient for you and your family. In some sense, you can customize your church experience. But our time together in worship reminds us that the Christian life is about life in a larger community of faith. We are not our own. We belong to a family of faith. Online services make it far too easy to see our faith solely as a personal and individual thing. This kind of expressive individualism has more to do with modern, western, culture than it does biblical Christianity. Jesus told us we must die to ourselves (Luke 9:23), not indulge ourselves.
You are reduced to a spectator
During an in-person service we participate and interact with others. We sing, pray, move, greet and even acknowledge through our body language the words of the preacher. In short, worship is not something we attend. It is something we do. Online services turn you into a passive consumer of media rather than an active participant in worship. Of course, this is a danger even with in-person services. But watching a service online exacerbates this danger. You are simply reduced to the role of watcher, listener and consumer of the media. This further weakens our connection with the family of God and devalues the entire worship experience by reducing it to the level of watching our favorite TV show. Church becomes a cold and impersonal transaction.
It's not real
An online service is a mediated experience, not a real experience. The experience is mediated through a screen and cameras. The experience isn’t real; it is virtually constructed with no way of allowing a full sensory experience or participation. In this mediated experience, we see and hear only what is shown, so our experience is false to some degree. Imagine the difference between playing in a basketball game and watching a game on television. The former is a fundamentally different and more powerful experience than the latter.
You cannot assemble with other believers
This is perhaps the core of the issue and the root cause of all the other issues. The word Jesus used to describe the church means “an assembly” (i.e. Matthew 16:18). The writer of Hebrews is explicit in his admonition in Hebrews 10:24-25 when he writes, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” To assemble means to gather in the same place at the same time. No online platform can provide that, no matter how good it is. Online services are temptations for us to neglect meeting together.
You cannot worship with other believers
This flows from the previous point. Even if you take exception with point three by saying that you do worship through song and prayer as you participate in online services, you still do it alone and disconnected from a larger body of Christ. There is something powerful about a group of believers praying and singing together. Online services make this impossible, especially if the services are pre-recorded as many are. This weakens us spiritually as a church and as individuals.
You cannot build relationship with other believers
Online services require you to make no investment in relationships in the church. You don’t have to exercise grace or love to accommodate or relate to other sinful people. This weakens the church, but also weakens you as you lose the opportunity to grow more like Jesus because of your interactions with other brothers and sisters in Christ. When you aren’t personally present, you lose innumerable opportunities for mutual accountability and encouragement.
...this season will end. When it does, we must return to attending church in-person, mainly because viewing online service is not attending church at all. Our faith will be impoverished and our growth stunted if we do not. Like an ember removed from a fire, our faith will grow cold the longer we willfully neglect meeting together.
While we find ourselves in the midst of an escalating pandemic, we must be patient and gracious toward one another. Online services are a real benefit and blessing to many people who cannot come to church because of health concerns. We need to respect the choice our members make to protect their health and the health of their loved ones. We need to respect the solutions our churches and church leaders make to accommodate this strange and difficult time. However, this season will end. When it does, we must return to attending church in-person, mainly because viewing online service is not attending church at all. Our faith will be impoverished and our growth stunted if we do not. Like an ember removed from a fire, our faith will grow cold the longer we willfully neglect meeting together. Online services may be beneficial during this pandemic, but they must always be viewed as supplemental to and not a substitution for our in-person gatherings.
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