THE List of Internet Campuses

Digital @ Leadership Network has this very nearly complete list of internet campuses.  There are countless internet-only churches that are not represented here, but as for physical churches with online campuses, this is probably the most complete list I've seen.

• Life Church (Edmond OK) has its Church Online (launched February 2006) and also a campus in Second Life. Live worship experiences on Saturdays @ 6:30pm + 8:00pm, Sundays @ 10:00am (GMT) + 10:00am + 11:30am + 1:00pm (Central), Mondays 8:00pm (GMT) + 8:00pm, Tuesdays @ 12:00pm + 8:00pm (Central).
• Seacoast Church (Charleston SC) has Church Online (launched January 2007) with live worship times on Sundays @ 9:30am + 11:15am (Eastern).
• Flamingo Road Church (Cooper City FL) has its Internet campus with live worship times on Saturdays @ 5:00pm + 6:30pm and Sundays @ 9:30am + 11:00am + 12:30pm + 5:00pm (Eastern).
• McLean Bible Church (metro Washington DC) has its Internet campus with live worship times on Sundays @ 9:00am + 10:45am + 5:30pm (Eastern).
• New Hope Christian Fellowship's internet campus is called an Online Community. Live worship times are Saturdays @ 5:00pm + 7:00pm and Sundays @ 7:00am, 9:00am, 11:00am (Hawaiian Time).
• Afterlife.tv launched its internet campus called Cyberchurch. Live worship time is Saturdays @ 6:00pm (Mountain Time).
• Real Life Fellowship (Corpus Christi TX) has its Real Life Online with worship times on Sundays 9:00, 10:15, and 11:30am (Central).
• The Church Group (Jacksonville FL) calls its internet campus called I-Church, with live worship times at Wednesday @ 7:00pm, Saturday @ 7:00pm, and Sunday @ 10:30am (Eastern).
• Living Hope Church (Vancouver WA) has live worship at its internet campus on Sundays @ 10:00am and 5:00pm (Pacific).
• Christ Fellowship (Palm Beach Gardens FL) has an Online Campus, Saturdays @ 6:00p and Sundays @ 9:00am + 11:00am (Eastern), having provided live-streaming of worship services since 2005.
• Richmond Community Church (Virginia) has an Internet Campus called HighImpactChurch.tv live on Sundays @ 11:30am (Eastern).
• Northland, A Church Distributed (Orlando FL) has live Webstream worship at 5 times: Saturdays @ 5:00pm, Sundays @ 9:00am + 11:00am + 6:00pm, Mondays @ 7:00pm (Eastern).
• Victory Life Family Worship Center (Durant, OK) has a Virtual Church where you can watch Duane Sheriff messages 24/7 and Live on Sundays @ 9:00am + 11:00am, Thursdays @ 7:00pm (Central).
• Gracepoint Church (Wichita, KS) has an Internet Campus with live-streamed videos on Sundays @ 9:30am + 11:00am (Central). [ht: Terry Johnson]
• Brand New Church (Harrison, AR) has an iCampus with worship on Sundays @ 11:00am + 5:00pm and Wednesdays @ 12:00 Noon (Central).
• Central Christian Church (Las Vegas) launched its Online Campus in September 2008. Service times on Sundays @ 4:30am + 7:00am + 9:00am + 10:20am + 11:45am + 4:30pm (Pacific) .
• Mecklenburg Community Church (Charlotte) has its Internet campus experiences on Sundays @ 10:15am (Eastern).
• Pine Ridge Church (Graham NC) has an Internet campus with worship on Sundays @ 10:30am (Eastern).
• Celebration Church (Jacksonville FL) has an Internet campus with worship on Sundays @ 11:30am + Tuesdays @ 9:00pm (Eastern).
• NewSong Church (Irvine CA) has a LIVE experience with worship on Sundays @ 9:00am + 10:30am + 11:49am (Pacific).
• Alive Church (Tucson AZ) has a Web campus with services on Saturdays @ 5:00pm + 6:30pm and Sundays @ 9:30am + 11:00am (Arizona time).
• Liquid Church (Morristown, NJ) launched its internet campus in January 2009, with worship times on Saturdays @ 6:00pm and Sundays @ 11:00am + 6:00pm and Wednesdays 1:00pm (Eastern time).
• NewSpring Church (Anderson SC) launched its Web Campus in February 2009, with worship times on Sundays @ 11:15am + 6:00pm (Eastern).
• Voice to the Nations (Griffin GA) launched its internet campus in February 2009, with worship times on Sundays @ 9:00am + 11:15am (Eastern).
• The Ridge Community Church (Oak Ridge TN) has a Ridge iCampus, with worship time on Sundays @ 10:00am (Eastern). Church launch date is April 19th.
• Barefoot Church (Myrtle Beach SC) has its Internet Campus with worship times on Saturdays @ 6:00pm and Sundays @ 9:00am + 11:00am (Eastern).
• Saddleback Church (Lake Forest CA) has an Internet Campus now with worship times on Saturdays @ 4:30pm + 6:30 pm and Sundays @ 9:00am + 11:15 am + 4:30pm + 6:30pm  (Pacific Time).

Are there any internet campuses that aree missing from this list?

Have you visited or do you attend any of these internet campuses? What has your experience been like?

 

Full-Size Noah's Ark

The Wall Street Journal has this article linked from Drudge.

It's the first ever ark that has been built as big as Noah's actual ark. Instead of animals, this ark houses a restaurant, resort hotel and a children's museum.

The article says that the ark sits on 270,000 square feet, but it does not say what the overall square footage of the ark itself is. Any guesses?

11 Characteristics of Successful Churches - 7. Church of Pastors

Be a Church of Pastors

One of the buzz terms in Christendom today is "Incarnational Living," but I'm afraid a lot of people don't really understand what that means. (I've read books and blogs on the subject and I'm not sure if some authors know what it means really!)

If people were really living "incarnationally" I think we would see churches of empowered individuals doing ministry where they are. They would be serving those around them not only in Christian circles, but among the lost and the broken.

We, as ministry leaders, need to show people how to serve others and how to contextualize the gospel.

Ministry leaders should rally the people behind the purpose of glorifying God by sharing the gospel and serving the community instead of simply being the always-on-call counselor.

They should not be merely a chaplain for the masses, but a champion of the mission.

Church Tech Camp: Dallas

Last week I had the phenomenal opportunity to attend the Church Tech Camp: Dallas. It was kind of funny because a lot of the people in the room knew one another from twitter or facebook, but had never met in person! On more than one occassion, I looked at someone trying to figure out how I knew them only to realize that I had already been following them on twitter for months.

Anyway, there were so many ideas flying around the room that I couldn't take it all in, but I was very impressed with the way this group of pastors and minstry leaders are using web 2.0 to connect with people who are part of their ministries and to connect with people around the world.

Lots of great comments stood out, but I was impressed with some of the ways Paul Watson of www.reachingtheonlinegeneration.com described the challenges and addressed the questions of leveraging the web to facilitate the creation of community.

He said that we need to consider using technology in three ways:
1. To develop deeper connections with those we already know in the face-to-face context.
2. To develop relationships with the loss that results in face-to-face interactions
3. To develop relationships with geographically diverse people that may never meet otherwise.

I think these three uses are beneficial when considering connecting with people online, but I would make number 3 up there a little less restrictive. Online technologies can help us connect with people not only separated by geography, but also those separated by social spheres or generational spheres.

One of the best quotes of the day came from someone I would like to give credit to, but I can't remember his name. If you remember, please let me know.

He said, "We've got to stop making the physicality question our focus."

In other words the idea that physicality is somehow connected to being a part of a community may be on its way out. Technological advances will certainly help us achieve stronger relationships online, but as it stands, you can have some pretty darn good relationships with people you've never met in person.

My wife and I both have friends who live in other countries and have never met in person, but consider them good friends nonetheless. I would expect these types of relationships to become more numerous and even mainstream in the years ahead.

I also took part in a good discussion with Brandon Donaldson, Internet Campus Pastor at LifeChurch.tv, about creating online communities and online churches. He offered some great ideas and tools to use for starting online churches and online small groups.

We live in exciting times and it was great to share that excitement with a group of great thinkers at Church Tech Camp: Dallas last week.

11 Characteristics of Successful Churches - 6. Proper Branding

Proper Branding Cannot be Underestimated


When you think of Chili's restaurants what do you envision? Initially I think of a relaxed place to have an enjoyable lunch. Secondly, I think of The Office. ("Chili's is the new golf course" according to Small Businessman Magazine.)



Starbucks does the same thing. When you think of Starbucks what comes to mind besides their near saturation of locations nationwide? Warm earthtones, a place to sit and chat, and social awareness.

Both Chili's and Starbucks work hard and spend a lot of money to create an image that reflects their values.

Churches can learn a lot by looking at how businesses communicate with their customers and use that to communicate better with their congregants and visitors.

Branding happens on two levels. A philosophical level and a physical level.

Philosophically, you must determine your church's values and create communication that reflects those values. If a church is primarily traditional in worship style and uses tradition teaching methods such as a Sunday School program, it would be disingenuous to create communication that gives the impression that the church is fast-moving and cutting edge. At the same time a church with services that look like rock concerts should not cast itself as a down home good ol' boy church. (Those are southern terms in case you're not familiar.)

Physically, the production of all communication should be uniform across the organization. When you go into a Chili's the colors green and red stand out. Giant chili peppers are so prominant that they will haunt your dreams for weeks. But the point is when you leave, you will remember Chili's. Some churches do this very well with crisp professional logos and graphic designs.

The 21st century Christian and non-Christian alike are market savvy and will respond to proper branding in communication because it is the language they know and speak. But well-designed branding doesn't happen by accident.

Gone are the days when printing a flyer using Microsoft Word and some clip art will effectively communicate what's happening at your church and where your church is headed for the next 10 years. I'm not sure those days were ever around really, but now, more than ever, communication needs to look as good as you can afford to make it. I mean look at Mr. Screen Bean on the left there. Look how stupid he looks. If you're in a ministry, let's make a pact to never use Mr. Screen Bean again. And if you're not in ministry, but are attempting to communicate with fellow humans, I beg you to join us.

Remember this: If the person doesn't read it or hear it because of poor design, you did not communicate it properly and communication did not happen.

11 Characteristics of Successful Churches - 5. Technology is Not Optional

Technology is Not Optional

My family has long been involved in public education, and in recent years there has been a push to "use technology" in the classroom. This thinking misses the mark when it comes to connecting to students. Students don't think in terms of "using technology," they just use it. It's part of the language they speak. So "using technology" does not typically produce a wow factor; it's just expected.

Technology is no longer optional; and simply having a website doesn't cut it anymore. You have to connect with people where they are. Connect with people via podcast, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. To not have these things in the 21st century is like a church not having a phone in the 20th century. It's a must.

Use text-messaging to connect people to the service and to the staff. Ross Sawyers at 121 Community Church gave out his personal phone number for people to text if they wanted to talk about what it means to trust Christ.

Technology should be a big part of the services. Going digital costs money, but the things mentioned above do not. Also, going to church Online is gaining a lot of attention these days.

We are now 67 days away from the nation-wide switch from analog to digital television. In response people have purchased converter boxes or have gone ahead and made the plunge into the world of HD television.

On February 17, 2009 the television airwaves go digital and many churches become obsolete. No longer will the overhead-projection-on-a-bedsheet or flannel-board methods be sufficient.

When my home church, Waxahachie Bible Church, built a new sanctuary in 2002, they included widescreen projection screens because the worship pastor, Jay Trull, saw where digital technology was headed. They have not made the conversion to HD yet, but the infrastructure is in place for them to do so when it becomes financially possible. Bent Tree Bible Fellowship completed their new facilities this fall and have gone full HD in their services and so have several other churches we have visited.

Certainly finances are a consideration in this discussion, but embracing technology does not have to be cost-prohibitive. The web is full of free resources to connect people within your church and to introduce new people to your church. Making technology a priority will speak volumes to people who are visiting because it will be communication that is on their terms, using their terminology, so their condition isn't terminal.

What are some ways you are utilizing technology to connect with people? What are some ways that you would like to do so, but haven't yet?

11 Characteristics of Successful Churches - 4. Missions

Missions is Mandatory

Saying the words "missions" or "missionary" to many people in the church it conjures up images of never-ending slideshows illustrating the oppressive need of people who live in mud huts and eat bugs out of either preference or necesity. Of course, missionaries living in places like Hawaii and France have a much more difficult time demonstrating that the work they do is really "missionary" work.

Unfortunately, for many of us, our experiences have created a false idea of what missions in the church really looks like. For a lot of people it is just writing a check once a month or promising to pray for someone you'll likely never see again.

No longer constrained to mud huts on the other side of the world, missions has become a reality in the day to day lives of the people in many of the churches we have visited. It shows itself through tales of evangelistic efforts from people within the local church, service efforts to minister to the local community, or through the emphasis on overseas missions. Different local churches have their focus on differing parts of the overall unifying mission of the Church.

While missions to the "mud huts" must continue, there is a real need to share the gospel through word and deed in the steel and glass "huts" where many of us live and work every day.